Protecting water in the face of the climate crisis It has become one of the main problems of humanity. The Council of Ministers began work and approved the Strategic Guidelines for Water and Climate Change, on the recommendation of the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Demographic Struggle (Miteco). key document to create Guidelines and measures in the planning and management of water in Spain increasing country’s resilience to global warming With a time horizon of 2030.
Aim protecting water as an “essential good” against “the challenges and challenges ahead” in the context of the climate crisisHe reassured Isabel Rodriguez, Minister of Land Policy and Government spokesperson after the Cabinet. Measures to mitigate other consequences of global warming: preventing heat waves and fires.
“They were seeing periods of high drought and at the same time biggest flood in our history”, Rodriguez recalled.
The Minister referred to these, which are increasing frequency and virulence of forest fires, heat waves and water availability in spain. The way the country lives”very unfavorable conditions”.
According to the Government of Pedro Sánchez, Spain takes ‘leadership in good water management’. The plan aims to deal with the problem. different types of water stress: extreme, in floods and by default, in droughts. It also aims to improve. purified water quality and in favor protection of rivers, lakes, aquifers and wetlandsamong other goals.
Flexible hydrological planning
According to the results of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Mediterranean region ‘particularly vulnerable’ to the effects of global warming.
Therefore a water resources are likely to be depleted In hydrographic basins that currently bear the main water management problems in Spain. Therefore, the new strategy focuses on identifying water management challenges and the most appropriate tools to face them.
Thus, the Strategic Directions will serve to initiate lines of action that adequately implement the Strategic Directions. European Union water policies and push climate change resilient hydrological planning.
Between quantity elevated in document highlight recovery, restoration and protection of rivers, lakes, aquifers and wetlands, increasing water security, improving sanitation and treatment in urban agglomerations; progress in combating widespread pollution or managing the risk of floods or droughts.
Likewise, the document commits to strengthen the financing of hydraulic utilities or to promote the international water agenda. These action lines will be completed with i.introduction of new technologiessustainable economic activities and a transparent, equitable and participatory water governance model.
The instruments that will enable the development of the measures to be implemented will be watershed hydrological plans, flood risk management plans or drought plans. It will also be supported by initiatives provided in the Groundwater Action Plan currently under preparation, the DSEAR Plan, PERTE for the Digitization of the Water Cycle or the National River Restoration Strategy.
Four key milestones by 2030
The implementation of these action lines will be as follows: time horizon 2030 and will be marked by four important milestones:
-Confirmation inside 2022 Hydrological Plans and Flood Risk Management Plans of the third cycle.
-in completion 2025 From the first work program of the National Plan for Adaptation to Climate Change
-in completion 2027 the third cycle of hydrological planning and the second cycle of flood risk planning.
-in completion 2030 Climate Change Adaptation Strategy and National Plan.
The government decision came to align with the Climate Change and Energy Transformation Act, which was approved in May 2021, which identified the need to have a strategy that defines the guidelines and measures to be considered in the planning and management of water in Spain. addressing the consequences of climate change as “the effects on water management systems are becoming increasingly evident”.
The document includes some monitoring indices that will make it possible to verify whether Spain is approaching or moving away from the targets set by the measures adopted.
Some main challenges in water management Those defined in these Strategic Directions, fragile balance between available resources and water demands, sanitation Y decontamination, groundwater condition and river ailments. In addition, with the revision of the Directive on the treatment of urban wastewater, pollution emitted by nitratesOther challenges to overcome, according to the government.
Source: Informacion
