Water Policy and Management in Spain

ISBN-13: 9780415826044 / Angielski / Twarda / 2013 / 200 str.

Francisco Gonzalez-Gomez; Miguel A. Garcia-Rubio; Jorge Guardiola

Opis

Spain is facing an increasingly difficult situation in terms of water stress. This is an issue that is due mostly to poor management practices in all sectors. Large amounts of water have been used for agricultural purposes at very low prices for too long; there is an uncontrolled use of most aquifers in rural areas which result from ineffective control by the public administration; per capita consumption continues increasing as well as water used for industrial and energy generation, the construction and tourism sectors and for recreation activities. In fact, they have all exerted additional pressure on available water resources. In order to face the above challenges, water policy has made a gradual shift towards more rational and sustainable management of water resources. This has also been influenced by the European Water Framework Directive about which, as the book discusses, there are both myths and misunderstandings. This book analyses the very complex position of all sectors in the country, the alternatives available and the challenges ahead. In so doing, it makes an important contribution to the literature on water resources management. This book was published as a special issue of the International Journal of Water Resources Development.

Spis treści

Foreword  1. Introduction: Water Policy and Management in Spain:  2. The Challenges of Implementing the Water Framework Directive in Spain  3. The European Water Framework Directive: A Framework?  4. Who Manages Spain’s Water Resources? The Political and Administrative Division of Water Management  5. Assessment of the Draft Hydrological Basin Plan of the Guadalquivir River Basin (Spain)  6. Irrigated Agriculture in Spain: Diagnosis and Prescriptions for Improved Governance  7. Assessment of Nonpoint Pollution Instruments: The Case of Spanish Agriculture  8. Urban Water Service Policies and Management in Spain: Pending Issues  9. Is the Pricing of Urban Water Services Justifiably Perceived as Unequal among Spanish Cities?  10. Tariffs for Urban Water Services in Spain: Household Size and Equity  11. Groundwater: The Invisible Resource  12. Evaluation of Spain’s Water-Energy Nexus  13. Desalination in Spain: A Growing Alternative for Water Supply

O autorze

Francisco González-Gómez is Professor in the Department of Applied Economics and Researcher at the Water Research Institute, Granada University, Spain. Miguel A. García-Rubio is Assistant Professor in the Department of Applied Economics and Researcher at the Water Research Institute, Granada University, Spain. Jorge Guardiola is Associate Professor in the Department of Applied Economics and Researcher at the Water Research Institute, Granada University, Spain.