This book shows how scientists, water managers and policy makers approach drought and water scarcity in arid and semi-arid areas of Spain, Mexico, Australia, South Africa and the US. Covers irrigation, ecological impacts, economic considerations and more.

Offering a cross-country examination and comparison of drought awareness and experience, this book shows how scientists, water managers, and policy makers approach drought and water scarcity in arid and semi-arid regions of Spain, Mexico, Australia, South Africa and the United States.

1. Introduction.- PART I: Agronomy, Irrigation Technology, and Water Supply.- 2. Adapting Irrigated Agriculture to Drought in the San Joaquin Valley of California.- 3. Impact of Drought on Adelaide’s Water Supply System: Past, Present and Future.- 4. Living with Drought in the Irrigated Agriculture of the Ebro Basin (Spain): Structural and Water Management Actions.- 5. Irrigation and Drought in a Southern Australian Climate that is Arid, Variable, and Changing.- 6. Irrigation Associations Coping with Drought: The Case of Four Irrigation Districts in Eastern Spain.- 7. Crop Choices with Limiting Water Supplies: Deficit Irrigation and Sensitive Crop Growth Stages.- 8. Drought Adaptation Measures and Risk Tolerance of Commercial, Small-Scale and Subsistence Maize Farmers in the Free State and Northwest Province of South Africa.- PART II: Ecological Impacts of Drought.- 9. Impacts of Water Scarcity and Drought on Iberian Aquatic Ecosystems.- 10. Ecological Responses and Interactions with Drought in the Southwestern United States.- 11. Agriculture, Water Mismanagement and Ecosystem Transformations in the Cuatrociénegas Valley in the Chihuahuan Desert, Mexico.- 12. The Murray-Darling Basin: Ecosystem Response to Drought and Climate Change.- PART III: Hydrology and Water Resource Systems.- 13. Drought Planning and Management in the Júcar River Basin, Spain.- 14. Drought as a Catalyst for Change: A Case Study of the Steenkoppies Dolomitic Aquifer.- 15. Evaluation of Groundwater Flow System Functioning in Mexico to Reduce Drought Impacts.- 16. Drought and Climate Change in the Murray-Darling Basin: A Hydrological Perspective.- 17. Climate Change Impacts on California’s Water Resources.- PART IV: Economic Considerations and Drought.- 18. Water Scarcity and Droughts in Spain: Impacts and Policy Measures.- 19. Modeling Economic-Engineering Responses to Drought – The California Case.- 20. Principles for Economically Efficient and Environmentally Sustainable WaterMarkets: The Australian Experience.- 21. Drought Management Strategies in South Africa and the Potential for Economic Policy Instruments.- PART V: Water Management and Policy.- 22. Some Considerations Regarding Water Management in Mexico: Towards an Integrated Management System.- 23. Water Scarcity and Drought Management in the Ebro Basin.- 24. Responding to Extreme Drought in the Murray-Darling Basin, Australia.- 25. Potential Political Impacts in Southern California of Drought-Related Water Availability and Rate Increases.- 26. Drought and its Role in Shaping Water Policy in Australia.- PART VI: Conclusion.- 27. Summaries and Considerations.