Geographers Publish "Drought in Bulgaria" Book

Authors Ivan Raev, Marieta
Steneva, and Greg Knight
with the book in the
Bulgarian Academy of Sciences

February 11, 2004

Dr. C. Gregory Knight and Dr. Marieta Staneva recently published their research about drought in Bulgaria with Dr. Ivan Raev, president of the scientific coordination at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences' Global Change center. Their research was supported by the National Science Foundation.

The book, "Drought in Bulgaria: A Contemporary Analog for Climate Change: Environmental, Economic and Social Impacts of the Drought 1982-1994" is currently available in Bulgarian, but English versions will be available in the United Kingdom beginning summer 2004.

Marieta Staneva will present the whole project at this week's coffee hour Friday, February 13th at 4:00pm in 301 Steidle Building, University Park. Staneva's presentation, "Drought in Bulgaria-An Analog for Future Climate Change" will focus on research conducted for the current book.

Contributing Research:

Knight and Staneva, together with Raev, edited the volume, which includes contributions from current and former Penn State students. Chris Steuer contributed research to a chapter about drought and future climate issues. His research shows that climate change models suggest Bulgaria's future climate could on average be even drier than the extreme drought years in question (1993 and 1994). Chris is currently a M.S. student at Penn State and a former Research Assistant for Knight.

Liem Tran and Victoria Wesner contributed research to a chapter about the Balkan and European context of the drought. Tran is a former PSU post-doctoral researcher, who is now working at Florida Atlantic University. Wesner, a former undergrad Research Assistant for Tran, is now studying law at the Lewis and Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon. Chad Staddon also contributed a chapter about the struggle for Bulgaria's first post-1989 "Water War". Staddon is a former Ph.D. student of John Pickles, who received his Ph.D. from Penn State.

Research Questions:

"Drought in Bulgaria" will soon
be available in English

Knight, Staneva, and Raev introduce a series of droughts through the early 1980s through the mid-1990s in Bulgaria, which culminated in 1993 and 1994 "with record breaking drought affecting almost all of the nation," they write. Climate change models for Bulgaria predicted warmer and drier temperatures. As a result, they set out to answer several research questions:

What if Bulgaria's future climate were to be more like the conditions of the dry 1990s than today's climate?
What could we learn from the impact of the drought and responses to it that could inform policies for adaptation to future climate change?
Could we learn something about potential planning and responses, and at the same time increase awareness of the importance of greenhouse gas mitigation that might decrease the climate changes that the atmospheric scientists predict?

The authors begin with a chronology of drought in Bulgaria and future climate scenarios. They include a section on analogs of future climate, and continue with a more in-depth analysis of the drought. Water resources during the drought are examined, including the impact of drought on surface water quality. Drought impacts on natural ecosystems provide insights into natural forest and population dynamics of birds and mammals. Drought impacts on managed ecosystems, on the contrary, examine managed forests, croplands, and agricultural pests. Societal impacts are explored in sociological and ethical, economical, and health and hygienic contexts. Concluding sections examine impacts and crises during times of drought, exploring water resource management, media, and political attitudes. Knight and Raev provide insights into lessons learned and conclude with recommendations for policymakers.

Questions? Comments? editor@geog.psu.edu.