The Jucar River Basin

The Jucar Basin faces the challenge of meeting an enormous demand for irrigation while water quality degrades from urban, industrial, and agricultural pollution. Relying on engineering solutions is not enough. Empirical evidence in Jucar indicates that water markets and institutional policies seem to deal with water scarcity more successfully than water pricing and irrigation subsidies. A first water governance priority is to convince farmers of substituting freshwater for the available urban recycled water. Second, seawater desalination plants must be upgraded so they will work at full capacity. More long-term governance goals are to curtail surface irrigation diversions and groundwater extractions, and reallocating water to urban, industrial, and environmental uses. These reforms will only work if they get the support and cooperation of farmers by compensating them for the reallocation of water from agriculture to other sectors.

Keywords

Jucar Spain water governance closed basin water technologies irrigation droughts climate change stakeholders sustainable management

Information

Type: Chapter
Information: Sustainability of Engineered Rivers In Arid Lands
Challenge and Response
, pp. 220 - 232
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108261142.015 [Opens in a new window]
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Book purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Albiac, J., Esteban, E., Tapia, J., and Rivas, E. (2013). Water Scarcity and Droughts in Spain: Impacts and Policy Measures. In Schwabe, K., Albiac, J., Connor, J., Hassan, R., and Meza, L., eds., Drought in Arid and Semi-Arid Environments: A Multi-Disciplinary and Cross-Country Perspective. Dordrecht: Springer.Google Scholar

Alexandratos, N. and Bruinsma, J. (2012). World Agriculture towards 2030/2050: The 2012 Revision, Global Perspective Studies Team, FAO Agricultural Development Economics Division, ESA Working Paper No. 12-03. Rome: FAO.Google Scholar

Booker, J., Michelsen, A., and Ward, F. (2005). Economic Impacts of Alternative Policy Responses to Prolonged and Severe Drought in the Rio Grande Basin. Water Resources Research, 41, pp. 1–15.Google Scholar

Booker, J., Howitt, R., Michelsen, A., and Young, R. (2012). Economics and the Modeling of Water Resources and Policies. Natural Resource Modeling, 25(1), pp. 168–218.CrossRef Google Scholar

Calatrava, J. and Garrido, A. (2005). Modelling Water Markets under Uncertain Water Supply. European Review of Agricultural Economics, 32(2), pp. 119–142.Google Scholar

Calatrava, J., Guillem, A., and Martinez-Granados, D. (2011). Análisis de alternativas para la eliminación de la sobreexplotación de acuíferos en el Valle del Guadalentín [Analysis of Alternatives for the Elimination of Overexploitation of Aquifers in the Guadalentín Valley]. Journal of Agricultural Economics, 11, pp. 33–62.Google Scholar

Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in Agriculture (CAWMA). (2007). Water for Food Water for Life: A Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in Agriculture. London: Earthscan-International Water Management Institute.Google Scholar

Confederacion Hidrografica del Jucar [Hydrographic Confederation of the Jucar] (CHJ) (2015). Plan Hidrologico de la Demarcacion Hidrografica del Jucar [Hydrological Plan of the Jucar Hydrographic Demarcation]. Memoria. Ciclo de planificación hidrológica [Memory. Hydrological Planning Cycle] 2015–2021. Valencia: CHJ.Google Scholar

Connor, J. and Kaczan, D., (2013). Principles for Economically Efficient and Environmentally Sustainable Water Markets: The Australian Experience. In Schwabe, K., Albiac, J., Connor, J., Hassan, R., and Meza, L., eds., Drought in Arid and Semi-arid Environments: A Multidisciplinary and Cross-country Perspective. Dordrecht: Springer.Google Scholar

Cornish, G., Bosworth, B., Perry, C., and Burke, J. (2004). Water Charging in Irrigated Agriculture: An Analysis of international Experience. FAO Water Report No. 28. Rome: FAO.Google Scholar

Elliott, J., Deryng, D., Muller, C. et al. (2014). Constraints and Potentials of Future Irrigation Water Availability on Agricultural Production under Climate Change. PNAS, 9, pp. 3239–3244. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1222474110 CrossRef Google Scholar

Esteban, E. and Albiac, J. (2012). The Problem of Sustainable Groundwater Management: The Case of La Mancha Aquifers, Spain. Hydrogeology Journal, 20, pp. 851–863. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-012-0853-3 Google Scholar

Esteban, E., Dinar, J., Albiac, J. et al. (2016). The Political Economy of Water Policy Design and Implementation in the Jucar Basin, Spain. UCR SPP Working Paper Series WP#16-04. Riverside: University of California.Google Scholar

European Commission (EC) (2007). Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council, Addressing the Challenge of Water Scarcity and Droughts in the European Union, COM 414/2007. Brussels: European Commission.Google Scholar

Garcia-Molla, M., Sanchis-Ibor, C., Ortega-Reig, M. V., and Avella-Reus, L. (2013). Irrigation Associations Coping with Drought: The Case of Four Irrigation Districts in Eastern Spain. In Schwabe, K., Albiac, J., Connor, J. D., Hassan, R. M., and Gonzalez, L. M., eds., Drought in Arid and Semi-Arid Regions. Dordrecht: Springer.Google Scholar

Garrido, A. and Calatrava, J. (2009). Trends in Water Pricing and Markets. In Garrido, A. and Llamas, M., eds., Water Policy in Spain. Leiden: CRC Press.Google Scholar

Gohar, A. and Ward, F. (2010). Gains from Expanded Irrigation Water Trading in Egypt: An Integrated Basin Approach. Ecological Economics, 69, pp. 2535–2548.Google Scholar

Grafton, R., Williams, J., Perry, C., Molle, F., Ringler, C. et al. (2018). The Paradox of Irrigation Efficiency. Science, 381(6404), pp. 748–750.Google Scholar

Instituto Nacional de Estadística [National Institute of Statistics] (INE) (2014). Cuentas satélites del agua en España [Satellite Water Accounts in Spain]. Madrid: INE.Google Scholar

Instituto Nacional de Estadística [National Institute of Statistics] (INE) (2016). Encuesta sobre el suministro y saneamiento del agua [Survey of Water Supply and Sanitation]. Madrid: INE.Google Scholar

International Groundwater Resources Assessment Center (IGRAC) (2010). Global Groundwater Information System. Delft: IGRAC.Google Scholar

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (2014a). Summary for Policymakers. In Climate Change 2014. In Pachauri, R. and core team, eds., Synthesis Report. Geneva: IPCC.Google Scholar

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (2014b). Summary for Policy Makers. In Field, C., Barros, V., Dokken, D. et al., eds., Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Part A: Global and Sectoral Aspects. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRef Google Scholar

Kahil, M. T., Connor, J. D., and Albiac, J. (2015b). Efficient Water Management Policies for Irrigation Adaptation to Climate Change in Southern Europe. Ecological Economics, 120, pp. 226–233.Google Scholar

Kahil, M. T., Dinar, A., and Albiac, J. (2015a). Modeling Water Scarcity and Droughts for Policy Adaptation to Climate Change in Arid and Semiarid Regions. Journal of Hydrology, 522, pp. 95–109.Google Scholar

Kahil, M. T., Albiac, J., Dinar, A. et al. (2016b). Improving the Performance of Water Policies: Evidence from Drought in Spain. Water, 8(2), p. 34.Google Scholar

Kahil, M. T., Dinar, A., and Albiac, J. (2016a). Cooperative Water Management and Ecosystem Protection under Scarcity and Drought in Arid and Semiarid Regions. Water Resources and Economics, 13, pp. 60–74.Google Scholar

Kirby, M., Bark, R., Connor, J., Qureshi, E., and Keyworth, S. (2014). Sustainable Irrigation: How Did Irrigated Agriculture in Australia’s Murray–Darling Basin Adapt in the Millennium Drought? Agricultural Water Management, 145, pp. 154–162.Google Scholar

Konikow, L. (2011). Contribution of Global Groundwater Depletion since 1900 to Sea-Level Rise. Geophysical Research Letters, 38. https://doi.org/10.1029/2011GL048604 Google Scholar

MARM (2008). Instrucción de Planificación Hidrologica [Hydrological Planning Instruction]. Orden ARM 2656, 38472–38582.Google Scholar

Medellin, J., Howitt, R., and Lund, J. (2013). Modeling Economic-Engineering Responses to Drought: The California Case. In Schwabe, K., Albiac, J., Connor, J., Hassan, R., Meza, L., eds., Drought in Arid and Semi-arid Environments: A Multi-disciplinary and Cross-country Perspective. Dordrecht: Springer.Google Scholar

Ministerio de Medio Ambiente [ Ministry of the Environment] (MIMAM) (2000). Libro blanco del agua en España, Dirección General de Obras Hidráulicas y Calidad de las Aguas [White Paper on Water in Spain, General Directorate of Hydraulic Works and Water Quality]. Secretaría de Estado de Aguas y Costas [Secretary of State for Waters and Coasts]. Madrid: MIMAM.Google Scholar

Ministerio de Medio Ambiente [ Ministry of the Environment] (MIMAM) (2004). Programa A.G.U.A.: Actuaciones para la Gestión y Utilización del Agua [A.G.U.A. Program: Actions for the Management and Use of Water]. Madrid: MIMAM.Google Scholar

Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Transportes [Ministry of Public Works and Transport] (MOPT) (1993). Plan Hidrológico Nacional [National Hydrological Plan]. Memoria y Anteproyecto de Ley [Memorandum and Draft Law]. Madrid: MOPT.Google Scholar

Ministerio para la Transición Ecológica [Ministry for Ecological Transition] (MITECO) (2020). Delimitación de las demarcaciones hidrográficas [Delimitation of Hydrographic Demarcations]. Dirección General del Agua [General Water Management]. MITECO. Madrid.Google Scholar

Montilla-López, N. M., Gutiérrez-Martín, C., and Gómez-Limón, J. A. (2016). Water Banks: What Have We Learnt from the International Experience? Water, 8(10), p. 466.Google Scholar

Moore, M. (1991). The Bureau of Reclamations New Mandate for Irrigation Water Conservation: Purposes and Policy Alternatives. Water Resources Research, 27, pp. 145–155.Google Scholar

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) (2008). Summary of National Hazard Statistics for 2008 in the United States, National Weather Service. Washington, DC: NOAA.Google Scholar

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) (2014). Climate Change, Water and Agriculture: Towards Resilient Systems, OECD Studies on Water. Paris: OECD Publishing.Google Scholar

Perez-Martin, M., Batan, A., Del-Amo, P., and Moll, S. (2015). Climate Change Impact on Water Resources and Droughts of AR5 Scenarios in the Jucar River, Spain. In Andreu, J., Solera, A., Paredes, J., Haro, D., and Van Lanen, H., eds., Drought: Research and Science-Policy Interfacing. Leiden: CRC Press/Bakelma.Google Scholar

Perez-Martin, M., Estrela, T., Andreu, J., and Ferrer, J. (2014). Modeling Water Resources and River-Aquifer Interaction in the Júcar River Basin, Spain. Water Resources Management, 28, pp. 4337–4358.Google Scholar

Playan, E., Lecinia, S., Isidoro, D. et al. (2013). Living with Drought in the Irrigated Agriculture of the Ebro Basin (Spain): Structural and Water Management Actions. In Schwabe, K., Albiac, J., Connor, J. D., Hassan, R. M., and Gonzalez, L. M., eds., Drought in Arid and Semi-Arid Regions. Dordrecht: Springer.Google Scholar

Qureshi, M., Schwabe, K., Connor, J., and Kirby, M. (2010). Environmental Water Incentive Policy and Return Flows. Water Resources Research, 46, pp. 1–12.CrossRef Google Scholar

Rausser, G., Swinnen, J., and Zusman, P. (2011). Political Power and Economic Policy. Theory, Analysis and Empirical Applications. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar

Scheierling, S. and Treguer, D. (2016). Investing in Adaptation: The Challenge of Responding to Water Scarcity in Irrigated Agriculture. Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Economic Review, Special Issue 2016.Google Scholar

Scheierling, S., Young, R., and Cardon, G. (2004). Determining the Price Responsiveness of Demands for Irrigation Water Deliveries versus Consumptive Use. Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, 29, pp. 328–345.Google Scholar

Siebert, S., Henrich, V., Frenken, K., and Burke, J. (2013). Update of the Digital Global Map of Irrigation Areas (GMIA) to Version 5. Institute of Crop Science and Resource Conservation, Bonn: University of Bonn.Google Scholar

United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) (2012). Climate Change and Agriculture in the United States: Effects and Adaptation, Agriculture Research Service, USDA Technical Bulletin 1935. Washington, DC: USDA.Google Scholar

Varela, C. and Hernández, N. (2010). Institutions and Institutional Reform in the Spanish Water Sector: A Historical Perspective. In Garrido, A. and Llamas, R., eds., Water Policy in Spain. Abingdon: CRC Press.Google Scholar

Vörösmarty, C. et al. (2010). Global Threats to Human Water Security and River Biodiversity. Nature, 467, pp. 555–561.CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Wada, Y. et al. (2010). Global Depletion of Groundwater Resources. Geophysical Research Letters, 37, pp. 1–5.Google Scholar

Winemiller, K. et al. (2016). Balancing Hydropower and Biodiversity in the Amazon, Congo, and Mekong. Science, 351(6269), pp. 128–129.Google Scholar

World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP) (2006). Water: A Shared Responsibility. New York: UNESCO-Berghahn Books.Google Scholar

World Water Council (WWC) (2000). World Water Vision. London: Earthscan.Google Scholar

Zilberman, D., Dunarm, A., MacDougal, N. et al. (2002). Individual and Institutional Responses to the Drought: The Case of California Agriculture. Journal of Contemporary Water Research and Education, 121, pp. 17–23.Google Scholar

Accessibility standard: Unknown

Why this information is here

This section outlines the accessibility features of this content - including support for screen readers, full keyboard navigation and high-contrast display options. This may not be relevant for you.

Accessibility Information

Accessibility compliance for the HTML of this chapter is currently unknown and may be updated in the future.

Book contents

15 - The Jucar River Basin

Summary