Water shortage and desertification in Italy (Google News Alert / Wanted in Rome)

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Google News Alert for : desertification

Wanted in Rome : www.wantedinrome.com

http://www.wantedinrome.com/news/news.php?id_n=2964

WATER SHORTAGE PREDICTED 

“Italy’s environment minister recently warned that Italy is on the verge of a water crisis this summer and experts believe that the trouble could start as early as May.

The mild dry winter which left rivers at levels well below their seasonal average and predictions for a very hot summer, if true, are likely create emergency situations, worsened by an overall lack of proper government planning to face a water shortage.

The agricultural sector would be the first to suffer. The true problem, however, according to Italy’s minister for agriculture, is not so much to the lack of water, rather the poor and technologically obsolete delivery systems coupled with mismanagement, which cause wastage of up to 50 per cent of resources.

Recent studies carried out by Enea (Italy’s institute for new technologies, energy and environment) indicate that four regions in southern Italy – Basilicata and Puglia, and the islands of Sardinia and Sicily – are threatened with advancing desertification, owing to water shortage.“