Drought with its occurrence and manifestations at all levels of the natural components, yields both direct and indirect negative effects, on the ecological systems, water resources, social, as well as economic aspects of life. Therefore, any analysis that concerns this phenomenon, must be carried out at a multi-scalar level, addressing all manifestation levels (meteorological, hydrological, and hydrogeological drought). Standardized evaluation indices (for precipitation-SPI, evaporation-, -SPEI, streamflow-SDI and groundwater-SGI) have been used to analyze the evolution of the drought phenomena in Eastern Romania, for 1, 3, 6 and 12 months’ time-scales, applied to seven groundwater bodies. The results of the analysis complement the observations concerning the evolution of meteorological drought (using SPI and SPEI) in the East European region, by highlighting the drought sequences of the last two decades of the last century. Those are accompanied by the meteorological drought sequences which occurred on extensive areas, starting from 2007, until present, with direct effects in river discharge and increases in groundwater level depths. The Bravais–Pearson correlation coefficient shows a close connection between meteorological and hydrological drought (r ~ 0.45 to 0.68) and between hydrological and groundwater drought (r ~ 0.42 to 0.74) for wells with piezometric level under 5 m depth. In the larger context of climate scenarios which envision an increase in air temperature, and a decrease in the atmospheric hydrological input, the increase in the drought frequency is obvious, with direct effects on all-natural components that are dependent on the hydrological resources.

This paper reveals the linear economy contribution to resource degradation and environmental pollution in eastern Romania that could further feed environmental crimes and conflicts, such as in the Pungesti shale gas case. Preservation of material and water resources in the region is required through various circular mechanisms under a cross-sectoral approach including solid waste as a material resource for industry and agriculture; wastewater treatment and water reuse; composting and organic agriculture; and using renewables. Six non-conflictual sustainable alternative routes related to circular economy mechanisms, water preservation, and to the clean energy transition are proposed in this paper, which are further examined through key statistics and indicators, current best practices, and local development pathways in both urban and rural communities.

Concentration of time (Tc) is a frequently used parameter in the evaluation of the hydrological response of different sizes hydrographic basin in case of rainfall events. The present study is innovative, because it has created an index that identifies the small‐sized hydrographic basins that are exposed to the risk of flooding. The Moldavian Plain is an area located in the northeast of Romania where the local population is frequently affected by floods and flash floods caused by heavy rainfall events. The main purpose of the current study is to identify the settlements located in the small‐sized hydrographic basins, which are associated with low concentration times and powerful surface runoff. The empirical method was applied in order to calculate the Tc for rainfall water, for each drainage basin, for a time class less than 6 hr. Calculations of the runoff water were also done for a theoretical extreme precipitation event, corresponding to the 1% occurrence probability. A total number of 312 basins were identified that are smaller than 30 km², out of which 112 have Tc of less than 6 hr. These basins, in particular, pose flood risk for 12.4% of the villages and towns in the study area.

The fundamentals contribution of multi-hazard assessment lies in its ability to guide and identify directions for territorial development, aiming to reduce vulnerability through the implementation of appropriate measures. In the present study, Multi-Criteria Decision Making supported by Geographic Information System was utilized to solve spatial problems related to territorial sprawl. Considering this perspective, an analysis was conducted on the susceptibility of land to the occurrence of geo hazards in the Moldova catchment, situated in the northeastern region of Romania, within a transitional zone between mountains and plateaus. The analysis focused on assessing the likelihood of geo-hazards like floods, landslides, and earthquakes, utilizing the weights obtained through the implementation of the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). Subsequently, the obtained results were utilized to generate a multi-hazard map, which facilitated the identification of areas that are suitable for territorial development. The results were validated in two ways: by sensitivity analysis in which two minimum and maximum scenarios were proposed concerning the result obtained and by validation using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve method. The areas with high susceptibility to geo-hazards triggers are located in the southeastern part of the region, in the proximity of the hydrographic network. Flood risk is the hazard with the highest recurrence. Localities with high suitability for spatial development have a central-western distribution. According to the applied model, sites for each locality included in the study area can be identified. The high and very high suitability classes account for 54% of the total area, while the unsuitable classes represent 15% of the area. However, the vulnerability of the area and the need for the study are generated by 35% of the settlements being located in areas with high susceptibility.