Resource intruders and robustness of social-ecological systems: an irrigation system of Southeast Spain, a case study

Abstract

Globalization increases the vulnerability of traditional socialecological systems (SES) to the incursion of new resource appropriators, i.e. intruders. New external disturbances that increase the physical and sociopolitical accessibility of SES (e.g. construction of a new road) and weak points Resource intruders and robustness of social-ecological systems 411 in institutional SES of valuable common-pool resources are some of the main factors that enhance the encroachment of intruders. The irrigation system of the northwest Murcia Region (Spain) is an example used in this article of the changes in the structure and robustness of a traditional SES as a result of intruders. In this case study, farmers have traditionally used water from springs to irrigate their lands but, in recent decades, large agrarian companies have settled in this region, using groundwater to irrigate new lands. This intrusion had caused the levels of this resource to drop sharply. In an attempt to adapt, local communities are intensifying the use of resources and are constructing new physical infrastructures; consequently, new vulnerabilities are emerging. This situation seems to be heading toward the inevitably collapse of this traditional SES. From an institutional viewpoint, some recommendations are offered to enhance the robustness of SES in order to mitigate the consequences of intruders.Keywords: Adaptability, common-pool resources, globalization, groundwater, institutions, resilience, water management Acknowledgments: We would like to thank the Irrigation Communities for sharing their knowledge and experiences with us on springs, groundwater, agriculture and institutions. This research was funded by the Fundación Instituto Euromediterráneo del Agua (Murcia, Spain). Irene Pérez was supported by Fundación Séneca (Murcia, Spain) under a postdoctoral fellowship and Alicia Tenza by Generalitat Valenciana under a predoctoral fellowship. We would like to thank Juan de Dios Cabezas and David Martínez for data providing on springs flow. We are grateful to three anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments and suggestions.

Resilience of small-scale societies: a view from drylands

“…Fines to irrigators caught stealing water may be reinforced during the dry season as a deterrent to free riding and to prevent situations potentially leading to the "tragedy of the commons" (Hardin 1968, Ostrom 1990). Water allocation rules may be temporarily modified to minimize the loss in bulk production, e.g., by giving irrigation priority to crops that are in most need of water (Maas and Anderson 1978), by promoting a temporary reduction in irrigated land (Pérez et al 2011), or by maximizing the net income per unit of water used rather than per land unit (Fereres and Soriano 2007). Adaptive water allocation rules and conflict-solving mechanisms governed by local institutions and communities are critical in ensuring the viability of these intensive agrarian areas over the long-term Many authors have characterized small-scale hydraulic systems as better endowed to achieve long-term survival in the face of uncertainty (Guijt and Thompson 1994, Mabry 1996a, b, Ertsen et al 2013.…”

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“…Furthermore, the environmental group 'Ecologistas en Acción' claimed that between 5,000 and 10,000 hectares of new illegal irrigation areas have annually been implemented in Murcia, which should be compared to the 192,000 hectares of legal irrigated land (Schouten, 2003). In a recent study, Perez et al (2011) showed that the effect of traditional irrigation systems in NW Murcia and the intrusion of new users, seriously affect groundwater levels and change the structure and robustness of the traditional social-ecological systems, thereby resulting in the emergence of new vulnerabilities.…”