The long term aim of ALP-WATER-SCARCE is to reinforce authorities and stakeholders to develop integrated and sustainable water management and to suggest socio-economic adaptation and mitigation strategies against water scarcity.

On the short term, an early warning system against water shortage in the Alps will be based on an operational methodology with strong stakeholder participation taking into account present and future zones as well as time periods of water scarcity. To initiate this, a Stakeholder Interaction Forum will be created to define water problems. This forum will accompany the entire project and establish or extend an effective communication network, closely linked to the press and media.

In addition, the main anthropogenically and naturally defined surface water and groundwater systems will be characterised and their vulnerability towards water scarcity assessed. Different water usages such as drinking water, hydropower, agriculture (irrigation), tourism and artificial snow will be defined in zones with potential future lack of water.

A monitoring network will be elaborated based on hydrometeorology, water quality and water abstraction or intensified in those regions necessary. Integrated hydrological regional and sub basin models will be assembled and compared. Climate and anthropogenic scenarios are to be adapted and developed to enable prediction of future vulnerability to water scarcity.
Special emphasis will be placed on the definition of optimal ecological flow of surface discharge and groundwater biotopes, supported by the selection and application of aquatic indicators and biodiversity change.

Finally, an early warning system for water shortage will be developed and tested in pilot regions, strongly supported by the Stakeholder Interaction Forum. This will form the operational basis for suggestions for water management strategies.