Drought is one of the major natural hazards, resulting in significant economic, social, and environmental costs. In Europe, water shortage is an important problem in many regions. However, despite the increasing awareness of this hazard, there is no European drought policy and institutional frameworks to cope with drought situations are only weakly developed. This book is dedicated to furthering an understanding of the drought problem in Europe and to discussing policy and management options to mitigate its impacts. It covers aspects from the detection of water stress to the planning of mitigation strategies. The contributions are written by recognised experts in their field.