Policy, politics, and water management in the Guadalquivir River Basin, Spain

Abstract

[1] Among countries with river basin organizations to manage their water resources, Spain's experience is one of the longest. One of the first basin agencies established in Spain was for the Guadalquivir River in the south. A case study of that river basin and its management indicates how basin management is shaped by political economy factors such as the historical path of the agency's evolution, the basin agency's relationships with central government and with regional or local governments, the patterns of water user representation within the agency, and developments in water law and policy external to the basin agency. The case raises questions about whether and how integrated water resources management at the river basin scale is implemented, even in locations where basin agencies already exist. It also suggests that the politics of management at the river basin level will affect the implementation of national water policies intended to promote integrated management.

Comparison of Institutional Arrangements for River Basin Management in Eight Basins

“…Each visit was used also for collection of published material on the basin. After each visit, team members combined their notes from the interviews, revisited and revised the basin background paper, reviewed other materials, and composed working papers summarizing and analyzing each case (Blomquist et al 2004abcde;Bhat et al 2004;Formiga-Johnsson and Kemper 2005ab). Those working papers are thus based on a combination of sourcesdocumentary materials on the basin and the various governmental and non-governmental organizations at work there, the background paper prepared for the visit, and the interviews conducted during the site visit.…”

“…More detail is available in the working papers for each case (Blomquist et al a,b,c,d,e;Bhat et al 2004;Formiga Johnsson and Kemper 2005a,b). Despite a favorable socioeconomic context and the initial distribution of resources among basin stakeholders seeming to favor reform, the political will to advance the changes has proved insufficient.…”

“…We have already presented findings and conclusions specific to each case in a series of working papers (Blomquist et al 2004a,b,c,d,e;Bhat et al 2004;Formiga Johnsson and Kemper 2005a,b) Table 10 below provides a condensed statement of outcomes of decentralization and water management reforms for each case, drawing upon those papers. Also, for convenience of the reader, in an appendix to this paper we have also summarized findings for each case with respect to the four main categories of our theoretical framework (Tables A-1 is not yet fully operational anywhere in the state including in the Alto Tietê.…”

The influence of the Guadalquivir river on spatio-temporal variability in the pelagic ecosystem of the eastern Gulf of Cádiz

“…The outer estuary and its coastal fringe are characterized by large loads of suspended matter resulting in high turbidity levels (Navarro et al, 2012b) and high biological productivity (Navarro & Ruiz, 2006;Prieto et al, 2009). This estuarine environment is ecologically and socio-economically important, resulting in high levels of pressure from numerous stakeholders (Bhat & Blomquist, 2004;Ruiz et al, 2014). In addition, the Gulf of Cadiz region is characterized by strong seasonality and important synoptic weather events , which largely control chlorophyll concentrations and suspended material.…”

A Paradigm Shift in Water Quality Governance in a Transitional Context: A Critical Study about the Empowerment of Local Governance in Georgia

“…However, there are conflicts of interest among stakeholders in some river basins. In the Guadalquivir River Basin, for example, the regional government and river basin authority must handle the competing and conflicting interests of communities using large-scale irrigation and other water users [17]. Thus, a lack of cooperation regarding WQG between river basin management authorities and other governance entities can be observed.…”