If current climate trends continue, Italy's Po River risks running dry some 100km before reaching its delta on the Adriatic Sea, experts warned in a recent report.
This will result in salt water rising up the river, upsetting the environmental balance and making traditional forms of agriculture impossible
Drawn up in view of this week's National Climate Conference 2007 in Rome, the report concluded that the Po is a "river in crisis".
This because reduced rain and snowfall has lowered the amount of water feeding the river, while higher temperatures have increased evaporation and forced farmers to draw more water from the river to irrigate their crops.
According to Italy's Environment Protection Agency (APAT), the level of the Po has fallen 20-25% in the last 30 years.
The 675km-long Po feeds irrigation channels in four Italian regions as it cuts across the north from west to east.
APAT said that around 73% of the water drawn from the Po is for agriculture, while drinking water accounts for 11% of the extracted water, hydroelectric-energy plants 9% and industry 7%.
The September 12-13 conference in Rome will include a series of addresses, workshops and roundtable discussions on such topics as water resources; agriculture; land and coastlines; and biodiversity and forests.
The conference will be held at the headquarters of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and has been organized by APAT with the support of Italy's environment ministry.
