The Mediterranean and neighbouring countries are already experiencing a broad range of natural and man-made threats to water security. According to climate projections, these regions are at risk for an even pronounced susceptibility to changes in the hydrological budget and extremes. These changes are expected to have strong impacts on the management of water resources as well as on key strategic sectors of regional economies and their macroeconomic implications. Such manifold developments bare a strong capacity to exacerbate tensions, and even intra- and inter-state conflict among the social, political, ecological and eco-nomic actors. It is nowadays widely agreed that effective adaptation and prevention measures need multi-disciplinary preparation, analysis, action and promotion of collaborative strategies.

The European Commission is active in preparing Europe and its neighbouring countries for the climate induced ecological and socio-economic changes that lie ahead. A major contribution in this direction has been granted by the formulation of related priority research topics in the Seventh Framework Program for Research and Technological Development (FP7). More specifically, in order to better assess the manifold consequences and uncertainties in climate impact on man-environment systems, a coordinated topic has been programmed between Theme 6 ('Environment (incl. climate change)') and Theme 8 ('Socio- Economic Sciences and Humanities') in the 3rd FP7 call for proposals (2009). CLICO (SSH) with WASSERMed (ENV) and CLIMB (ENV), all started in early 2010, are now establishing a research cluster for scientific synergy and improved policy outreach. The cluster comprises a critical mass of scientists from 44 partners (29 institutions from the EU, 5 institutions from S&T countries and 10 international institutions) with an EC contribution of more then 9 M€.

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