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STRIVER Report No. D10.2
Strategy and methodology for improved IWRM - An integrated interdisciplinary assessment in four twinning river basins
Title
Strategies and recommendations for river basin management in Tagus
Author(s)
António Betâmio de Almeida, Maria Manuela Portela, Marta Machado, Santiago Beguería, Sergio M. Vicente-Serrano, J. Ignacio López-Moreno, Noemí Lana-Renault, José María García-Ruiz, Dale Campbell and Alistair Rieu-Clarke
Report No.
STRIVER Report No. D10.2
ISBN
-
Organisation name of lead contractor for this deliverable
IST-CEHIDRO (Portugal and CSIC (Spain)
No. of pages
50 p.
Due date of deliverable:
February 2009
Actual date of deliverable:
June 2009
Dissemination level1
PU
Key words
IWRM, Tagus, flooding, Albufeira convention, hydropower, water scarcity
1 PU Public
PP Restricted to other programme participants (including the Commission Services)
RE Restricted to a group specified by the consortium (including the Commission Services)
CO Confidential, only for members of the consortium (including the Commission Services)
Title of project: Strategy and methodology for improved IWRM - An integrated interdisciplinary assessment in four twinning river basins (STRIVER) Instrument: SUSTDEV-2005-3.II.3.6: Twinning European/third countries river basins. Contract number: 037141 Start date of project: July 2006 Duration: 36 months Project co-funded by the European Commission within the Sixth Framework Programme (2002-2006)
Disclaimer The information provided and the opionions given in this publication are not necessarily those of the authors or the EC. The authors and publisher assume no liability for any loss resulting from the use of this report.
STRIVER Report No. D10.2
Contents
Summary 5
Annex:
de Almeida, A.B., Portela, MM, Machado, M., Beguería S, Vicente-Serrano, SM., López-Moreno, JI.,
Lana-Renault, N., García-Ruiz. JM., Campbell, D., & Rieu-Clarke, A. 2009. The Tagus River
Basin – Spain and Portugal. STRIVER Policy Brief No. 19
de Almeida, A.B., Portela, M.M., Machado, M., Beguería, S., Vicente-Serrano, S., García-Ruiz, J.M.,
Lana-Renault, N. and Lopéz-Moreno, N. 2009. A comparative assessment of IWRM principles in
Tagus (Spain and Portugal). STRIVER Policy Brief No. 14
de Almeida, A.B., Portela, M.M. and Machado, M. 2009. A case of transboundary water agreement -
- the Albufeira Convention. STRIVER Technical Brief No. 9
Portela, M.M., de Almeida, A.B. and Machado, M. 2009. Development in river basin management in
Portugal – past and future perspectives. STRIVER Technical Brief No. 10
Beguería, S. Vicente-Serrano, S.M, López-Moreno, J.I., Lana-Renault, N., García-Ruiz, J.M. de
Almeida, A.B., Portela, M.M. & Marta Machado. IWRM status in the Tagus basin, Spain.
STRIVER Technical Brief No. 11
STRIVER Report No. D10.2
5
Summary
This deliverable constitute of the following five Policy and Technical Briefs attached to this
report:
de Almeida, A.B., Portela, MM, Machado, M., Beguería S, Vicente-Serrano, SM., López-Moreno, JI.,
Lana-Renault, N., García-Ruiz. JM., Campbell, D., & Rieu-Clarke, A. 2009. The Tagus River
Basin – Spain and Portugal. STRIVER Policy Brief No. 19
de Almeida, A.B., Portela, M.M., Machado, M., Beguería, S., Vicente-Serrano, S., García-Ruiz, J.M.,
Lana-Renault, N. and Lopéz-Moreno, N. 2009. A comparative assessment of IWRM principles in
Tagus (Spain and Portugal). STRIVER Policy Brief No. 14
de Almeida, A.B., Portela, M.M. and Machado, M. 2009. A case of transboundary water agreement -
- the Albufeira Convention. STRIVER Technical Brief No. 9
Portela, M.M., de Almeida, A.B. and Machado, M. 2009. Development in river basin management in
Portugal – past and future perspectives. STRIVER Technical Brief No. 10
Beguería, S. Vicente-Serrano, S.M, López-Moreno, J.I., Lana-Renault, N., García-Ruiz, J.M. de
Almeida, A.B., Portela, M.M. & Marta Machado. IWRM status in the Tagus basin, Spain.
STRIVER Technical Brief No. 11
STRIVER POLICY BRIEF Strategy and methodology for improved IWRM
- An integrated interdisciplinary assessment in four twinning river basins
PB No. 19
The Tagus River Basin – Spain and Portugal
With the two capital cities Madrid and Lisbon located
along its banks, the Tagus River is a major river in Spain
and Portugal. With increasing pressures due to climate
change, and problems of scarcity and flows there is a
need to develop good monitoring and collaboration
mechanisms between the two countries.
The STRIVER Policy Brief series translate the results from the EC FP6-funded STRIVER project
into practical and useful information for policy makers and water managers
STRIVER POLICY BRIEF / ISSUE NO. 19 2
The Tagus River – Spain and Portugal
António Betâmio de Almeida, Maria Manuela Portela, Marta Machado (IST-CIHEDRO, Portugal),
Santiago Beguería, Sergio M. Vicente-Serrano, J. Ignacio López-Moreno, Noemí Lana-Renault, José
María García-Ruiz (Agencia Estatal Consejo Superior de Investigaciones, CSIC, Spain),
Dale Campbell and Alistair Rieu-Clarke (UNESCO Centre for Water Law, Policy and Science)
Abstract
Because the Tagus is subject to increasing pressures because of demands from urban
areas and agriculture, as well as climate change, the Tagus Segura water transfer and
natural impacts like the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), there is a need to further
develop monitoring and coordination mechanisms to govern the basin’s resources. Each
country has a basin plan in place, and a basin authority responsible for Tagus water
resources (in Portugal, the Tejo Hydrographic Region Administration, and in Spain, the
Tajo Basin Authority). Both countries have established basin plans for their respective
sections of the catchment, prepared in a collaborative and consensual way through the
Tejo Basin Council (Portugal) and the Tajo Council of Users (Spain). These bodies work
within the general national strategies prepared by their respective National Water
Councils.
Acknowledgments
The following stakeholders attended the STRIVER workshops and also gave valuable inputs to this brief:
Professor Alberto Garrido, Universidad Politecnica de Madrid Nuria Hernandez-Mora, New Water Culture Foundation Belén Ramos, Medio Ambiente en la Organización de Consumidores y Usuarios João Pedro Avillez, INAG Helder Careto, Geota Alexandra Brito, Conferación de Agricultores de Portugal (CAP) Dr. Francisco Nunes Godinho, Portuguese Water Council adjunct Miguel Gamboa, IST Ms. Maria João Correia, LPN (Nature Protection League)
Fact box
The Tagus River rises in east-central Spain, in the Sierra de Albarracin at an altitude of 1 590 meters, and flows through Portugal where it empties in the Atlantic Ocean near Lisbon. It is the longest river on the Iberian Peninsula. The river’s main tributaries are the: Jarama, Alberche, Tietar, Alagon, Guadelia, Almonte and Salor Rivers in Spain and the Erges, Ponsul, Zezere, and Sorraia Rivers in Portugal. Two European capitals with a total of 11 million people depend on the river for their water supply. It is navigable for about 160 km from its mouth, while dams harness its waters for irrigation and hydroelectric power, creating large artificial lakes. The lower and upper courses pass through deep gorges and are broken by waterfalls. There have been efforts to reforest the land surrounding the river. The Tagus estuary, which is one of the three most important ones in Europe, is of great international interest and is the most important wetland in Portugal. A part of the area is a nature reserve under national law and is also designated as a EU Special Protection Area for wild birds.
STRIVER POLICY BRIEF / ISSUE NO. 19 3
Major STRIVER Tagus issues and their
policy/management recommendations
The following issues and policy/management
recommendations are a result of research
activities undertaken under the STRIVER
project, and discussions with stakeholders
during three workshops and a number of field
trips (2006-2009). The list of issues does not
confess to be either all encompassing or fully
reflective of all stakeholder interests. However,
every effort has been made to bring in as
broader range of perspectives as possible.
Participants during discussions at the Second Tagus
Stakeholder Workshop in Lisbon, February 28, 2008
1. Water availability and allocation issues
In the Tagus there are competing water
uses among different sectors (farming,
industry, urban water supply) and amongst
regions (water transfer); sometimes
demand exceeds availability.
Increased urbanization, land use and
climate change heighten the potential for
conflict between water uses, particularly
during water shortage periods.
In Spain water saving upstream does not
necessarily affect water availability
downstream due to the Júcar and Segura
basin transfers.
In Spain, lack of water availability in
Madrid in the future is a real possibility, as
is future pressure on the resources in the
headwaters of the Tagus
In Spain, the Tagus-Segura water transfer
accounts for 10% of the total water use in
the Spanish part of the Tagus River Basin,
averaging 500 hm3/year. The Tagus-
Segura transfer therefore is a challenge in
achieving sustainable water allocation
within the basin.
Non-controlled water abstractions are
causing over-exploitation in some areas.
Water allocation is based mainly on long-
term average values and assumes normal
management conditions. Adaptation of the
existing water systems to the concrete
circumstances of each year is done
reactively rather than adopting an
anticipatory approach. Those systems may
therefore fail to accommodate drought
periods effectively. However, at the
bilateral level (State-State) there has been
a recent change in seasonal or weakly
allocation of water, from fixed annual
volume to seasonal flows.
The existing basin plans do not fully
account for the effects of climate and land
cover changes on water availability.
The maintenance and improvement of
hydrological monitoring systems are
fundamental conditions to ensure the
effectiveness of IWRM.
In view of the above findings:
All water consumptions must be measured
and not just estimated. The consumer
pays principle must be fairly implemented,
and should take into consideration the
social, environmental and economic
consequences. Water pricing should be
designed to promote efficient use of
water resources. Distortion due to intra-
sectoral competition between the two
countries should be prevented.
There needs to be more incentives for
water saving and reuse.
New regulations should include ‘hydric
efficiency’, similar to what has been done
with energy efficiency.
STRIVER POLICY BRIEF / ISSUE NO. 19 4
Future river basin plans must take into
account the effects of climate and land
cover changes.
In water allocation and planning
measures there is a need to consider
water quantity and quality together, given
that quality determines availability in
some rivers.
Sufficient resources must be put in place
for the maintenance and improvement of
the monitoring systems.
2. Water quality and ecological
status
There are still many problems threatening
water quality within the basin, such as
deficient water treatment, especially in
small towns; over-exploitation, which
increases the concentration of pollutants
and nutrients; and diffuse pollution
sources.
In Madrid and in the metropolitan Lisbon
area (including Lisbon, Barreiro, Almada,
Montijo), for example, lack of capacity to
treat all wastewater is a major challenge,
even to accomplish the goals of EC
Directives.
The lack of capacity to treat wastewater
also contributes to significant pollution of
the estuary.
Inflateable barrier at the Tagus River.
Photo by Geoffrey D. Gooch
The current water quality monitoring and
modelling system is still insufficient.
There are problems with the introduction
of alien invasive species.
In view of the above findings:
Illegal water extraction should be
prosecuted.
There is a need to increase investment in
wastewater treatment, and control
wastewater dumping, gravel excavations
and effluents from farms and irrigation
systems.
Water quality should be adapted to use
requirements, e.g., industrial use might
tolerate lower water quality than drinking
water.
More water quality control is required, with
greater funds and resources for
monitoring.
Ecological quality evaluation must be
implemented in order to verify if the good
status objectives of the EC Water
Framework Directive are to be met by
2015.
An ecological flow regime should be
implemented in order to achieve good
ecological status/potential.
The polluter pays principle must also be
implemented effectively and fairly. Lessons
could be learnt from air pollution regimes.
3. Stakeholder participation in
water management
Although a significant effort has been
made in the last few years to make all
technical data available to the public,
information about the decision-making
process is still deficient. Transparency in
decision-making can help ensure a
balanced use of water and reduce
negative social and environmental
impacts.
Capacity building is a pre-requisite to
public participation. Basic education on
water issues is still lacking.
Water resources management has been
considered during decades a
predominantly technical issue, so public
participation was not incorporated in the
past, although notable developments
have occurred in recent years through the
STRIVER POLICY BRIEF / ISSUE NO. 19 5
adoption of the Water Framework
Directive. However, the question of who
participates in what decisions and how,
remains a key challenge.
Active involvement and public
consultation in decision-making remains
largely an aspiration rather than an
effective tool by which to manage water
resources equitably and sustainably.
Stakeholders at the 3rd STRIVER Tagus
Stakeholder Workshop in Madrid in April 2009
In view of the above findings:
More effort is needed to facilitate and
promote stakeholder involvement in
decision-making.
Management at local levels needs to be
coordinated effectively to fully account for
public trust.
Water users should be provided with more
education campaigns focused on
promoting best practices. At the same
time, education and information tools
should be made available (e.g., teaching
materials, ‘water footprint calculator’, etc.
Real time information on the quality of
drinking water could be implemented in
order to make people conscious of water
quality and motivate public trust.
4. Legal and institutional aspects
Major efforts have been made to put a
legal framework in place that facilitates
good water governance and IWRM -
although notable challenges remain.
There is ineffective law enforcement.
Overlapping competences between
different authorities, as well as a lack of
dialogue and coordination of policies can
lead to inefficiency and inequity since
weak institutions can result in the
allocation of water being determined
largely on the basis of power.
In Spain, different interests are
represented by the Ministry of the
Environment and Rural and Marine Affairs.
In Portugal, intra-sectoral coordination is
needed between the different ministries
directly or indirectly involved.
The interstate Albufeira Convention does
not sufficiently account for water quality
issues, or management of extreme events.
Intra-river basin management and
coordination between Spain and Portugal
is at an embryonic stage.
In view of the above findings:
There is a need for stronger support to
monitor implementation of laws relating
to access to information, participation and
IWRM. Water basin authorities should
have the necessary resources to monitor
and enforce regulations.
Capacity building, stronger institutional
coordination and awareness raising is also
needed.
Long term policies independent of
government shifts are needed.
Policy-makers need to consider the long-
term ecosystem impacts and the impact
on flows in Portugal of water transfers to
the southeast of Spain.
Co-ordination of the Spanish and
Portuguese Tagus river basin authorities
should be promoted further, and
transparency to the public improved.
Supranational coordination, considering
the entire Tagus Basin, should be
enforced in the elaboration of each of the
new River Basin Management Plans. The
production of a final joint document is
desirable. The Albufeira Convention’s
provisions relating to water quality and
the co-coordinated management of
extreme events should be strengthened.
STRIVER POLICY BRIEF / ISSUE NO. 19 6
The STRIVER Policy and Technical Brief series translate the results from projects into practical and useful information for policy makers and water managers. The Briefs are also available online: www.striver.no About STRIVER STRIVER- Strategy and methodology for improved IWRM - An integrated interdisciplinary assessment in four twinning river basins is a three year EC funded project 2006-2009 under the 6th framework programme (FP6) coordinated jointly by Bioforsk and NIVA. The point of departure for STRIVER is the lack of clear methodologies and problems in operationalisation of Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) as pointed out by both the scientific and management communities.13 partners from 9 countries participate as contractual partners in addition to an external advisory board. Title of project: Strategy and methodology for improved IWRM - An integrated interdisciplinary assessment in four twinning river basins (STRIVER) Instrument: SUSTDEV-2005-3.II.3.6: Twinning European/third countries river basins. Contract number: 037141 Start date of project: July 2006 Duration: 36 months Project funded by the European Commission within the Sixth Framework Programme (2002-2006) Disclaimer The information provided and the opinions given in this publication are not necessarily those of the authors or the EC. The authors and publisher assume no liability for any loss resulting from the use of this report. Front-cover photo: Tagus River in Portugal. (Photo by Geoffrey D. Gooch) Editor: Per Stålnacke (Bioforsk) Launch-date: 30 June, 2009
STRIVER POLICY BRIEF Strategy and methodology for improved IWRM
- An integrated interdisciplinary assessment in four twinning river basins
PB No. 14
A comparative assessment of IWRM principles in
Tagus River basin (Spain and Portugal)
Results from a comparative assessment on the IWRM principles and
practices in the Portuguese and Spanish sub basins of Tagus River are
systematized. Important similarities and differences between the two
sub basins are identified as well as some critical issues subject to
improvement.
The STRIVER Brief series translate the results from the EC FP6-funded STRIVER project into
practical and useful information for policy makers and water managers
STRIVER POLICY BRIEF / ISSUE NO. 14 2
A comparative assessment of the IWRM principles and
practices in Tagus River basin (Spain and Portugal)
António Betâmio de Almeida, CEHIDRO/IST, Portugal
Maria Manuela Portela, CEHIDRO/IST, Portugal
Marta Machado, CEHIDRO/IST, Portugal
Santiago Beguería, IPE-CSIC, Spain
Sergio Vicente-Serrano, IPE-CSIC, Spain
José María García-Ruiz, IPE-CSIC, Spain
Noemi Lana-Renault, IPE-CSIC, Spain
Nacho Lopéz-Moreno, IPE-CSIC, Spain
Abstract
The Tagus River basin is shared between Portugal and Spain. In both parts of the basin
there are reference management plans that were elaborated under the inspiration of the
basic IWRM principles and implemented during the last decade.
Within the STRIVER project a comparative assessment of the IWRM principles and
practices in the Portuguese and Spanish sub basins was conducted. The comparison
focused on the following five main issues, identified as being particularly relevant for a
sustainable development: a) the environmental aspect; b) the efficient use of water; c)
the institutional dimension; d) the capacity building; and e) the transboundary issues.
This Policy Brief summarises some of the conclusions thus achieved. Important
similarities and differences between the two sub basins are identified as well as some
critical points that should be improved. This assessment can provide a contribution for
future recommendations, regarding the new generation of management plans that are
being prepared in both countries according to the European Water Framework Directive.
Fact box 1
Introduction
This technical brief resumes the results
achieved in [1], providing an assessment of the
extent to which IWRM principles have been
followed in Tagus basin in recent years. For this
purpose a comparative analysis, or „twinning‟
approach, followed by a synthesis of results,
addressing specific constraints, is presented.
This exercise facilitates the identification of
weaknesses and strengths of IWRM
performance in the two parts of the Tagus
basin: the Spanish and the Portuguese ones.
Three planning documents were utilized as
example of the implementation of IWRM: the
Portuguese River Basin and National Water
Plans and the Spanish Hydrological Plan.
The comparative assessment focuses on five
components of IWRM, particularly relevant with
regard to the overall goal of a sustainable
development, namely: a) the environmental
aspect; b) the efficient use of water; c) the
institutional dimension; d) the capacity
building; and e) the transboundary aspects.
Protection of the catchment and
the environment
To compare how the protection of the water
resources and of the environment is
accomplished in the Portuguese and Spanish
parts of the basin four main sequential topics
were considered: a) water pressures and
impacts; b) environmental strategies and plans;
c) implementation of relevant management
instruments; and d) management and
integration of the different environmental
aspects.
a) Water pressures and impacts
The agriculture, industry and hydropower
production, and, in general, the socio-economic
development, are the “driving forces” in Tagus
basin, although the relevance of each sector
varies according to the local constraints.
In Spain and Portugal, water abstraction for
irrigation, urban supply and industrial polluted
rejections impact the water quantity,
sometimes compromising the terrestrial and
aquatic ecosystems. In both countries the
potential water stresses are related principally
to water availability for the different sectors,
especially because of the contrasting interests
between agriculture and urban water supplies.
In Spain a water transfer canal system from
Tagus basin to Segura basin was implemented
in 1978 with a yearly volume of transferred
water not exceeding 600 hm3. In a second
phase the water transfer can reach 1000 hm3.
Almost all of this volume of water is lost in the
Mediterranean Sea diminishing the total
availability in the Tagus basin.
b) Environmental strategies and plans
In order to protect the water resources and to
cope with the different sources of pressures,
specific water resources plans or policies were
developed. The two main planning documents
in the Tagus basin are the Portuguese and the
Spanish hydrological river basin plans. Both
plans enhance sustainable development and
environment protection and include
socio-economic aspects.
The main objectives of the Spanish plan are to
ensure present and future water demand; to
implement efficient water management; to
protect water resources and the environment;
to ensure water quality; to protect from
hydrological extreme events and to protect
cultural and recreation uses. In Portugal, the
plan provides a similar general framing as well
as the strategies and the programmatic targets
for the future planning activities.
In Spain, some new initiatives were recently
put in place to protect the environment, such
as the National Strategy for River Restoration;
the National Plan of Water Quality: Water
Treatment 2007-2015; the Action Plan for
Sewage; the Plan of Priority Actions for
Hydrological and Forestry Restoration; and the
Nature Net 2000 for the protection of natural
sites according to the Nature 2000 Directive.
The latter applies in Portugal as well. In this
country the implementation of the European
Water Framework Directive (WFD) resulted in a
New Water Law (58/2005). This law will lead to
STRIVER POLICY BRIEF / ISSUE NO. 14
4
a new generation of river basin plans whose
studies are about to begin. In Spain the AGUA
Programme (Actions for the Management and
Use of Water) will lead to the preparation of
the New Hydrological Plan for the Tagus basin.
c) Implementation of relevant
management instruments
Some of the management related issues
considered in the Portuguese and Spanish plans
dealt with water resource assessment;
monitoring; controls, standards and guidelines;
risk assessment and management;
environmental impact assessment; and
communication and access to environmental
information.
Regarding the water resources assessment,
both plans have evaluated the surface and
groundwater resources of the Tagus River
basin. For example, Portugal has performed an
assessment based on 50 years of data (from
1940 to 1990) and has estimated the water
consumption by sector, identifying the
withdrawals from surface and groundwater
sources.
Controls, standards and guidelines, as for
example the quality standards for drinking
water, are present in the two parts of the basin
and are enforced by national regulations. Both
countries apply the Waste Water Directive.
Systematic monitoring activities are taking
place on the Tagus basin.
Flood risk is included in the water and land
management. Flood mapping systems were
developed for the basins as measures to
manage the flood risk.
d) Management and integration of the
different environmental aspects
The following aspects were analyzed (Table1):
natural ecosystems and biodiversity; soil,
water, air, climate and landscape and
Integration of the different environmental
aspects.
The levels of protection for riparian zones and
associated ecosystems range from corrective
relation - such as the case of Portugal, where
all the fluvial corridors (50 m from the backline)
are considered protected areas - to the
protection of relevant water related
ecosystems, such as the Laguna de Los Llanos
de Peñalara in Spain. In Tagus basin there are
several natural parks and protected areas to
preserve the ecosystem habitat and
biodiversity.
Table 1 - Qualitative assessment of the level of integration in different environmental aspects in Tagus river Basin
Level of integration in: Tagus (ES)
Tagus (PT)
Freshwater management and coastal zone management
Medium Medium
Land and water management Medium Medium
Green water (for biomass production) and blue waters (water flowing in rivers and aquifers)
Medium ---
Surface and groundwater management
High Medium
Quantity and quality in water resources management
Medium Medium
Upstream and downstream water related interests
Low Medium
Measures to ensure efficient and
equitable use of water
Several initiatives were undertaken to improve
the efficient use of water and to spread the
perception of water as having social and
economic value. Some of the most important
initiatives are the polluter/user–pay approach
(in the Portuguese side) and a set of incentives
for new water-saving technologies and efficient
transport and for replacement of water
intensive crops and cultivars (in the Spanish
side).
For monitoring and for recording and control of
all the water uses, a metering system is already
in place, as a consequence also of the adoption
of policy in which water payment is based on
the utilized volumes and not on a flat basis.
In general, water is recognized as an economic
and social good. The perception of the social
relevance of the water resource leads to the
adoption of strategies to preserve the
environmental value of the rivers, as opposed
to the economic value that is well understood.
STRIVER POLICY BRIEF / ISSUE NO. 14
5
The price of water in both countries is based on
real costs and gained benefit. In the
Portuguese part, everyone pays with the
exception the minor users and abstractors,
while in the Spanish part there is a political
price to help farmers. Local political priorities
are implemented in terms of different price
levels imposed to certain user categories or
according to the average welfare level of the
concerned society. Policies give irrigation a
special consideration, since required fees are
more or less “political” fees to sustain the
agricultural sector.
Institutional analysis and
stakeholder involvement in water
management
This issue comprehends three aspects:
a) institutions and water law; b) institutional
structure; and c) stakeholder involvement.
Effective and equitable governance is crucial for
the implementation of IWRM plans. Stakeholder
participation is also very important. Citizens
and communities know the environment in
which they live and by sharing information
decision makers can both be better informed,
and take account of differing interests and
perspectives. Active stakeholder involvement is
fundamental to provide feedback in the basin
management.
a) Institutions and water law
The European Water Framework Directive
(WFD) demands that river basin districts are
established. Spain and Portugal are therefore
bound to set up an administrative system for
water management based on hydrological basin
boundaries.
The present systems in Spain and Portugal are
in many ways similar. Each has a basin plan in
place, with each having a separate basin
authority responsible for the management of
the water resources in the basin (in Portugal,
the Tejo Hydrographic Region Administration,
and in Spain, the Tagus Basin Authority). In
both basins, the plans were prepared in a
collaborative and consensual way through the
Tejo Basin Council (Portugal) and the Tagus
Council of Users (Spain). These bodies provide
the participation of the basin stakeholderes and
work within the general national strategies
prepared by their respective National Water
Councils (again with the stakeholder
participation, but representative of national as
opposed to basin interests). In Portugal, the
national Water Institute is responsible for the
implementation of the different basin plans,
with the basin authority taking this function in
Spain. At the national level in Spain, water
resources management is controlled by the
Water Authority, which works under the
auspices of the Ministry of the Environment,
and the Rural and Maritime Environment. The
Water Institute in Portugal by which is
responsible the Ministry for Environment,
Spatial Planning and Regional Development
serves a similar function at the ministerial level.
In both countries, there is no specific
coordinating body.
However, the constitution of the National Water
Councils in both countries goes some way to
alleviating this potential difficulty – both are
made up of representatives from all relevant
ministries, sectoral users, NGOs, regional
authorities and technical bodies.
Finally at the supra-national level, both
countries have obligations with respect to water
policy and information provision under the
Albufeira Convention, which has established the
Water availability (Million m3)
Portugal 6 400 (34,4%)
Spain 12 230 (65,6%)
Total 18 630
Water availability (Million m3)
Portugal 6 400 (34,4%)
Spain 12 230 (65,6%)
Total 18 630
Water uses (Million m3)
Portugal 2 647 (41.3%)
Spain 3 447 (28.2%)
Total 6 084 (32.7%)
Water uses (Million m3)
Portugal 2 647 (41.3%)
Spain 3 447 (28.2%)
Total 6 084 (32.7%)
Fact box 2
STRIVER POLICY BRIEF / ISSUE NO. 14
6
Conference of the Parts to coordinate
transboundary cooperation over the river, this
organization being quite effective.
Allocation networks
In the Tagus basin, Spain‟s Water Law
demands that a particular hierarchy of uses be
respected in the context of a drought – supply
to population; agricultural uses; electricity
generation; industrial uses; aquiculture;
recreational uses; navigation and aquatic
transport; and other uses. Interestingly,
environmental requirements are not covered in
this prioritization list. In Portugal the priorities
for water use, which apply in periods of
scarcity, are water distribution to the public,
followed by agricultural and industrial uses.
b) Institutional Structure
The following organograms give an outline of
the institutional structure in place for water
management in the Tagus River basin for the
Portuguese and Spanish parts.
Figure 1 – Spanish (top) and Portuguese (bottom)
institutional structure organograms.
c) Stakeholder involvement
Both countries have achieved different levels of
public participation in the water management
process and have ratified three UNECE
conventions which have provisions for access to
information and public participation:
• Convention on Environmental Impact
Assessment in a Transboundary Context,
1991 (Espoo, Convention).
• Convention on the Protection and Use of
Transboundary Watercourses and
International Lakes, 1992.
• Convention on Access to Information,
Public Participation in Decision-making and
Access to Justice in Environmental Matters
(Aarhus Convention)
The Albufeira Convention about the cooperation
for the protection and sustainable use of the
waters of Portuguese-Spanish basins and the
additional protocol of the Convention states
that all information related to the Convention
must be available. The WFD also foresees the
access to information and public participation.
Despite these issues, the stakeholder and
public participation have been relatively limited
in terms of decision-making process.
Access to information: Portugal
The Tagus River Basin plan was presented to
public discussion from November 2000 until
January 2001. All the studies were made
available in meetings and in official websites (of
the Water Institute). Stakeholders‟ fora, where
key sectors were represented and where
strategic decisions were discussed, were
promoted via the National Water Council and
the Tagus Basin Council. After the public
discussion period, the Water National Council
issued a favourable opinion about the plan.
Access to decision-making: Portugal
During the elaboration of the Tagus River Basin
Plan, the law in force imposed a framework for
integrated water resources management, also
ensuring public participation in the decision of
the basin process.
According to the Regulatory Decree, that
approved Tagus River Basin Plan, the
STRIVER POLICY BRIEF / ISSUE NO. 14
7
elaboration of such plan was closely followed
by the Water National Council and by the Tagus
Basin Council, the latter acting as a mechanism
for water resources management at a regional
level where all the state agencies related to
water utilization, as well as all the water users
were represented. Despite all the legal
dispositions concerning stakeholders and public
involvement, it should be noted that the public
sessions related to the plan mainly had
participants from those sectors such as
agriculture and industry with a strong interest
in the outcomes of any decisions. The general
public was not usually aware of the importance
of involvement in questions related to water
use and conservation. No financial support was
provided to ensure the participation of the
stakeholders in the meetings.
Access to Information: Spain
The WFD and the AGUA Programme require the
elaboration of a new Hydrological Plan for the
Tagus basin. The elaboration of such plan
involves a greater participation of the regions
and also more public participation. In April
2008, some meetings were held in separate
groups, including: water managers, social
network, private companies/industry, end users
and institutions.
Participants are continuously informed about
each step of the process, relevant activities,
etc. For instance, several documents related to
the initial steps of the planning process were
uploaded with free access in a web page. The
AGUA Programme also promotes public/social
participation in the elaboration of hydrological
plans.
Access to decision-making: Spain
The conception of the new plan should avoid
unbalanced situations as discrepancies in
allocation are perceived among stakeholders in
terms of water scarcity and the balance
between urban and irrigation consumption as
well as problems like inefficiency of irrigation
systems which leads to overestimating water
availability. In Spain for the elaboration of the
new Hydrological Plan, local end users, local
environmental organizations and independent
water experts will form the planning body.
Traditionally, the agricultural sector and,
especially, irrigation communities had a very
important role in the social structure and
organisation of local communities. The
Hydrological Plan of The Tagus Basin respects
the historical rights that are still preserved in
some private irrigation systems. All the new
water utilizations require permission/
/concessions licences.
Capacity building
Capacity building is the process of development
and strengthening of the abilities of people,
institutions and societies to perform functions,
solve problems, and set and achieve objectives.
Effective IWRM requires an enabling
environment and conscious and competent
actors. Capacity building can take place at
different levels that go from central and
regional political institutions and departments,
to NGO's and civil society, farmers, fishermen,
small businesses etc.
In Tagus basin, the type of capacity building
that is mostly to be found is the kind of
information provided by environmental NGO‟s
and aimed at increasing knowledge of
environmental problems. There is also to a
certain extent information provided by the
Spanish and Portuguese water authorities
aiming at decreasing the negative impacts of
excessive and often unnecessary use of water
in agriculture (e.g. for irrigating olive groves) or
even for personal hygiene or teaching the
young people the main concepts related with
the water cycle and with water resources
preservation. Figure 2 illustrates the main web
page of the Portuguese Water Institute in
September 2008, showing the link to the web
site designed for the young people (INAG
Jovem). Special information regarding the
ongoing public inquiries (Aviso – Discussão
Pública) or droughts (Secas) and the protection
of the coastal areas (Arribas) was also
provided.
In the Spanish part of the basin, the water
management is highly centralized in the Tagus
Water Confederation (TWC). Apart from this
confederation, the regional (Community of
Madrid, Community of Castilla La Mancha,
STRIVER POLICY BRIEF / ISSUE NO. 14
8
Community of Extremadura) and local
(municipal) authorities have competences
attributed in water management. The water
management is highly specific and centralized,
and there is little public involvement, despite
the effort made in the last years to promote
transparency and public participation.
Figure 2 - Examples of capacity building improvement in
the main web page of the Portuguese Water Institute in
September 2008 (www.inag.pt).
Apart from what is mentioned in the plan, there
are a number of initiatives leaded by the TWC,
the public administration and other
organizations (including NGO‟s, farming
organizations, etc.) devoted to capacity
building. These campaigns focus mostly on
good water use practices, and they are aimed
at the families, farmers, etc. Some examples
are campaigns promoting a rational use of
water such as those by the foundation
agua-dulce.org, or the campaign for a
responsible consume (including water) by the
TWC.
In Portugal, the public entities with competency
in all issues related with water resources are
the Water Institute (INAG), at the national
level, and the Hydrographic Region
Administrations (HRA) at the regional level.
Those who work in the different agencies need
to have a background compatible with the
activities they develop which ensures the
required capacity building. Besides that there
are also other organizations and groups that
contribute to capacity building, such as farmers
or fishermen organizations or NGOs, such as
the LPN (Nature Protection Association) and the
Quercus (National Association for the Nature
Conservation).
Also, whenever special situations occur, as
during the drought of 2005, warnings are
spread (through the media) “teaching” the
public how to preserve water or energy. Also,
the SNIRH website from the Water Institute
always has campaigns providing relevant
information regarding the water resources. It
has also a HydroLibrary where a large number
of articles, books and specific publication are
always available. Equivalent information though
more focused in the environmental questions is
also provided in the webpage of the Portuguese
Environment Agency. Nowadays there is a joint
program – between the Education Ministry and
the Environment, Spatial Planning and Regional
Development Ministry (Eco-School Program)
which acts at the levels of the under graduated
schools and high schools providing information
related with all the environmental areas,
including the water resources. Also the so
called Eco-Centers aiming at spreading
information related with the environment are
being created, either by the Portuguese
Environment Agency or by the local
Municipalities.
Transboundary issues
In 1998 an “Agreement on the cooperation for
the protection and the sustainable use of
Spanish and Portuguese transboundary basins”,
also known as the Albufeira Convention was
signed by Portugal and Spain.
It came into force in 2000. In the Tagus basin
(as in the other four transboundary basins
between Spain and Portugal), important actor
in transboundary water management is the
Conference of the Parts which includes
representatives of the Spanish and Portuguese
Governments. A number of governmental and
departmental working groups also exist.
Concerning information exchange, there is an
„Information Exchange Work Group‟, and
agreements stipulate the type of data that has
to be exchanged in order to monitor water
management in transboundary basins.
STRIVER POLICY BRIEF / ISSUE NO. 14
9
Conclusions This comparative assessment, according to the
five selected IWRM themes, has revealed some
similarities and differences between the
Portuguese and the Spanish Tagus River sub
basins. There is some similarity regarding the
economic development with socio-economic
pressures linked to agriculture, industry and/or
hydropower production. Economic growth often
comes at the expense of the environment, and
sometimes also of social equity - creating
grounds for conflicts between water users. An
effective institutional framework, guidelines and
policies are needed to ensure that mitigation
measures are devised, to sustain both natural
resources and important human and cultural
values.
Water quantity is a common problem for the
Tagus basin. Scarcity of water is related to
conflicts over the allocation of water – both
between sectors and between urban and rural
areas. Urban versus rural consumption of water
is a big issue, especially in relation to the major
cities of Madrid and Lisbon.
In the Spanish part of the Tagus basin, waste
water treatment from small towns and from
Madrid is insufficient, causing problems for
agricultural crops which depend on water
quality. Runoff from agriculture and leaks from
old power stations are other important sources
of pollution in this area. It seems that in the
Portuguese part of the Tagus river water
pollution is not a major source of problem. All
the basin reports refer to water standards and
monitoring programs, but monitoring is said to
be insufficient in most basins.
Another aspect of “environmental protection‟ is
the existence of protected areas. The Tagus
basin has natural parks and protected areas to
preserve the ecosystem habitat and
biodiversity. However, if these areas represent
only a small fraction of the river basin, and
elsewhere the resources are managed in a
non-sustainable way, such areas may not be
sufficient.
From the technical point of view, both Portugal
and Spain have developed plans or policy
actions to protect most of the environmental
aspects. However, it is difficult to assess the
status of implementation and the effectiveness
of such measures.
Both countries apply the user-payer approach
based on costs and benefits, and Spain has
incentives for the adoption of new water saving
technologies and efficient transport, and of non
water-intensive crops and cultivars.
Protected AreasNatura 2000 sites (Directive 92/409/CEE)Special Protection Area (Directive 79/409/CEE)
Tejo Watershed Figure 3 - Protected areas in the Portuguese Tagus River
basin.
Transparency in the decision making process
can help to ensure a balanced use of water and
to reduce negative impacts on society and
environment. In the Tagus basin, public
participation in decision making has been
relatively limited, however the river basin plans
that are required under the WFD will open up
the decision making process more.
Capacity building may be important to achieve
effective public participation and is included in
many water policies and strategies of Tagus
basin.
STRIVER POLICY BRIEF / ISSUE NO. 14
10
Fact box 3
During 2008, a focus group experience was conducted in the Tagus Basin in which different groups of stakeholders
were asked to discuss about some topics relevant for IWRM. The minutes of these series of workshops reflect the
opinion of the stakeholders about the implementation of IWRM in the Tagus Basin. Following are the main conclusions
drawn from the meetings held in Madrid. (Key: A: administration; F: farmers; E: ecologists; I: industry; X: fishermen
associations.)
Water availability. Water availability in the basin is threatened mostly by the Tajo-Segura water transfer (AFEXI),
and in second place by urban growth (FE). There is a problem of water scarcity and uncertainty for agriculture, and
there is not enough regulation (F).
Water allocation / equity issues. The Tajo-Segura water transfer is a major equity issue for the basin, and it is
solved politically (AFEXI). There is a discrimination of small companies and individual users in favor of large companies
(EI). Water concessions are seen as a property, and not a temporal concession (X).
Water quality. The water quality is low in the middle and lower parts of the basin (AFEXI) due to deficient water
treatment in small towns (AFEXI), illegal waste water dumping from the industry (AEXI), illegal gravel extraction (E)
and intensive farming (E). Law is not strong enough against pollutants (A). There is not enough control of water quality
(AEX), due to not enough funds and resources for monitoring (A).
Ecological flow, environmental impact. The minimum ecological flow is not respected in many cases (EXI), and
there is a lack of a well established methodology for determining the ecological flow (AXI). Besides, ecological flow
regulation is not imposed to old dealerships (A). There is not enough protection of the riparian environment (AF).
Water cost, new technology and efficiency. There is fear that increasing the water costs to meet the market prize
will be very negative for the agriculture (F). Modernizing the irrigation systems is expensive, more than water is, so
there should be public subsidies to promote modernizing and water saving (F).
Administration. There is a problem of mixed competences and lack of coordination between the water
administrations (AFEXI). Besides, there are territorial and political conflicts between regional administrations (AEI).
Law enforcement. In general, there is not enough enforcement of the water and environmental laws (AEXI).
EU Water Frame Directive. There are difficulties in adapting to the EU Water Frame Directive in time (A).
Information and participation. Although an effort has been made to make all hydrological data public on the web
(A), it is very difficult to get information beyond the technical data, so the decision-making process is not completely
transparent (FEXI). Public participation is still very restricted (FEXI), and many times the opinion of the users or the
request for information is ignored by the administration (EXI). Public participation is not an important issue even for
some people from the administration (A). There are doubts about the success or even the convenience of public
participation in IWRM due to sectorial and territorial conflicts, so there is a risk to convert the process of IWRM in a
political fight (AE). However, the situation is improving and a draft version of the new basin management plan will be
released and discussed with the public in 2009 (A), and meetings with the stakeholders are also planned (A).
IWRM. IWRM is currently not implemented in the catchment due to a lack of transparency and public participation
(FEXI). Water resources management is seen as a mere technical issue, and most managers are engineers (I).
Capacity building. There is a need to improve the education of the society with respect to IWRM (FEXI).
STRIVER POLICY BRIEF / ISSUE NO. 14
11
The first impression from the institutional
analysis and stakeholder participation is that
the implementation of IWRM still has a long
way to go. Strategies and basin plans are
generally available or under preparation.
Institutional coordination is problematic,
exacerbated by the multitude of bodies
involved, patchy definition of roles and
functions and no doubt a lack of financial
capacity.
There is a need for the improvement of the
stakeholders participation in the river basin
management in order to allow the stakeholders
to interact on a regular basis before conflicts
may escalate and also allow stakeholders
access to information which will improve their
capacity to implement IWRM. Such
organizations can help to prevent conflicts
between upstream and downstream users and
to provide a communications platform to help
fulfill legal requirements for stakeholder access
to information and decision-making in river
basin management.
Regarding the transboundary, regulated by the
Albufeira convention, problems may occur
related with drought and low flow
management.
References
This STRIVER Policy Brief is based on the
following research reports and scientific
literature:
Nesheim, I., McNeill, D., Stålnacke, P., Sekhar, N. U., Grizzetti B., Allen, A. A., Barton D., Beguería-Portugés S., Berge D., Bouraoui F., Campbell D., Deelstra, J., García-Ruiz, J.M., Gooch G. D., Joy K., Lana-Renault, N., Machado M., Manasi S., Nhung D. K., Paranjape S., Portela M. M., Rieu-Clarke A., Saravanan V. S., Thaulow, H., Vicente-Serrano, S.,71 P. 2008. The first IWRM assessment report for the four case basins: Glomma, Tagus, Sesan and Tungabhadra. STRIVER Report D5.1.
STRIVER POLICY BRIEF / ISSUE NO. 14
12
The STRIVER Policy and Technical Brief series translate the results from the project into practical and useful information for policy makers and water managers. The Briefs are also available online: www.striver.no About STRIVER STRIVER- Strategy and methodology for improved IWRM - An integrated interdisciplinary assessment in four twinning river basins is a three year EC funded project 2006-2009 under the 6th framework programme (FP6) coordinated jointly by Bioforsk and NIVA. The point of departure for STRIVER is the lack of clear methodologies and problems in operationalisation of Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) as pointed out by both the scientific and management communities.13 partners from 9 countries participate as contractual partners in addition to an external advisory board. Title of project: Strategy and methodology for improved IWRM - An integrated interdisciplinary assessment in four twinning river basins (STRIVER) Instrument: SUSTDEV-2005-3.II.3.6: Twinning European/third countries river basins. Contract number: 037141 Start date of project: July 2006 Duration: 36 months Project funded by the European Commission within the Sixth Framework Programme (2002-2006) Disclaimer The information provided and the opinions given in this publication are not necessarily those of the authors or the EC. The authors and publisher assume no liability for any loss resulting from the use of this report. Editors: Per Stålnacke and Johannes Deelstra (Bioforsk) Launch date: 17 April 2009
STRIVER TECHNICAL BRIEF Strategy and methodology for improved IWRM
- An integrated interdisciplinary assessment in four twinning river basins
TB No. 9
A case of transboundary water agreement
- the Albufeira Convention
The Albufeira Convention (1998) regulates the transboundary waters in the shared basins between Spain and Portugal.
This brief gives insights into this convention and the historical development of bilateral cooperation between Spain and Portugal around water management, natural resource and integrated basin management.
The STRIVER Brief series translate the results from the EC FP6-funded STRIVER project into
practical and useful information for policy makers and water managers
Tagus River near the Portuguese-Spanish border
STRIVER TECHNICAL BRIEF / ISSUE NO. 9 2
A case of transboundary water agreement - the
Albufeira Convention
António Betâmio de Almeida, IST, Portugal
Maria Manuela Portela, IST, Portugal
Marta Machado, IST, Portugal
Abstract
The “relations between Portugal and Spain from the perspective of river basin
management date back to the 19th century and the signing, in 1864, of the Treaty of
Limits, which stipulates that boundary-spanning resources should be used for mutual
benefit and without harm to the interests of the other party. Between 1864 and 1968, a
further four international instruments were signed whose main aim was to promote the
production of hydroelectric power. However, it was only from 1994 onwards that
significant steps were taken to progress bilateral cooperation in the field of
transboundary river basin management.
At that time, negotiations were started on the Convention on Cooperation for the
Protection and Sustainable Use of Waters in Portuguese-Spanish River Basins (Albufeira
Convention), which culminated in the signing of the Convention in 1998 and its entry into
force in 2000. The Albufeira Convention is notable for extending the scope and reach of
Portuguese-Spanish relations in matters relating to waters, not only broadening the
geographical scope to include all areas within the river basins, but also introducing
innovative substantive issues” [3].
Fact box
The Albufeira Convention (1998) includes the Tagus, Minho, Lima, Duero/Douro, and
Guadiana Rivers, that all flow to from Spain to Portugal. The Convention cover themes
such as bilateral information exchange, information to the public, assessment and
dialogue on transboundary impacts, pollution control and prevention, water uses,
droughts and resource scarcity, assignment of rights, dispute resolution, etc. The
Convention follows very closely the recommended rules of international water law,
particularly the 1997 New York Convention (ILC Draft Articles) and the International
Court of Justice dispositions.
Source: Costa, L., Vergés, J.C., Arraqué, B. Shaping new Lusco Spanish Convention.
http://www.ualg.pt/5cigpa/comunicacoes/Shaping%20a%20new%20Luso%20Spanish%20Convention%20%2
0(15.10.2006).doc.
STRIVER TECHNICAL BRIEF / ISSUE NO. 9 3
The physical and historical context
Portugal shares with Spain five river basins
(Figure 1), the areas of which represent 40%
of the total area of the Iberia Peninsula, 42%
of the area of Mainland Spain and 64% the
area of Mainland Portugal. It should be
stressed that most of the border between the
two countries (68%) coincides with river
stretches. Table 1 shows the distribution
between Portugal and Spain of the areas of
the shared basins. The bulk of those areas
(78%) is located in Spain, being mostly in an
upstream position.
Figure 1: Portuguese- Spanish river basins
Table 1: River basins shared between Portugal and
Spain
Spain Portugal Total Spain Portugal
Miño/Minho 16230 850 17080 95 5
Limia/Lima 1300 1180 2480 52 48
Duero/Douro 79000 18600 97600 81 19
Tajo/Tejo 55800 24800 80600 69 31
Guadiana 55300 11500 66800 83 17
Total 207630 56930 264560 78 22
River (Castilian/
/Portuguese)
Basin area
In km2 In percentage
Source: INAG (2001), Portuguese National Water Plan.
The specific reservoir capacity (that is, the
capacity of the existing reservoirs expressed in
hm3 per km2) is, in general, higher in Spain
than in Portugal (Table 2). Taking into account
that almost 40% of the Portuguese water
resources flows from Spain, it is easy to
understand the relevance, namely for the
downstream country, of the shared basins and
of the transboundary rivers. The highly
pronounced spatial and temporal irregularity of
the Portuguese hydrologic regime makes even
more important to its water budget the
contribution of the water flowing from Spain.
Table 2: Reservoir capacity in the shared river
basins
hm3
hm3/km
2hm
3hm
3/km
2
Miño/Minho 2880 0.18 0.2 0
Limia/Lima 170 0.13 400 0.34
Duero/Douro 1670 0.1 1080 0.06
Tajo/Tejo 11140 0.2 2750 0.11
Guadiana 9220 0.17 460* 0.04
Total 31080 0.15 4690 0.08
River (Castilian/
/Portuguese)
Reservoir capacity
Spain Portugal
*Before the construction of Alqueva dam in the
Portuguese stretch of Guadiana River. The Alqueva
reservoir is the largest artificial reservoir in Europe, having
a net capacity of 3,150hm3.
Source: INAG (2001), Portuguese National Water Plan.
The institutional agreement between Portugal
and Spain in what concerns water resources
management began in the 19th century and
since then several conventions or treaties were
signed:
Treaty on Limits (1864);
Rules for the Uses of International
Stretches of Rivers (1866);
Convention on Limits (1926);
Convention for the Use of the
International Stretch of River Douro and
its Tributaries (1927);
Convention for the Use of the
International Stretches of Rivers Minho,
Lima, Tejo, Guadiana and Chança and its
tributaries (1968)
Most of the previous agreements aimed at
ensuring a convenient exploitation of the
hydropower resources along the international
stretches of the shared rivers.
Albufeira Convention
Between 1993 and 1998 a new framing for the
transboundary waters was negotiated leading
STRIVER TECHNICAL BRIEF / ISSUE NO. 9 4
to a new water resources Portuguese/Spanish
convention that was signed in the town of
Albufeira (Algarve) in 1998: the so called
Albufeira Convention which came into effect in
January 2000.
This new convention followed very closely the
recommendations of the 1997 New York
Convention and was influenced by the
principles included in the main international
treaties related to transboundary waters (e.g.
Espoo and Helsinki conventions) as well as by
the philosophy of the EU Water Framework
Directive, WFD1 in what concerns, among
other topics, the need for harmonized
1 Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of
the Council – Establishing a framework for Community
Action in the field of Water Policy.
objectives for waters and aquatic ecosystems,
coordination of measures, river basin plans
and management authorities, public
participation and exchange of information.
The 1998 Albufeira Convention has a
Preamble, 35 Articles, two Annexes and an
additional protocol: the interim river flow
regimes (see Fact box).
Some main issues of this Convention are:
Information exchange related with the
status of the water, the water uses and
the water infrastructures.
Evaluation of the transboundary impacts.
Albufeira Convention (1998) – Structure and main topics Fact box
Preamble and 35 Articles. – water uses
Annex I: Information exchange – river flows
Annex II: Transboundary impacts
– accidental pollution incidents
– floods
Part I: General clauses (Arts. 1 to 4): – droughts and water scarcity
– definitions, scope and objectives and co-
operation forms
Part II: Co-operation (Arts. 5 to 12):–
– exchange of information
– information to the public Part VI: Final Clauses (Arts. 24 to 35):
– transboundary impact assessment – affected rights
– mechanisms for co-operation – mechanisms for consultation
– communication systems – conflict resolution
– mechanisms for emergency and alert situations – force of the existing Conventions on rivers
– safety of infra-structures– extinction of the existing International Rivers -
Commission
– force of the Convention
– water quality – denouncement of the Convention
– pollution prevention and control – entry into force of the Convention
co-operation bodies: Conf. of Parties, Com. for
the Application and Development of the
Convention
Part IV: Exceptional Situations (Arts. 17 to
19):
Part V: Institutional Clauses (Arts. 20 to 23):
Additional protocol (updated in 2008): interim
river flow regimes.
Annex to the additional protocol: bases for the
interim river-flow regimes.
Part III: protection and sustainable use of
waters (Arts. 13 to 16):
STRIVER TECHNICAL BRIEF / ISSUE NO. 9 5
Co-ordination of programmes of
measures for protecting waters and
ecosystems, pollution prevention and
control, ensuring sustainable uses of
water;
Co-ordination of programmes of
measures for controlling floods, droughts
and pollution accidents;
Joint authorities to implement the regime
of the Convention.
The Convention establishes water allocation
rules: except for one of the rivers (the Lima
river), yearly guaranteed stream flows to
Portugal in “normal” hydrologic years were
initially established. Under “exceptionally” dry
years, the “non-significant term” rule applied:
the water supplied to Portugal should guaranty
the ecologic flows required under those
conditions, these flows being established by a
specific technical commission (CADC). For the
Guadiana River, the definition of “normal”
years also accounted for the water storage in
the reservoirs located in the basin.
The Convention created an intergovernmental
technical commission - the Commission for the
Application and Development of the
Convention, CADC – which is responsible for
analyzing and for preparing proposals related
with issues involving the interpretation and
application of the Albufeira Convention.
This Commission includes several work groups
(WG), such as the flow regime, droughts and
emergency occurrences WG; the information
exchange WG; the safety of infrastructures
and floods WG; the WFD and water quality
WG. It also includes a sub commission devoted
to public participation (Figure 2). The
application of the convention is controlled in
several measuring points, as shown in
Figure 3.
A political Conference of the Parties (headed
by a Minister of each State) to take decisions
was also created. The first Conference of the
Parties took place in Lisbon on 27th July 2005,
bolstering the work of the Commission for the
Application and Development of the
Convention (CADC) through the stimulation of
its various working groups.
Support from the
Portuguese
Foreign Affairs
Ministry
Support from the
Spanish Foreign
Affairs Ministry
CADC
Portuguese
Delegation
CADC Spanish
Delegation
Flow regime, droughts and
emergency occurrences WG
Information exchange WG
Infrastructures safety and floods
WG
WFD and water quality WG
Public participation sub
commission
Working Groups (WG) and Sub
Commission
Portuguese
Technical
Secretariat
Spanish
Technical
Secretariat
Figure 2: Organogram of the Commission for the
Application and Development of the Convention, CADC.
Figure 3: Control points of the application of
Albufeira Convention (adapted from [1]].
The second Conference of the Parties was held
on 19th February 2008 in Madrid, at which joint
maps defining water masses were approved.
Of note was the approval of a new flow regime
STRIVER TECHNICAL BRIEF / ISSUE NO. 9 6
based on a quarterly guarantee of minimum
flow rates, with weekly minimums under
certain conditions.
The Albufeira Convention can be understood
as the result of a long history of successfully
collaboration between Portugal and Spain in
what concerns the harmonious share of the
international natural water resources.
This collaboration allowed the construction
since the late fifties of important dams mainly
for hydropower purposes in the river reaches
along the border or near the border as it
happens in most of the transboundary rivers
(Table 3 and Figures 4 and 5). Some of those
dams, as Alcántara dam, also have an
important role in the flood control, mitigating
the flood impacts downstream in Portugal.
Table 3: Dams with transboundary impacts, located
at or near the border. Installed
capacityHeight
(MW) (m)
Frieira/Freiria Spain Miño/Minho 1969 17.5 33
Sela Spain Miño/Minho Under design -- --
Miranda Portugal Duero/Douro 1960 390 80
Picote Portugal Duero/Douro 1958 180 100
Bemposta Portugal Duero/Douro 1964 210 87
Aldeadávila Spain Duero/Douro 1963 1139 139
Saucelle Spain Duero/Douro 1956 525 83
Alcántara Spain Tajo/Tejo 1969 915 135
Alqueva Portugal Guadiana 2004 240 96
Name Country RiverYear of
completion
Figure 4: Dams with transboundary impacts, located
at or near the border.
Figure 5: Alcántara (Spain, Tajo/Tejo River) and
Alqueva (Portugal, Guadiana River) dams.
An example, among others, of the good
collaboration between Spain and Portugal was
the simulation exercise of Alcántara dam
failure, organized by the civil protection
authorities of both countries.
To ensure the balance, between Portugal and
Spain, of the capacity installed along the
international reaches of the transboundary
rivers a last hydropower scheme is still waiting
to be built: the Sela scheme located in
Miño/Minho River (see Figure 4). To guarantee
an equitable distribution, the installed capacity
in such scheme will be split between the two
countries.
STRIVER TECHNICAL BRIEF / ISSUE NO. 9 7
Despite the special features of each
transboundary basin, the Albufeira Convention
ensures a global and transversal policy, except
in what concerns the flow regime of the Tagus
River where the Tajus/Segura water transfer is
considered, as established since the
Convention of 1968
Some of the critics pointed out to the
Convention involved the guaranteed flows
(which had been set too low, their temporal
pattern within the year being as important as
their value, at least for Portugal) and the
criteria for the “exceptional” years (being not
so an exception: e.g. for Tagus River their
probability of occurrence was about once in
each four years [2]).
New Outcomes
In February 2008 the Conference of the Parties
approved the CADC proposal for a new flow
regime protocol.
This new protocol defines a more detailed flow
regime which, for Douro, Tejo and Guadiana
Rivers, specifies, under “normal” hydrological
situations, minimum flows along different
periods of the year. The Conference of the
Parties also approved a new protocol related
with the environmental evaluation of the
transboundary effects. A permanent technical
secretariat for the CADC was also created.
This will improve the capacity of the CADC for
monitoring and analyzing the transboundary
issues in the Iberian shared river basins
(Figure 1).
The Future
Joint river basins authorities should be created
between Spain and Portugal for the shared
rivers basins aiming at elaborating and
implementing integrated river basin
management plans.
This would improve the ecological integrity of
the shared river basins and would guarantee
the sustainability of water use and of
development of the shared basins.
References
This STRIVER Technical Brief was based on
the following research reports and scientific
literature:
[1] Borges, O. “A Convenção de Albufeira e o
novo ciclo de planeamento”, El nuevo ciclo
de planificación hidrológica en España - La
elaboración de los planes hidrológicos,
Madrid, Spain, 30 de Março de 2007;
[2] Correia, F.N. “O regime de caudais na
Convenção Luso-Espanhola (The flow
regime in the Luso-Spanish Convention)” -
Workshop on the Water Resources Luso-
Spanish Convention, IST, Lisbon, Portugal,
1999;
[3] Council of the European Union, Brussels, 29
February 2008, 7167/08, ENV 136;
For public information (websites):
www.cadc-albufeira.org
www.inag.pt
www.inag.pt/inag2004/port/a_intervencao/
planeamento/pna/pna.html
http://cnpgb.inag.pt/gr_barragens/gbingles
/index.htm
www.chguadiana.es/ www.chtajo.es/ www.chminosil.es/ www.chduero.es/
Portuguese Natural Park of International Douro
River.
STRIVER TECHNICAL BRIEF / ISSUE NO. 9 8
The STRIVER Policy and Technical Brief series translate the results from the project into practical and useful information for policy makers and water managers. The Briefs are also available online: www.striver.no About STRIVER STRIVER- Strategy and methodology for improved IWRM - An integrated interdisciplinary assessment in four twinning river basins is a three year EC funded project 2006-2009 under the 6th framework programme (FP6) coordinated jointly by Bioforsk and NIVA. The point of departure for STRIVER is the lack of clear methodologies and problems in operationalisation of Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) as pointed out by both the scientific and management communities.13 partners from 9 countries participate as contractual partners in addition to an external advisory board. Title of project: Strategy and methodology for improved IWRM - An integrated interdisciplinary assessment in four twinning river basins (STRIVER) Instrument: SUSTDEV-2005-3.II.3.6: Twinning European/third countries river basins. Contract number: 037141 Start date of project: July 2006 Duration: 36 months Project funded by the European Commission within the Sixth Framework Programme (2002-2006) Disclaimer The information provided and the opinions given in this publication are not necessarily those of the authors or the EC. The authors and publisher assume no liability for any loss resulting from the use of this report. Editors: Per Stålnacke and Johannes Deelstra (Bioforsk) Launch date: 15 April 2009
STRIVER TECHNICAL BRIEF Strategy and methodology for improved IWRM - An integrated interdisciplinary assessment in four twinning river basins
TB No. 10
"evolutionary adaptive process" of improvement of the water resources management
Development in river basin management in Portugal – past and future perspectives The Water Framework Directive (WFD) has created a new legal framework in Europe around the IWMR process. The recent development of new IWRM authorities, concepts and practical tools in Portugal, as well as some of the short and medium-term perspectives are presented this brief
The STRIVER Brief series translate the results from the EC FP6-funded STRIVER project into practical and useful information for policy makers and water managers
Adapted from [1]
STRIVER TECHNICAL BRIEF / ISSUE NO. 10 2
Development in river basin management in Portugal – past and future perspectives
Maria Manuela Portela, IST, Portugal António Betâmio de Almeida, IST, Portugal Marta Machado, IST, Portugal Abstract
As a consequence of the Water Framework Directive, WFD, deep transformations occurred in the IWMR process in Europe. The recent evolution of the IWRM authorities, concepts and practical tools in Portugal, as well as some of the short and medium-term perspectives are presented. It should be stressed that the new “water resource framing” applies to any Portuguese River basin, including the Tejo/Tagus River basin, which mainly became part of the recently created Lisbon and Tagus Valley Hydrographic Region.
Fact box
The Tagus basin divides the Iberian Peninsula into two parts with similar areas, being a transition between the wet Peninsula and the dry Peninsula. In fact there is a considerable difference among the tributaries of Tagus River, those located in the right/North bank having much more water than the ones of the left/South bank.
The Tagus River basin has the highest population occupation of the Iberian Peninsula with three millions of inhabitants living in the Portuguese sub basin and six millions in the Spanish sub basin, both capitals – Lisbon and Madrid - being located there.
In Portugal, the basin extends for three regions – Centre, Lisbon and Tagus Valley and Alentejo – with a very concentrated settlement in the costal regions of Metropolitan Lisbon area and of Setúbal Peninsula and with disperse settlement in the rest of the basin, thus introducing a pronounced asymmetry between the coastal and the inner zones. In Spain, the basin extends for five autonomic communities three of those communities representing more than 90% of the basin area: Castilha-La Mancha, Extremadura and Madrid, with 48.0, 30.0 and 14.4 %, respectively. 80% of the population of the basin is concentrated in the Madrid community.
The general pattern of the population distribution is similar in the Portuguese and Spanish sub basins with a significant percentage of the population living very small areas – the metropolitan areas of Lisbon and Madrid. The concentration of the population allied with an intensive economic activity demarcates those areas from the rest of the territory of each country.
Though the Tagus River is the third Iberian river in basin area and in water availability (after the Duero and the Ebro Rivers), it “provides water” to the majority of the population of the Peninsula, even supplying water to more one and a half more million inhabitants by means of the Tagus-Segura transfer.
Background “Freshwater management is crucial for sustainable development, both in developed countries, where water is still being wasted, and in developing countries, which cannot hope to achieve the economic and social development they seek unless they can guarantee their populations a safe water supply.
Instruments for water resource management have an important role to play in preventing water-related conflicts, through assessing the resource’s spatial and temporal variability along the river basin. It is therefore important to design a long-term water policy in order to promote more adequate land use and better protection of water quality and associated ecosystems. In this context, it is also important to mention the need to tie integrated water resource management in with the prevention of and protection against extreme hydrological conditions” [4].
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
X
XI
VII
VIII
IX
XIIIXII
XIV
XV
I 6/2001, 5th Dec - Guadiana RBP
II 17/2001, 5th Dec - Minho RBP
III 18/2001, 7th Dec - Tejo RBP
IV 19/2001, 10th Dec - Douro RBP
V 5/2002, 8th Feb - Mira RBP
VI 6/2002, 12th Feb - Sado RBP
VII 9/2002, 1st Mar - Mondego RBP
VIII 11/2002, 8th Mar - Lima RBP
IX 12/2002, 9th Mar - Ribeiras do Algarve RBP
X 15/2002, 14th Mar - Vouga RBP
XI 17/2002, 15th Mar - Cávado RBP
XII 18/2002, 19th Mar - Leça RBP
XIII 19/2002, 20th Mar - Ave RBP
XIV 23/2002, 23rd Mar - Lis RBP
XV 26/2002, 26th Mar - Ribeiras do Oeste RBP
Figure 1: Regulative Decrees that approved the 15 Portuguese River Basins Plans (Mainland Portugal).
“In Portugal, the drawing up of the National Water Plan (NWP), in 2001, and 15 River Basins Plans (RBPs), in 2000, was based on a process of characterising and diagnosing the current water resource situation, the
challenges brought about by a new policy approach, socio-economic evolution scenarios and the main pressures on water resources. These Plans established a set of goals and measures, a timescale for their enforcement, and mechanisms for their implementation and assessment” [5].
The Water Framework Directive and the Portuguese Water Law from 2005 In 2005, a new Water Law, WL (Law 58/2005, 29th December 2005) came into force in Portugal, strengthening the water resources planning process by establishing the basis and the institutional framework for the future water management policy.
This new law aims at providing the means for the sustainable management and protection of the water resources to be undertaken by regional water management authorities with assigned territories designed around river basins.
The Law 58/2005 transposes into the Portuguese law the applicable European legislation on the subject, namely the Directive 2000/60/CE, of October 23, 2000, known as the EU Water Management Framework Directive, WFD, which, in fact, was the driven force for a new era in terms of the water resources management policies and practices.
The new IWRM authorities and tools According to the WL and, consequently, to the WFD, new public authorities were created and called upon to assist in the planning and execution of regulations and measures for the implementation of sustainable water use. Among these authorities the more important ones are the newly created (in October 2008) Hydrographic Region Administrations, HRAs (in number of 10), and the existing, though restructured, National Water Institute, INAG. The HRAs, like the INAG, belong to the Ministry for Environment, Spatial Planning and Regional Development (see fact Box) and are regional entities, specialized in the water
STRIVER TECHNICAL BRIEF / ISSUE NO. 10 4
domain and with administrative and financial autonomies.
2000 WFD entered into force Article 22 and 25
Transpose requirements to national legislation Article 23
Define River Basin Districts/Hydrographic Regions and Authorities Article 3
2004 Characterize river basins: pressures, impact and economic analysis Article 5
2005 Identify significant trends in groundwater pollution Article 17
Establish environmental monitoring programmes Article 8
Publish and consult on a work programme for the production of the first River Basin/
/Hydrographic Region Management Plans (RBMPs/HRMPs)
Article 14
Establish environmental quality standards (EQSs) for surface water Article 16
Report monitoring programmes to the EC
Publish and consult on summary of significant water management issues (SWMI) for each
River Basin District
2008 Publish and consult on drafts of the RBMPs/HRMPs Article 14
Publish the first RBMP/HRMP for each River Basin District/Hydrographic Region Article 13
Establish programmes of measures (PoMs) in each River Basin District/Hydrographic
Region in order to deliver environmental objectives
Article 11
Report RBMPs, including PoMs to the EC
Introduce water pricing policies
Ensure all POMs are fully operational Article 11
Report progress in implementing the first RBMPs/HRMPs Article 15
2013 Review progress of the first RBMP/HRMP cycle
2015 Main environmental objectives specified in the first RBMPs/HRMPs met? Article 4
2015 Review and update first RBMP/HRMPss Articles 13, 14 and 15
Main environmental objectives specified in the second RBMPs/HRMPs met? Article 4
Review and update second RBMP/HRMPss Articles 13, 14 and 15
Main environmental objectives specified in the third RBMPs/HRMPs met? Article 4
Review and update third RBMPs/HRMPs Articles 13, 14 and 15
Article 14
Article 9
2021
3 y
ears
to
ach
ieve
sp
eci
fied
o
bje
ctiv
es
Furt
her 6
yea
rs’ p
lann
ing,
co
nsul
tatio
n an
d im
plem
enta
tion
cycl
es
2027
2009
2010
2012
3 ye
ars
to p
ut p
rogr
amm
es o
f mea
sure
s in
pl
ace
3 ye
ars
for M
embe
r St
ates
to p
repa
re
2003
2006
6 ye
ars
to a
naly
se is
sues
and
pre
pare
the
Riv
er B
asin
M
anag
emen
t Pla
ns
2007
Figure 2 – Water Framework Directive, WFD, implementation timetable – adapted from [2].
The HRAs became the main water resources planning authorities being responsible for promoting the so called Hydrographic Region Management Plans, HRMPs.
According to the article 29 of the Water Law the HRMPs should provide the support to the management, to the protection and to the environmental, social and economic valorization of the water resources – including the estuaries, the coastal areas and the aquifers, besides the surface waters. The HRMPs will become part of the municipal master plans, replacing the river basin plans of 2001/2002.
DistrictBorder
RH1 - Minho/LimaRH2 - Cávado/ Ave/LeçaRH3 - DouroRH4 - Vouga/Mondego/LisRH5 - Tejo/Ribeiras do OesteRH6 - Sado/MiraRH7 - GuadianaRH8 - Ribeiras do AlgarveRH9 - AçoresRH10 - MadeiraCoastal Waters
Hydrografic Regions
Figure 3 – General location of the 10 Hydrographic Region Administrations, HRAs.
Table 1 - Hydrographic Region Management Plans, HRMPs. Development and public participation
schedules.
Schedule
December/2007 Preliminary synthesis of the existing management problems (at the AHs level)
December/2008 Preliminary versions of the first HRMPs
December/2009 Conclusion of the first HRGMs
Until 2012 Implementation of the measures foreseen in the HRMPs
January/2008 Preliminary synthesis of the existing management problems (at the HRs level)
June/2009 Preliminary versions of the first HRMPs
June/2009 Environmental Report, in the scope of the Strategic Environmental Assessment
Dev
elop
men
t of t
he
HR
MPs
Publ
ic
part
icip
atio
n
Phase/activity
STRIVER TECHNICAL BRIEF / ISSUE NO. 10 5
The HRMPs were conceived as multifaceted tools for the water resources planning. They shall also allow reporting to the European Commission the evolution towards the application of the WFD, in what concerns the fulfillment of the environmental objectives in 2015, and they will enable the public information.
Some of the general principles embedded in the HRMPs are:
the globality principle which foresees the integrated assessment of the technical, economic, environmental and institutional issues;
the rationality principle which states the articulation between the demand and the
Fact box
Financial Controller
National Water Council
National Council for Environment and Sustainable Development
National Commission for Waste Management
Support
Commission for the Climate Changes
National Commission for the National Ecologic
Reserve
Central Services
Department of Prospective and
Planning and International
Relations
Supervisory Authority for the Environment and
Territorial Planning
General Secretariat Portuguese Environment Agency
Directorate-General for Territoral
Planning and Urban Development
Portuguese Geographical
Institute
Peripheral Services
Regional Coordination and
Development Commission -
North
Regional Coordination and
Development Commission -
Centre
Regional Coordination and
Development Commission - Lisbon
and Tagus Valley
Regional Coordination and
Development Commission -
Alentejo
Regional Coordination and
Development Commission -
Algarve
Central Organism
Water Institute
Nature and Biodiversity Conservation
Institute
Institute for Construction and
Real Estate
Financial Institute for the Regional
Development
Regulative Institute for Waters and
Waste
Chiado Reconstruction – Remainder Fund
Peripheral Organism
Hydrographic Region
Administration - North
Hydrographic Region
Administration - Centre
Hydrographic Region Administration -
Lisbon and Tagus Valley
Hydrographic Region
Administration - Alentejo
Hydrographic Region
Administration - Algarve
Parque Expo 98, S.A.
Águas de Portugal, S.A.
[AdP]Sintra Parks S.A.
Ministry for Environment, Spatial Planning and Regional Development. Organogram
(Decree-Law n.º 207/2006)
Stat
Indi
rect
Adm
inis
tratio
n
State entrepreneurial sector
Financial Controller
Consulting Board
Other Structures
Stat
Dire
ct A
dmin
istra
tion
STRIVER TECHNICAL BRIEF / ISSUE NO. 10 6
offer and the safeguard of the water resources preservation;
the integration principle according to which an articulation among the regional planning, the land management and the conservation and preservation of the environment should exist;
the participation principle which states the need to involve the economic agents and of the populations as a way to enhance wider consensus.
Among other aspects, each HRMP must include a general description of the corresponding hydrographic region, a characterization of the existing pressures, both naturals and resulting from the human activity, and a program of measures envisaging the pursuit of the environmental objectives established in the Water Law. According to this Law, the plans should be object of public consultation during
the development, revision and updating phases.
Table 1 – General content of the Hydrographic Region Management Plans, HRMPs – translated
from [3].
Part 1 General description of the Hydrographic Region, HR
Part 2 Characterization of the pressures and relevant anthropogenic incidences
Part 3 Identification and characterization of the protected areas
Part 4 Assessment of the water status and monitoring networks
Part 5 Development prospective scenarios
Part 6 Economic analysis of the water utilizations
Part 7 Environmental goals
Part 8 Measures programmes
Part 9 Other mandatory information
Part 10 Public participation
Part 11 Environmental strategic assessment
Part 12 System of promotion, control and appraisal of the HRMPs
Lake waters
Water heavily modily
River water
River water
Inner water
Groundwater
Groundwater
Territorial water Transition
water
Coastal water
Coastal water
1 nautical mile A
B
Base
line
Fact box Figure 4 - Water bodies according to the WFD and to the HRMPs – adapted from [3].
STRIVER TECHNICAL BRIEF / ISSUE NO. 10 7
While the River Basin Plans developed between 2001 and 2002 were mainly use/quantity-goal oriented, the HRMP are essentially environment/quality goal oriented
Characterization of the
hydrographic regions
Prospective scenarios
Environmental objectives
Programmes of measures
Implementation assessment
Figure 5 - The Hydrographic Region Management Plans, HRMP - adapted from [1].
Figure 6 – Evolution of the objective and of the domain from the River Basin Plans, RBP, to the
Hydrographic Region Management Plans, HRMP – adapted from [3].
For the implementation of the WFD and, accordingly, for the development of the HRMPs is indispensable the public involvement as a way:
to guaranty a more sustainable decision processes;
to ensure a better understanding of the environmental problems and of the possible contributions from the different
sectors to achieve the environmental goals;
to diminish potential conflicts caused by lack of information or of knowledge;
to increase the probability of success of the implementation of the HRMP.
The public participation process is based on three main issues:
information disclosure; public enquiry; active involvement of the stakeholders.
Active involvement of the stakeholders
Public enquiry
Information disclosure
Figure 7 – Public participation process – adapted from [3].
The public involvement is accomplished by means of meetings, brochures and advertisements in the newspaper, in the Internet and via email. All the information related with the process is available in the website of the Water Institute (electronic format) and in the documentation centre of the same Institute (paper format).
Figure 8 - Main webpage of the Water Institute with the link to the public participation in the HRMP
process. Proactive management plan
To finish it can be stated that the development of the HRMPs started a new era of proactive
STRIVER TECHNICAL BRIEF / ISSUE NO. 10 8
management where the past and the future decisions are intertwined towards the fulfillment of the different goals, with emphasis for the environmental ones.
References This STRIVER Technical Brief was based on the following references:
[1] Brito, António Guerreiro, 5th December 2008, “A reforma institucional para a gestão da água em Portugal: as Administrações de Região Hidrográfica ... novas ferramentas para uma nova política”, Administração da Região Hidrográfica do Norte, MAOTDR. http://www.unizar.es/fnca/congresoiberico/documentos/ppt_p0402.pdf
[2]http://www.euwfd.com/html/wfd_implementation_timetable.html
[3] INAG, 2007. “Planos de Gestão de região Hidrográfica. Sessão Técnica”, Sessão Pública sobre os PGRH, 2007. http://www.aprh.pt/pdf/270607_SessaoPublica.pdf.
[4] Martins, J. E., Statement by Mr. José Eduardo Martins, Secretary of State for the Environment at the Twelfth Session of the
Commission on Sustainable Development, United Nations, New York, 29 April 2004.
http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/csd/csd12/statements/portugal_2904.pdf
[5] Nunes Correia, F, 2005, “Turning Political Commitment into Action”, Statement of Mr. Franscisco Nunes Correia, Minister of Environment, Spatial Planning and Regional Development at the Thirteenth Session of the Commission on Sustainable Development. United Nations, New York, 21 April 2005. http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/csd/csd13/statements/2104_portugal.pdf
“(…) whenever the Tagus River flows, something always happens, because a river has its own glories
and its own dramas. Like the men. A river lives, breaths, works, builds and destroys. So do the men.
But men love and fall in love (..). (…) A river has its own glories and its own dramas,
but it does not fall in love. The Tagus River does not think – it acts. It acts
according to the circumstances. It acts and it builds, it acts and it destroys. Like a man. But a man thinks
and knows the doubt.”
(Alves Redol, Portuguese writer, 1911-1969)
Figure 4 – Continuous and adaptative IWRM perspective – adapted from [3].
STRIVER TECHNICAL BRIEF / ISSUE NO. 10 9
The STRIVER Policy and Technical Brief series translate the results from the project into practical and useful information for policy makers and water managers. The Briefs are also available online: www.striver.no About STRIVER STRIVER- Strategy and methodology for improved IWRM - An integrated interdisciplinary assessment in four twinning river basins is a three year EC funded project 2006-2009 under the 6th framework programme (FP6) coordinated jointly by Bioforsk and NIVA. The point of departure for STRIVER is the lack of clear methodologies and problems in operationalisation of Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) as pointed out by both the scientific and management communities.13 partners from 9 countries participate as contractual partners in addition to an external advisory board. Title of project: Strategy and methodology for improved IWRM - An integrated interdisciplinary assessment in four twinning river basins (STRIVER) Instrument: SUSTDEV-2005-3.II.3.6: Twinning European/third countries river basins. Contract number: 037141 Start date of project: July 2006 Duration: 36 months Project funded by the European Commission within the Sixth Framework Programme (2002-2006) Disclaimer The information provided and the opinions given in this publication are not necessarily those of the authors or the EC. The authors and publisher assume no liability for any loss resulting from the use of this report. Editors: Per Stålnacke and Johannes Deelstra (Bioforsk) Launch date: 15 April 2009
STRIVER TECHNICAL BRIEF Strategy and methodology for improved Integrated Water Resources Management
(IWRM) – An integrated interdisciplinary assessment in four twinning river basins
TB No. 11
IWRM status in the Tagus basin, Spain
An overview of the main conclusions of the
STRIVER project in the Spanish part of the Tagus
Basin, regarding water availability, water alloca-
tion, water prizing, water quality and pollution,
environmental impact and ecological flows, insti-
tutional aspects, law enforcement, implementa-
tion of the EU Water Frame Directive, information
and public participation, and capacity building.
The STRIVER Brief series translate the results from the EC FP6-funded STRIVER project into
practical and useful information for policy makers and water managers
STRIVER TECHNICAL BRIEF / ISSUE NO. 11 2
IWRM status in the Tagus basin, Spain
Santiago Beguería, Sergio M. Vicente-Serrano, J. Ignacio López-Moreno, Noemí Lana-Renault, José
María García-Ruiz. (Agencia Estatal Consejo Superior de Investigaciones, CSIC, Spain),
António Betâmio de Almeida, Maria Manuela Portela, Marta Machado (CEHIDRO/IST, Portugal)
Abstract
An overview of the main conclusions of the STRIVER project in the Spanish part of the
Tagus Basin, regarding water availability, water allocation, water prizing, water quality
and pollution, environmental impact and ecological flows, institutional aspects, law en-
forcement, implementation of the EU Water Frame Directive, information and public par-
ticipation, and capacity building.
References
Ministerio de Medio Ambiente 1999, Plan Hidrológico de la Cuenca del Tajo, Madrid (Engl: Tagus Basin Hydrologic Plan).
Plan Hidrológico Nacional, Law 10/2001 , modified in 2004 and 2005.
Water Law29/1985, modified by Law 46/19
Introduction
This report summarizes the major outcomes of
the analysis of the status of IWRM in the Span-
ish part of the Tagus basin. The conclusions
presented on this document are based on our
own analysis of hydro-climatologic data from
public information sources and the main doc-
uments regulating IWRM in Spain (see „refer-
ences‟ above), plus the information provided
by the stakeholders during the I and II Tagus
Stakeholder Meetings and in the focus groups
meetings (see fact box 1).
A total of ten issues were selected, ranging
from natural aspects such as the water availa-
bility and quality to the institutional legal and
social framework of IWRM in the basin.
Although some of the principles of IWRM were
not accounted for in the current Basin Plan,
the new plan that is now being elaborated
represents a good opportunity for implement-
ing them.
Fact box 1
Stakeholder participation in the framework of the STRIVER project
Promoting stakeholder participation from the earliest stages of the project was a key objective in STRIVER. Thus, a
total or three stakeholder meetings were held at different stages of the project, ensuring a fluent feedback be-
tween scientists and stakeholders. The meetings, held in Toledo (December 2006), Lisbon (February 2008) and
Madrid (April 2009), brought together stakeholders from Spain and Portugal, representing several groups from the
managers to the users of water.
In addition, five focus group meetings were held in Madrid during 2008, with groups of water managers and users.
During these meetings, the participants were asked to freely discuss about a series of general topics related to
IWRM in the basin. This experience raised a series of new questions and points of view that enriched further the
information obtained by other means.
STRIVER TECHNICAL BRIEF / ISSUE NO. 11 3
Issue 1. Water availability
A reliable estimation of the availability of regu-
lated water in a basin must be in the founda-
tions of any water resources management
plan. Performing such estimation is a highly
technical task, and must address not only the
average annual and monthly volumes, but also
the expected inter-annual oscillations and the
likelihood of extreme events. It must also pro-
vide future scenarios associated to different
likelihoods, provided the current knowledge
about possible changes in the climate system
and also in the land uses in the basin.
At this respect, the water allocation scheme in
the Tagus Basin Hydrologic Plan is based on
long-term average values, and neither the in-
ter-annual variability nor the likely future
trends are considered in an explicit manner.
Adaptation of the plan to the specific circums-
tances of each year is done following an heu-
ristic approach based on experience.
The influence of changes in land use and land
cover in the headwaters is another issue not
considered in the Basin Plan, although there
are evidences of its importance in other Ibe-
rian basins. In the Tagus, there are evidences
of an increase of the vegetation cover due to
the abandonment of traditional forest logging
activities and a decline of grazing in the head-
water areas. There are, however, no studies
about the influence of these changes on runoff
production and hence on the rivers discharge.
It is interesting to note that future problems in
water availability due to natural or semi-
natural drivers was not identified as a primary
problem by the stakeholders, despite the
scientific evidences about its importance.
Issue 2. Water allocation, includ-
ing equity issues
Guaranteeing a balanced territorial and sector
balance in the access to water is a key objec-
tive of the Tagus Basin Plan. Water allocation
in the basin is defined in the current Hydrolog-
ical Plan of the Tagus Basin and is the sole re-
sponsibility of the Tagus Basin Administration
Office. The regional governments, however,
are taking more responsibilities in the last
years, what has led to the arousal of conflicts
between regions.
Local governments such as Madrid Region,
where the expansion of urbanization and spec-
ulation with the soil is the greatest, and power
stations, play a major role in water decisions.
Active participation of the all the concerned
sectors within the basin, encouraged by the
Water framework directive and the A.G.U.A.
Programme, should balance the sectoral
weight in future water management.
As for now, the Basin Plan includes a descrip-
tion of the different water users, and they are
sorted according to their priority for water allo-
cation. There is a pre-defined water allocation
for each user that is applied during normal
conditions. In case of a hydrological drought,
limitations for water used are established, and
the priority of users is modified. Possible con-
flicts arising from the shortage of water are
usually solved at the political level, in some oc-
casions even in the State‟s parliament.
The major water pressures in the Tagus basin
are linked to the agriculture, due to both the
irrigation system in the basin (2000 Hm3/year)
and the water transfer to the Segura basin
(500 Hm3/year). Second to agriculture is the
industrial sector (1400 Hm3/year), including
refrigeration of nuclear plants. Urban con-
sumption is third (1000 Hm3/year), but it
shows a steady increase over time.
Among stakeholder groups, only the farming
organizations perceive a scarcity of water, es-
pecially during dry years. They consider that
there is a sector unbalance favoring the urban
and industrial users. In general, farmers consi-
dered that the regulation capacity should be
increased to allow further expansion of the ir-
rigated lands.
An urban model based on a high consumption
of water has led to problems of water supply in
the Madrid region. The increasing urbanization
provokes conflicts for water distribution (i.e.,
irrigation vs. urban consumption).
The water transfer Tagus-Segura represents a
complex policy of water distribution that gene-
STRIVER TECHNICAL BRIEF / ISSUE NO. 11 4
rates many political conflicts between different
regions in Spain. During the meetings with
stakeholders, it was mentioned repeatedly as
the major problem for the Basin. In the
A.G.U.A Program water for SE Spain is sup-
plied entirely by desalinization plants, thus al-
lowing cancelling the water transfer.
Issue 3. Water prizing
The pricing of water is very low in Spain, spe-
cially for farmers and households. There are
historical reasons for this, since having an un-
limited access to water has been considered a
basic right and a symbol of progress. In the
case of irrigation water, there is a political
price in order to reduce the production costs.
It is often said that irrigated agriculture is sub-
sidized in Spain by means of keeping the prize
of water way below its real market prize. One
of the aims of the A.G.U.A Program is to fix
water pricing according to the real costs (ac-
quisition and treatment) and to the economic
benefits generated by its use.
It is expected that this measure will promote
investments in water saving technologies. In
the present moment, urban supply infrastruc-
ture and irrigation infrastructure are not well-
conserved and there are important water
leaks.
Water prizing is considered a major issue by
farmers. There is fear that increasing the wa-
ter costs to meet the market prize will be very
negative for the agricultural sector, and there
is a clear opposition to it.
Issue 4. Water quality and pollu-
tion
A major goal of the Basin Plan is to ensure wa-
ter quality for each use (especially in the case
of drinking water) and for the environment.
The Tagus Basin Administration Office has dif-
ferent systems to control water quality, such
as the SAICA (Automatic System of Water
Quality Information) system. There is also an
inventory of authorized effluent discharge
points. The “Chapter V- Water Quality and ef-
fluent discharge management” of the Hydro-
logical Plan of the Tagus Basin defines the
standards for rivers and for lakes and reser-
voirs.
However, even the members of the Tagus Ba-
sin Authority recognized during the meetings
that there are still many problems threatening
water quality in the basin. All stakeholder
groups mentioned that the water quality is low
in the middle and lower parts of the basin, and
pointed to deficient water treatment in small
towns as a major cause. There is also illegal
waste water dumping from the industry, illegal
gravel extractions and effluents from intensive
farms. According to the CHT, mentioned that
there is not enough control on water quality
due to not enough funds and resources for
monitoring and control.
Issue 5. Environmental impact
and ecological flows
One goal of the Basin Plan is to protect the
water resources altogether with the environ-
ment and other natural resources. However,
there is the perception that the minimum eco-
logical flow is not respected in many cases,
and that there is a lack of a well established
methodology for determining the ecological
flow. This last remark was also made by the
members of the CHT.
A reason given for not reaching the ecological
discharge was due to the Tagus-Segura water
transfer and to the water supply for Madrid.
There have been problems with the introduc-
tion of foreign invasive species. The current
Basin Plan does not include information on
vulnerable flora, fauna or ecosystems, nor
about geology, soils or landscape values.
There are other initiatives for protecting the
basin environment, such as the A.G.U.A Pro-
gram, the National Strategy for River Restora-
tion, the National Plan of Water quality 2007-
2015, the Action Plan for 0 Sewage, the Plan
of Priority Actions for hydrological and forestry
restoration and the Nature 2000 network.
STRIVER TECHNICAL BRIEF / ISSUE NO. 11 5
Issue 6. Institutional aspects
(administration)
The Tagus Hydrographic Confederation (CHT)
is the main institution responsible for water re-
sources management in the Tagus basin. It
was created in 1953, and its attributions were
further consolidated by the Water Law of
1985. Its attributions are very broad, and
comprise all the aspects of IWRM.
Besides, there are other administrative offices
which share some of the attributions of the
CHT, such as the „Isabel II Canal Office‟, the
regional governments of the Madrid Region,
Castilla La-Mancha and Extremadura, and even
the local (municipal) administrations.
Although there are numerous policies and reg-
ulations on water management, one of the
main problems is that the specific responsibility
of the different administrations is not well de-
fined. There is also a lack of coordination.
During the stakeholder meetings, it was re-
peatedly mentioned that there is a lack of
coordination between areas, institutions and
policies, and that water resources manage-
ment is not considered as a global problem.
Issue 7. Law enforcement
In general, all the stakeholders shared the
common opinion that there is not enough en-
forcement of the water and environmental
laws. Members of the CHT pointed out that
there is not enough funding to effectively mon-
itor and control the huge area of the Tagus
Basin.
Issue 8. The EU Water Frame Di-
rective
The Water Framework Directive principles and
regulations should be totally accomplished by
2015. Within this new context, the Spanish
Government launched the A.G.U.A. (Actions for
the Management and Use of Water) Program,
based on the economic, social and natural val-
ue of water.
At the same time, a new Hydrological Plan for
the Tagus Basin is being elaborated, consider-
ing the principles of the Water Framework Di-
rective and ensuring an active participation of
all the concerned parts.
However, members of the Administration men-
tioned difficulties for meeting all the objectives
of the Directive in time.
Among the stakeholder groups, the farmer col-
lectives were the only ones to express their
concern about the implementation of the Di-
rective. They believed that the agricultural sec-
tor is threatened by its principles, and had the
impression that there is a lack of information
on the implementation of the Directive.
Issue 9. IWRM, information and
public participation
In general, the stakeholders expressed their
impression that the principles of IWRM are not
met in the basin. This is probably a conse-
quence of the fact that water resources man-
agement has been considered during decades
mostly a technical issue, thus controlled by
engineers.
The basic principles of IWRM (e.g. Dublin,
GWP) where not included in the 1999 Basin
Plan, although they will be included in the new
plan which is under development.
Although an effort has been made to make all
hydrological data public on the web, it is still
difficult to get information beyond the technic-
al data, so the decision-making process is not
transparent. Some users mentioned that re-
quests for information are often ignored by the
Administration.
Public participation is very low under the cur-
rent Basin Plan. Public participation was not
considered an important issue even for some
people from the Administration, who expressed
their doubts about the success of public partic-
ipation in IWRM due to sectoral and territorial
conflicts. This idea was shared by some of the
non-technical stakeholders.
However, it must be noted that public partici-
pation has already started, led by the elabora-
tion of the new Basin Plan. Actually, more than
1000 invitations have been sent to different
actors, and some meetings with stakeholders
STRIVER TECHNICAL BRIEF / ISSUE NO. 11 6
have already been held. These included water
managers, social network, private compa-
nies/industry, end users and Institutions.
There is up-to-date information about the de-
velopment of the new Basin Plan in the web
(http://nuevoplan.chtajo.es:8080/CHTAJO/info
publica3.htm) and by brochures, and there are
information offices in Madrid and several other
cites in the Basin. All participants in the meet-
ings are informed by SMS of any new devel-
opments of the Plan.
Issue 10. Capacity building
The current Basin Plan does not have any spe-
cific plans for capacity building. However, dur-
ing the meetings it was evident that there is a
need for improving education and capacity
building. Most end users, including members
from the Administration, still perceived water
as a right, and not as limited resource. The
leading ideas of IWRM are not at all wide-
spread among the users and even among the
managers. Some groups of stakeholders, such
as the farmer organizations, expressed no spe-
cial interest in the concepts of IWRM.
STRIVER TECHNICAL BRIEF / ISSUE NO. 11 7
Fact box 2
Projected trends in water availability in the Tagus basin
The water availability in the Tagus basin is highly determined by climate variability. The figure shows the evolu-
tion of a multi-scalar drought index (Standardized Precipitation-Evapotranspiration Index) calculated from pre-
cipitation and temperature data and considering three different time scales in the headwaters of the Tagus ba-
sin, which has a crucial importance in Spain since here is the point of origin of the water transfer to the Júcar
and Segura basins. The Figure also shows the anomalies (z-values) of river inflows to the Entrepeñas and
Buendía reservoir system, the reservoir storages and the releases to the Tagus river after the water transfer.
Figure shows the close relationship between the variability of the climatic drought index and the evolution of
the water resources in the region. River discharges respond to high-frequency droughts but reservoir storages
respond to the long-term patterns of climate variability. The response of the releases to the climate variability
is lower, mainly since the beginning of the 1980 decade, as a consequence of the increase in the transferred
water. Since 1980 the drought periods have increased in frequency and severity, explaining most of the trends
in the water resources.
1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005
z-v
alu
es
-3
-2
-1
0
1
2
3
3-months SPEI
Inflows
1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005
z-v
alu
es
-3
-2
-1
0
1
2
3
40-months SPEI
Reservoir storages
1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005
z-v
alu
es
-3
-2
-1
0
1
2
3
48-months SPEI
Releases
Given the high relationship between climate variability and water resources in the Tagus basin, there is high
uncertainty about the future availability of water resources in the future given the prediction of the Climate
Change Models. Despite moderate variations among climate models, all projections point to a consistent de-
crease in precipitation and a marked increase of temperature in the basin. Such changes may lead to decline
the water resource available in the basin up to 17% by 2060 compared to current conditions (Ayala-Carcedo,
2003*).
*Ayala-Carcedo, F.J.(2003). Impactos del Cambio Climático sobre los recursos hídricos en España y viabilidad
física y ecológica del Plan Hidrológico Nacional 2001. En Arrojo y Del Moral eds. La Directiva Marco del Agua:
Realidades y Futuros. Fundación Nueva Cultura del Agua, Zaragoza, 253-271
STRIVER TECHNICAL BRIEF / ISSUE NO. 11 8
Fact box 3
The Tajo-Segura water transfer
The water transfer Tagus-Segura, started in 1978, supplies water to the irrigated areas in southeast Spain. The
original plans estimated a volume of water transfer of about 1100 hm3 per year, but in practice only seldom the
volume exceeded 500 hm3 per year. The Figure shows the spatial location of the Water transfer system, from
the reservoirs of Entrepañas and Buendía in the headwaters of the Tagus basin to the Mediterranean basins of
the Júcar and the Segura.
The source of the water transfer is Bolarque reservoir, from where the water is pumped to La Bujeda reservoir,
which is used as an upper reservoir (7 million cubic metres) of the Altomira power station. The channel flows
into the Alarcón reservoir, in the Júcar basin, in the vicinity of which, and by means of an inflow-outflow sys-
tem, the other stretch of channel runs into the Talave reservoir, now in the Segura River Basin. The transporta-
tion of the resources to the basin occurs physically by means of a canal with a capacity of 33 m³/s, which theo-
retically would be enough to transfer the above-mentioned 1,000 million cubic metres per year in a continuous
flow. Inside the basin, the infrastructures permit the distribution of these transferred resources to their differ-
ent areas of use. The evolution of the transferred flows between 1978 and 2003 is also shown. There were
high increases of the water transfers from 1995 until now.
X Data
1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005
Wate
r tr
ansfe
r (H
m3)
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
The volume of water transfer must be approved year by year (and even month by month or season by season
during dry years) by the Spanish Government, according to the volume of water stored in the Entrepeñas and
Buendía reservoirs. Nevertheless, the water transfer from the Tagus river has encountered strong opposition
from the regional government and farmers of Castilla-La Mancha, since they maintain that during the dry years
there was no water surplus in the Tagus upper basin. The recent 2005-2006 drought caused minimum reser-
voir storages in the Entrepeñas and Buendía system and controversial political decisions to approve the transfer
under this extreme condition. Several citizen demonstrations in both Tagus and Segura basins, in favour and
against the water transfer, respectively were recorded that year.
STRIVER TECHNICAL BRIEF / ISSUE NO. 11 9
Fact box 4
The Tagus Wordle
The „Tagus Wordle‟ art has been constructed from the transcription of the interviews held with different focus
groups in the Basin. A computer program selected the key words based on their prominence, and placed them
randomly. The font size is proportional to the number of occurrences of the word, so the resulting word cloud
can be seen as a „conceptual map‟ of the meetings.
STRIVER TECHNICAL BRIEF / ISSUE NO. 11 10
The STRIVER Policy and Technical Brief series translate the results from the project into practical and useful information for policy makers and water managers. The Briefs are also available online: www.striver.no About STRIVER STRIVER- Strategy and methodology for improved IWRM - An inte-grated interdisciplinary assessment in four twinning river basins is a three year EC funded project 2006-2009 under the 6th framework programme (FP6) coordinated jointly by Bioforsk and NIVA. The point of departure for STRIVER is the lack of clear methodologies and problems in operationalisation of Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) as pointed out by both the scientific and management communities.13 partners from 9 countries participate as contractual partners in addition to an external advisory board. Title of project: Strategy and methodology for improved IWRM - An integrated interdisciplinary assessment in four twinning river basins (STRIVER) Instrument: SUSTDEV-2005-3.II.3.6: Twinning European/third countries river basins. Contract number: 037141 Start date of project: July 2006 Duration: 36 months Project funded by the European Commission within the Sixth Framework Programme (2002-2006) Disclaimer The information provided and the opinions given in this publication are not necessarily those of the authors or the EC. The authors and publisher assume no liability for any loss resulting from the use of this report. Editors: Per Stålnacke and Udaya Sekhar Nagothu (Bioforsk) Launch-date: 30 June, 2009