Evaluation of markets for irrigation water in the internal river basins of Catalonia, Spain

Abstract

Irrigated agriculture has come under close scrutiny in Europe recently because of its high share of total water consumption and its apparent inefficiency. Several water policies have been advocated, in particular the use of economic instruments such as water markets. This paper simulates the impact of a policy based upon water markets on agricultural production in the internal river basins of Catalonia (Spain). This zone presents certain particularities that make it very interesting to study: competition between sectors for the resource (agriculture-urban consumption-recreational uses), recent periods of resource insufficiency and conflicts between irrigators as a result of the measures taken by the hydraulic administration in drought situations. The results show that these markets would guarantee an optimal reassignment of the resource in situations of supply restrictions, and although compared to the situation without markets they would not mean higher economic profits for the irrigators, they could prevent conflicts between them. Nevertheless, doubts exist about their acceptance by irrigators.Additional key words: irrigated agriculture, multicriteria decision models. Resumen Evaluación de mercados de aguas de riego en las cuencas internas de Cataluña (España)Últimamente se ha puesto en duda el papel económico del regadío en Europa, debido al elevado consumo de agua que representa, así como a su aparente baja eficiencia de uso. Al mismo tiempo, las políticas tradicionales de gestión de aguas están en entredicho, surgiendo nuevos planteamientos, destacando entre ellos el uso de instrumentos económicos como los mercados de aguas. Este artículo analiza el impacto sobre la producción agrícola de la instauración de mercados de aguas en un área de riego comunitario ubicada en las cuencas internas de Cataluña (España). Esta zona presenta ciertas particularidades que hacen que su estudio sea especialmente interesante: se trata de un área con una elevada competencia intersectorial por el uso del recurso (agricultura-consumo urbano-usos recreativos), recientes periodos de insuficiencia en el suministro y conflictos entre regantes como resultado de las medidas tomadas por la administración hidráulica en caso de sequía. Los resultados obtenidos muestran que los mercados garantizan una reasignación óptima del recurso en situaciones de restricción del suministro, y aunque globalmente no generan una ganancia económica muy elevada respecto a la situación sin mercado, sí podrían evitar conflictos entre regantes. Sin embargo, existen dudas sobre su aceptación práctica por parte de dichos regantes.Palabras clave adicionales: agricultura de regadío, modelos de decisión multicriterio.

Insights from a Calibrated Optimization Model for Irrigated Agriculture under Drought in an Irrigation District on the Central Mexican High Plains

“…These figures are low compared to other research, which report loss reductions up to 30% and 33% [50,77] in California and Spain. But these are close to other results, in Pujol et al (2016) [24], who report a total lose reduction up to 2.9%. They concluded that, although the water market has low economic gain compared with the scenario without water market, this policy might guarantee an optimal reassignment of the resource as well as a positive social impact and the water management by the water administration.…”

“…Other application for an irrigation water market evaluation and derived demand curves estimation were applied by Pujol et al [24], using a multicriteria decision model. Calatrava and Garrido [25] modeled a water market to reduce the exposure of farmers to risk associated with uncertain supply.…”

Private micro-irrigation costs using reclaimed water

“…This is the case of the study area, which was affected by exceptional supply situations in 1999, 2000, 2002, 2005 and 2007-2009. Moreover, and assuming that farmers cannot choose a water source, and that they are forced to use reclaimed water, the current price would have different implications depending on the type of production. The demand curves determined by Pujol (2002) and Pujol et al (2006), for the irrigation of the Lower Ter River basin (where the experimental plot is located) show that the fruit orchards and ornamental plant nurseries in the area could pay the current price of reclaimed water but profits would be reduced, while farms producing fodder to feed their livestock would be in an extreme situation, and producers of corn and other cereals could not afford that price.…”

Prospects for Improving Gravity-Fed Surface Irrigation Systems in Mediterranean European Contexts

“…The request of the irrigators and broad social sectors at the Water Administration has resulted in a greater flow rate of the Ter River, reducing the water transfer to Barcelona metropolitan area. The implantation of markets for irrigation water in this irrigation area would guarantee the optimal reassignment of the resource during low-water periods to prevent conflicts; however, the irrigators would not accept this new tool and its associated transaction costs [53].…”