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Britannica, E. (2016, April 26). Po River. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/place/Po-River

Cline, E. (2011). Ready player one. New York: Crown Publishers.

Edwards, C. (2017, September 06). The source of Italy's longest river has dried up due to drought. Retrieved from https://www.thelocal.it/20170906/source-italys-longest-river-po-piedmont-monviso-dried-up-summer-drought-climate

Giacomini, A. (2016, March 03). Po Delta Park Home. Retrieved from http://www.ferraraterraeacqua.it/en/po-delta-park/po-delta-park-home

Panepinto, D., Marchese, F., & Genon, G. (2015). Evaluation of Po River water quality in Torino (Italy): Effects of diffuse and local point loads. Urban Water Journal, 13(6), 1-17.

Pérez-Blanco, C., Koks, E., Calliari, E., & Mysiak, J. (2018). Economic Impacts of Irrigation-Constrained Agriculture in the Lower Po Basin. Water Economics and Policy, 4(1), 1-38.

Pham, H., Torresan, S., Critto, A., & Marcomini, A. (2019). Alteration of freshwater ecosystem services under global change - A review focusing on the Po River basin (Italy) and the Red River basin (Vietnam). The Science of the Total Environment, 652, 1347-1365.

Po Valley. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://geography.name/po-valley/

UNESCO. (2015, June). Po Delta. Retrieved from http://www.unesco.org/new/en/natural-sciences/envi

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Ready Player One by Ernest Cline touches on the topic of environmental theme and its impact on society

Environmental change is currently affecting the Po River and directly impacting the people that depend on the river

Rising temperatures/climate change have impacted agricultural sectors of the Po and raised fear for farmers

If the region continues to act as they currently are, the Po River may one day not exist at all which would be catastrophic to not only farmers but everyone who is dependent on the Po

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In June of 2016, a number of governors and mayors declared a state of emergency and took restrictive measures which included water rationing

The dam individuals so heavily rely on was closed for the first time in 80 years, with little to no water availability

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Solutions:  Council of Po river Provinces

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Solutions:  Council of Po river Provinces

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The creation of a more regulative body known as the Council of Po river Provinces

Main goal was  to coordinate the territorial policies of the various provinces of the Po area and to manage its resources.

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Due to the river basin facing serious environmental issues, the Po River Basin Authority wast established in 1990

Goal is to conserve land, water and subsoil.

The authority tackles environmental issues such as hydrogeological risk mitigation and reduction, sustainable water use and water resources protection.

Main job of the Authority is the drafting and implementing of the Basin Plan, covering soil defense, hydrogeological and hydraulic reorganization, water and land utilization.

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The basin is exposed to a high level of anthropogenic pressure

15% is due to civil waste, 52% to industrial waste and 33% to waste produced by agricultural and animal production

This results in a large reduction of water supply for irrigation purposes that may cause an important decrease of crop yield

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Severe drought devastates south Europe crops - Reuters TV

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Drought in southern Europe threatens to reduce cereal production in Italy and parts of Spain to its lowest level in at least 20 years, and hit other regional crops including olives and almonds.

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In August of 2017, the majority of the Po River Basin showed a reduction of 10% less rainfall than August of 2016

Wine grapes, grains, and cereals are known to grow along the banks of the Po River, requiring around 17 billion cubic meters of water each year

When reduction of rainfall/droughts occurred the effect of it on crops/grass also resulted in livestock being put under considerable amounts of stress which in turn caused a fall in overall milk production

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Changes in water availability causing issues

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Changes in water availability causing issues

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The Po River Basin has been continuously affected by droughts, with droughts occurring in 2003, 2006, 2007, and 2015

A nationwide state of emergency has been declared in 2003, 2006, and 2007 for a total of 20 months

Economic consequences arose in irrigation areas of the Lower Po River Basin, and environmental uses in the Po Delta Basin and LPRB were affected by saline intrusion that affected drinking water

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Changes in climate have also shown an effect on water purification services of the Po River

Flood events contributed to at least ⅓ of particulate annual report, floods and heavy rain caused an increase in water turbidity and sediment load, in turn reducing the water transparency

It is projected that overall salt loads in drainage canals would increase 30% in some areas, and groundwater freshness amounts would decrease by 46% by 2050

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Recent research results have showed that temperature increase would occur in the Po River Basin until 2100

Overall precipitation in major areas of the Po River Basin would decrease

Main climate-related changes include: increase in temperatures, seawater salinity, river load of nitrogen, river discharge, and decrease of precipitation

These climate-related changes are directly affecting freshwater ecosystem services (i.e., decline of water quality, reduction of freshwater availability, salinization of soil, surface water and groundwater

Climate change and sea level rise are altering the overall demands of freshwater services causing a high water demand for water management, irrigation, hydropower, and maintaining environmental flow

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The Po Delta Park is one of the most important wetland zones in Europe, and the largest in Italy

More than 370 animal species (birds make up a large portion of the animals) and over 1,000 plant species reside in the area

Due to the overall vast biodiversity in the area, the Po Delta is considered a UNESCO World Heritage Site

An extensive loss of vegetated wetlands due to direct human interventions (croplands and urban areas expansion) has occurred

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Dating back to the Roman times parts of the Po River Delta has been drained for agricultural uses

Since the Po Valley is considered Europe’s greatest rice-growing region, the demand has resulted in water needing to be diverted from the river and tributaries

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Main industrial areas (i.,e Milan and Turin) power relies on the various hydroelectric station in the Alps

Oil/coal power stations also rely on the water of Po basin to act as a coolant

Now dealing with the towering task of maintaining the vitality of the 11 thermal power plants,  & 269 hydroelectric plants, while also restoring the environmental balance of the Po River

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Important to national economy and contributes: 40% to gross domestic product, 35% to agricultural product, & 37% to industrial product

Freshwater of Po used for hydropower production, irrigation, & domestic purposes

60% of annual precipitation amount is converted into a outflow amount; ~20-25 km3 is accounted for evapotranspiration, 17 km3 is then provided for irrigation, 5 km3 is provided for industrial/civil usage, and the remaining amount is charged into groundwater

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Precipitation: annually 78km³

Water quality issues: SMAT wastewater treatment plant discharges into the river causing increase in nitric nitrogen load

Agricultural/industrial discharge play a key role in overall water quality

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The Po River is shared among Italy, Switzerland, and France and has a total of 141 main tributaries.

Drainage covers 27,062 mi²

Longest river in Italy, starting in the Cottian Alps and emptying in the Adriatic Sea totaling 405 miles.

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Italy's most fertile and wide plain.