Large scale Irrigation Management tools for Sustainable Water Management in rural areas and protection of receiving aquatic ecosystems
IR2MA has as main objectives the implementation of advanced smart decision support systems (DSS) for irrigation management, the definition of optimal strategies for the reuse of purified wastewater for the production of safe and high-quality horticultural products, as well as the transfer of technological solutions suitable for optimization of the water resources use.

The project involves for the Italian side CNR-ISPA, Consorzio Bonifica della Capitanata (CBC), the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari (CIHEAMB) and Puglia Region as an Associate partner, while on the Greek side the University of Ioannina and the Region of Epirus.

Among the several ways to use water, irrigation represents the largest quantity (even up to 70% of the total used volume ). Therefore, considering the problem of the climate changes and the effects that it could determine on the future scenarios in agriculture, it is essential to put in place suitable strategies for optimizing the irrigation practice, avoiding water reservoir pollution and contamination and, where possible, taking advantage of unconventional water usage, for example by reusing wastewater.