Simulation studies were carried out to investigate the possible impacts of climate and socioeconomic change on water and society in the Elbe river basin. The aim is the development of integrated strategies for a sustainable management of the ressource water. Water availability problems and water use conflicts are considered at regional level. Scientist from more than 19 institutions were working together to achieve this goal. In the third phase of the GLOWA Elbe project the focus is on understanding the risks and the options that arise from the global change in the Elbe river basin. The results are provided to the decision makers of the region to implement their aims of a sustainable management.
The main results are beside the Elbe-Expert Toolbox, an atlas of global change and scientific publications. The Elbe Expert Toolbox encloses tools for the derivation of regional scenarios of the climate change and the social change, to the assessment of results for the landscape water and the nutrient household and for the municipal and industrial water demand, management tools for support the water amount the water quality management as well as tool for the assessment of activity strategies. At the end of the project it will be used by decision makers from the river basin management. The Elbe Atlas will be published in 2011 and shows maps of natural and social background and simulation results in the Elbe basin.
overall project coordination, regional climate scenarios, run off simulation, stakeholder contact, integration of the whole spectrum of water related tasks within the project
