Spain remains anhydrous and lives its most critical summer after several heat waves and historical droughts rivers, lakes and reservoirs at minimum levels. Experts warn that this situation will worsen rather than improve in the coming years unless urgent action is taken, as climate change will lead to longer and more intense dry periods.
By 2050, 17% of the European population is at high risk of water scarcity. Spain and Greece are the countries with the highest risk of water shortages on the continent. Seville, Granada, Córdoba and Murcia will be at the greatest risk of famine in Europe.
These are some of the results of a study conducted by WWFa requesting Fundamental shift towards a new water management model where demand is adjusted to available resourcesand thus guarantees water for nature and people.
Europe will be increasingly prone to drought and water scarcity. By 2050, 82% of Greece’s population and GDP will depend on areas of high or extreme risk due to lack of water. In Spain, there will be a population at high risk and 75% of Spanish GDP..
Because the lack of rain is not the only cause of drought. “Governments, administrations and companies should be ashamed to continue to turn a blind eye to these recurring risks and base its planning and economy on increasing water useas if these risks will resolve themselves, but not because strong action is not taken”, condemns WWF.
Serious risk of desertification
“If we don’t change water policies today, tomorrow’s droughts cannot be avoided,” warns the NGO. Despite serious risk of desertificationSpain is one of its hydrological plans. water management model that prioritizes its use for heavily irrigated and industrialized crops. And they consume 80% of the country’s water.
dir-dir”suicidal water management” and “overuse of resources“ led again national reservoirs are currently at historically low levels. “This proves The failure of the irrigation modernization carried out since 2005, so-called water-saving for basins,” WWF underlines, revealing that the irrigated area has increased by 11% since then.
“Also, in areas where there is no water in rivers and reservoirs, Groundwater is used in ways that endanger the water reserves of the future“denotes the conservationist organization, which states that there are “more than 80 overexploited aquifers” in Spain.
Added to all this is “water theft in Spain,” according to the WWF. “watered with illegally extracted water, an area similar to 1.5 times the city of Madrid, more than 88,000 hectares, In four of the most important and overused aquifers on the Peninsula, affecting valuable natural areas: the Daimiel, Doñana, Mar Menor and the Los Arenales aquifer-fed rivers”.
Also, there is almost a million illegal wellsAccording to the NGO study, it makes Spain the country with the highest water use in Europe.
For all these reasons, WWF is one of the competent authorities. “radical turn” in water management and that they promote a new model that reduces irrigation demands to actually available resources.
“Transfers and reservoirs are not the solution”
also demand bet on savings through new technologies to ensure water security for people and enough water for nature.
Because, according to the WWF, “transfers and reservoirs are not the solution to scarcity. We need another production model that stops investing in the intensification and management of new irrigation, supports rain-fed crops as a more sustainable option, and prevents and eliminates water theft.”
“We also need to invest in nature-based solutions. improving the health of rivers, wetlands and aquifers and making them more resilient to the effects of climate change‘, he concludes.
WWF recommends several solutions to prevent water stress:
– Progress in recovering the cost of water services Required by the Water Framework Directive to promote the efficient use of water resources with the “polluter pays” principle.
-Review drought indicators to improve prevention anticipate exceptional events, diagnose their consequences, and monitor extreme events appropriately.
– Adapting demands to actually available water resourcesmanaging droughts before they occur by adapting needs to available resources.
–Use alternative sources of water resources during periods of critical droughtaspect desalination of sea water or reuse of treated water, thereby reducing the pressure on the basins.
– Promote a culture of water conservation in Spainpromoting more sustainable use, especially by the most consuming productive sectors; especially agricultural uses.
– Provide a defined budget and specific measures To the National Strategy to Combat Desertification for the next eight years.
– Integrate objectives, measures and recommendations Inclusion of the Strategy in other relevant plans to address this issue, such as assistance linked to the Common Agricultural Policy.
– Promote a Land Conservation Law to prevent its continued erosion and degradation.
The report ‘The effects of climate change on the Iberian Peninsula’: https://wwfes.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/efectos_cc_en_la_peninsula__2_.pdf
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