Guadiana Case Study

Case Study Leader

Dr. M. Ramón Llamas Madurga, Universidad Complutense de Madrid

Focus

For practical purposes, the Guadiana case study is divided in two sections:

The Upper Guadiana basin presents a paradigmatic case of a semiarid region where intensive groundwater use for irrigation has helped transform a largely poor rural region into a prosperous agricultural and industrial center. From an economy based on growing wheat and vines and sheep rearing, the area has experienced a transformation into what is today: a vibrant and economically viable region that no longer depends exclusively on agriculture. However, some problems have arisen as a result of uncontrolled groundwater development. These essentially refer to the conflict between farmers social and economic development and the environmental value of groundwater-dependent ecosystems. The UCM team focuses on this part of the case study.

The Transboundary part of this case study focuses mainly on the international relationships for river management ruled by the Albufeira Convention, signed in 1998 by Spain and Portugal. The Convention is widely regarded as a successful example of international cooperation. The Guadiana basin is Portugal's pilot catchment for the implementation of the EU's Water Framework Directive and hosts the Alqueva dam, the largest in Europe. The main objective of this development is to contribute to the social and economic welfare of the Alentejo region. ISQ, Sustainable Development Unit, coordinates this part of the case study.

NeWater Research

1. The first refers to stakeholder engagement and involvement, which has been carried out mostly via a series of thematic stakeholder meetings. Key basin stakeholders such as the Guadiana Water Authority, Spain and Portugal's Ministries for the Environment, the Agriculture Department of Castilla-La Mancha regional government, water user associations, farmer unions and environmental conservation groups have all shown an ongoing commitment to these meetings. A second participatory process was held using Bayesian networks (see Bayesian networks information below).
2. A great work has been made also towards training and dissemination of NeWater knowledge.
3. The third is more related to hard-science approaches, and focuses on the development of adaptive management tools requested by stakeholders. These include a specific hydrological model to test potential outcomes of EU and national agricultural and water policy. Furthermore, an agro-economic-hydrological integrated modelling framework has also been developed, with the aim of analyzing policy scenarios, including agricultural policies and water policies, and their socio-economic impacts on farms, considering the environmental, social and economic vulnerability of main actors involved in water use. In addition, the Guadiana team is coordinating research integration within the case study, while also contributing to the work of other NeWater WPs.
4. The fourth relates to the use of Bayesian networks for developing a participatory process. Bayesian networks were used to test different management options and assess their consequences as the trade-off between agricultural economy and the environmental sustainability in the area.
5. The fifth deals with the estimation of the Water Footprint of the whole Guadiana basin. This engages Luso-Spanish institutions facilitating the transboundary cooperation between riparian states. Considering the difficulties to work in transboundary issues, we contacted the National Water Institute of Portugal (INAG) to do jointly the Water Footprint of the entire Guadiana bains (see INAG letter). Some preliminary reports are available here.

Background documents Guadiana

You can find background documents here.

Activities

• 13 November, 2008. Meeting for the presentation of NeWater results to Guadiana Stakeholders, Ciudad Real, Spain.
• 22 October, 2008. "Training the Practicioners" on Bayesian networks, Madrid, Spain.
• 15-21 June, 2008. Visit of Uzbekistan delegates to the Upper Guadiana Basin.
• 29 April, 2008. Third Bayesian networks meeting with stakeholders. Evaluation of preliminary B. networks, Madrid, Spain.
• 5 February, 2008. Second Bayesian networks meeting with stakeholders, Madrid, Spain.
• 20-30 January, 2008. Individual interviews with Stakeholders, Ciudad Real, Spain.
• 5-6 September 2007. Training and dissemination workshop, Madrid, Spain.
• 11-13 June, 2007. Technical meeting with GEUS and Oxford on Bayesian Belief Networks in the Upper Guadiana Basin at Geus (Copenhagen).
• 24-26 May, 2007. Third workshop for  the education community in Alcázar de San Juan, Spain.
• 10 & 16 May, 2007. First Stakeholder meetings for the development of Bayesian Networks (Madrid and Ciudad Real, Spain).
• 4 May, 2007. Research integration meeting between WP2.1/2.4 (OUCE-CEH) and WP3.4 (ISQ) in Lisbon.
• 26-29 March, 2007. Technical meeting with GEUS on Bayesian Belief Networks in the Upper Guadiana Basin (UGB) at IGME (Madrid).
• 11 January, 2007. Upper Guadiana Stakeholder Meeting #4 held at the Ortega y Gasset Foundation, Madrid, Spain.
• 24 November, 2006. Training workshop for key water users in the Upper Guadiana basin, Tomelloso, Ciudad Real, Spain.
• 20-22 November, 2006. Research coordination meeting of the WP 3.4 team with GEUS and OUCE to start the joint development of a Bayesian  Network for the Upper Guadiana Basin. Hosted by IGME (Madrid, Spain).
• 16 October, 2006. Upper Guadiana Stakeholder Meeting #3 was held at the Ortega y Gasset Foundation, Madrid, Spain.
• 26-30 June, 2006. WEAP21 Seminar held at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
• 29 May, 2006. Upper Guadiana Stakeholder Meeting #2 held at the Ortega y Gasset Foundation, Madrid, Spain.
• 27 April and 4 May, 2006. First workshop for  the education community in Ciudad Real.
• 18 April, 2006. Transboundary Stakeholder Meeting #1 held at the Instituto de Soldadura e Qualidade, Lisbon, Portugal.
• 28 October, 2005. Deliverables 3.4.1 and 3.4.2 uploaded.
• 6 October, 2005. Upper Guadiana Stakeholder Meeting #1 held at the Ortega y Gasset Foundation, Madrid, Spain.
• 20 June, 2005. NeWater/Aquastress meeting held at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid.
• 18 April, 2005. Upper Guadiana/Transboundary Stakeholder Meeting #0 (info session), held at the Ortega y Gasset Foundation, Madrid, Spain.

Team members

The participation of the Instituto Geológico y Minero de España (IGME) as a scientific partner with no funds from the EU has been already approved. This table does not include other individuals of ther WPs (ej. WP1.5, WP1.7 and WP2.1) that are collaborating in the Guadiana Case Study.

Material:

Name	Size	Published
Water footprint analysis of the Guadiana basin within the NeWater project.pdf	1459 kb	Mr. Stefan Riffert	2009-03-19 15:38:06
Guadiana_Baseline.pdf	2161 kb	Mr. Stefan Riffert	2009-03-19 15:38:13
NW Guadiana Flier.pdf	5613 kb	Mr. Stefan Riffert	2009-03-19 15:38:23