The transfer from the Ebro basin to the Mediterranean basins as a decision of the 2001 national hydrological plan: The main problems posed

Abstract

The main objective of the National Hydrological Plan of Spain is to transfer water from the Ebro River to basins along the Mediterranean coast. However, fundamental studies that should have been carried out before the Plan was approved are still not available. Among these are cost-benefit analyses of the transfer, nature of its beneficiaries, potential users who can afford this high-priced water, and social and environmental impacts of the project. In addition, the proposed transfer of water does not reflect modern thinking on water management, nor does it consider the latest technological alternatives.

Aridity influence on vegetation patterns in the middle Ebro Valley (Spain): Evaluation by means of AVHRR images and climate interpolation techniques

“…The creation of irrigated lands in the middle Ebro Valley generates some environmental and socio-economic problems related to soil degradation and salinization and social conflicts related to the water availability (Lasanta et al, 2001;Herrero and Aragu¨e´s, 1988;Embid, 2003). However, irrigation importantly increases the final crop productions and also reduces significantly the inter-annual uncertainty in the vegetation productivity.…”

An assessment of Spain's Programa AGUA and its implications for sustainable water management in the province of Almería, southeast Spain

“…Since 1926, Spain has divided the administration of its water resources between water boards (confederaciónes hidrográ-ficas) at the natural catchment divide of its main river basins. Stakeholder interests were inherent in the decisionmaking processes to decide what water was abstracted, stored, apportioned and transferred, but as Embid (2003) observes, many water plans were, ''merely a list of water works to be carried out in terms of the existence of budgetary resources'' (p. 401). Maintaining a historical precedent, civil engineering projects were often the main means to meet water demands, and in the mid-20th century dam construction increased ten-fold, such that today Spain has over 1000 dams and reservoirs that cover more than 5% of the country's surface area (Biswas and Tortajada, 2003).…”

A Modeling System for the Evaluation of Water Resources Management Strategies in Thessaly, Greece

“…These strategies include prediction of demographic and environmental change, increasing freshwater supply, water saving and reducing water losses, reducing water consumption, reducing pollution (Araus 2004), and use of marginal water resources, water reuse and water recycling (Hamoda 2004;Tsagarakis et al 2004). Water transfer from neighbouring hydrological basins although increases significantly in problematic areas have been severely criticized (Embid 2003). Water management models and decision support systems can play a crucial role in simulation, analysis and adaptation of water management strategies.…”