Water Scenarios for Europe and for Neighbouring States

The SCENES is a 4-year project developing and analysing a set of comprehensive scenarios of Europe's freshwater futures up to 2025, covering all of "Greater" Europe reaching to the Caucasus and Ural Mountains, and including the Mediterranean rim countries of north Africa and the near East. These scenarios will provide a reference point for long-term strategic planning of European water resource development, alert policymakers and stakeholders about emerging problems, and allow river basin managers to test regional and local water plans against uncertainties and surprises which are inherently imbedded in a longer term strategic planning process. The scenarios developed by SCENES will be policy-relevant by identifying the requirements of stakeholders and decision makers, and including stakeholders in the scenario-building process. A true co-operation will be an essential element of research methodology and result dissemination - an active process of interacting between science, policies and stakeholders representing different water use sectors will be guaranteed through the entire life cycle of the project.

SCENES brochure (301 Kb, PDF-file)

Project number	036822
Subject(s)	METHTODOLOGY - STATISTICS - DECISION AID , POLICY-WATER POLICY AND WATER MANAGEMENT , RISKS AND CLIMATOLOGY , WATER DEMAND , WATER QUALITY
Acronym	SCENES
Geographical coverage	Finland, Spain, Poland, Netherlands, France, Turkey, United Kingdom, Estonia, Italy, Greece, Hungary, Russian Federation
Budget (in €)	0
Programme	INCO MED (FP6)
Web site	http://www.environment.fi/syke/scenes
Objectives	Main objectives and deliverables   To evaluate different methodologies for developing scenarios of Europe's waters with the aim of improving these methodologies, involving different pan-Europe, regional and pilot area scale modelling efforts. To develop and analyse a set of comprehensive scenarios of Europe's fresh waters up to 2025. These scenarios will provide a reference point for long-term strategic planning of water resource development in Europe, alert policymakers and stakeholders to emerging problems related to water use (e.g. new water quality and ecological problems, new regions of water scarcity); and allow river basing managers to test their regional and local water plans against uncertainties and surprises which are inherently imbedded in a longer term strategic planning process. To evaluate the socio-economic, environmental and ecological impacts of the different water scenarios. This is accomplished by analysing and assessing the complex relationships between water availability, water demand, water use, and water quality to provide a basis for strategic planning and technological alternatives. To help launch an on-going process in Europe of scenario-development. We will also devise a plan for institutionalising the on-going development of water scenarios in Europe.
Results	The SCENES scenarios will: • provide a reference point for long-term strategic planning of European water resource development, • alert policymakers and stakeholders about emerging problems, • allow river basin managers to test regional and local water plans against uncertainties & surprises, • be both qualitative and quantitative. The qualitative scenarios (storylines) provide an internally consistent picture of how water resources in different parts of Europe may develop. The analysis will not only focus on water quantity but also on water quality, ecological and hydrological aspects, with special regard to the requirements of the Water Framework Directive. The quantitative scenarios complement the storyline by providing numerical information. These results, produced by state-of-the-art models, will 'enrich' the qualitative scenarios by showing trends and dynamics not apparent in storylines.
Period	[01/12/2006 - 30/11/2010]