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DELIVERABLE D10.2
Strategies and
recommendations for
river basin management
in Tagus
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STRIVER Report No. D10.2
Strategy and methodology for improved IWRM - An integratedinterdisciplinary assessment in four twinning river basins
Title
Strategies and recommendations for river basin management in Tagus
Author(s)
Antnio Betmio de Almeida, Maria Manuela Portela, Marta Machado, Santiago Beguera, Sergio M.Vicente-Serrano, J. Ignacio Lpez-Moreno, Noem Lana-Renault, Jos Mara Garca-Ruiz, DaleCampbell and Alistair Rieu-Clarke
Report No.
STRIVER Report No. D10.2ISBN
-
Organisation name of lead contractor for this deliverable
IST-CEHIDRO (Portugal and CSIC (Spain)
No. of pages
50 p.
Due date of deliverable:
February 2009
Actual date of deliverable:
June 2009
Dissemination level1
PUKey words
IWRM, Tagus, flooding, Albufeira convention, hydropower, water scarcity
1 PU Public
PP Restricted to other programme participants (including the Commission Services)
RE Restricted to a group specified by the consortium (including the Commission Services)CO Confidential, only for members of the consortium (including the Commission Services)
Title of project: Strategy and methodology for improved IWRM- An integrated interdisciplinary assessment in four twinning river basins(STRIVER)
Instrument: SUSTDEV-2005-3.II.3.6: Twinning European/third countries river basins.Contract number: 037141Start date of project: July 2006 Duration: 36 months
Project co-funded by the European Commission within the Sixth Framework Programme (2002-2006)
DisclaimerThe information provided and the opionions given in this publication are not necessarily those of theauthors or the EC. The authors and publisher assume no liability for any loss resulting from the use of thisreport.
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STRIVER Report No. D10.2
Contents
Summary 5Annex:
de Almeida, A.B., Portela, MM, Machado, M., Beguera S, Vicente-Serrano, SM., Lpez-Moreno, JI.,
Lana-Renault, N., Garca-Ruiz. JM., Campbell, D., & Rieu-Clarke, A. 2009.The Tagus River
BasinSpain and Portugal. STRIVER Policy Brief No.19
de Almeida, A.B., Portela, M.M., Machado, M., Beguera, S., Vicente-Serrano, S., Garca-Ruiz, J.M.,
Lana-Renault, N. and Lopz-Moreno, N. 2009. A comparative assessment of IWRM principles in
Tagus (Spain and Portugal). STRIVER Policy Brief No.14
de Almeida, A.B., Portela, M.M. and Machado, M. 2009. A case of transboundary water agreement -
- the Albufeira Convention. STRIVER Technical Brief No. 9
Portela, M.M., de Almeida, A.B. and Machado, M. 2009. Development in river basin management in
Portugalpast and future perspectives. STRIVER Technical Brief No.10
Beguera, S. Vicente-Serrano, S.M, Lpez-Moreno, J.I., Lana-Renault, N., Garca-Ruiz, J.M. de
Almeida, A.B., Portela, M.M. & Marta Machado. IWRM status in the Tagus basin, Spain.
STRIVER Technical Brief No. 11
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STRIVER Report No. D10.2
5
Summary
This deliverable constitute of the following five Policy and Technical Briefs attached to this
report:
de Almeida, A.B., Portela, MM, Machado, M., Beguera S, Vicente-Serrano, SM., Lpez-Moreno, JI.,
Lana-Renault, N., Garca-Ruiz. JM., Campbell, D., & Rieu-Clarke, A. 2009.The Tagus River
BasinSpain and Portugal. STRIVER Policy Brief No.19
de Almeida, A.B., Portela, M.M., Machado, M., Beguera, S., Vicente-Serrano, S., Garca-Ruiz, J.M.,
Lana-Renault, N. and Lopz-Moreno, N. 2009. A comparative assessment of IWRM principles in
Tagus (Spain and Portugal). STRIVER Policy Brief No.14
de Almeida, A.B., Portela, M.M. and Machado, M. 2009. A case of transboundary water agreement -
- the Albufeira Convention. STRIVER Technical Brief No. 9
Portela, M.M., de Almeida, A.B. and Machado, M. 2009. Development in river basin management in
Portugalpast and future perspectives. STRIVER Technical Brief No.10
Beguera, S. Vicente-Serrano, S.M, Lpez-Moreno, J.I., Lana-Renault, N., Garca-Ruiz, J.M. de
Almeida, A.B., Portela, M.M. & Marta Machado. IWRM status in the Tagus basin, Spain.
STRIVER Technical Brief No. 11
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STRIVER POLICY BRIEFStrategy and methodology for improved IWRM- An integrated interdisciplinary assessment in four twinning river basins
PB No. 19
The Tagus River Basin Spain and Portugal
With the two capital cities Madrid and Lisbon located
along its banks, the Tagus River is a major river in Spain
and Portugal. With increasing pressures due to climate
change, and problems of scarcity and flows there is a
need to develop good monitoring and collaboration
mechanisms between the two countries.
The STRIVER Policy Brief series translate the results from the EC FP6-funded STRIVER project
into practical and useful information for policy makers and water managers
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STRIVER POLICY BRIEF / ISSUE NO. 19 2
The Tagus River Spain and Portugal
Antnio Betmio de Almeida, Maria Manuela Portela, Marta Machado (IST-CIHEDRO, Portugal),
Santiago Beguera, Sergio M. Vicente-Serrano, J. Ignacio Lpez-Moreno, Noem Lana-Renault, JosMara Garca-Ruiz (Agencia Estatal Consejo Superior de Investigaciones, CSIC, Spain),
Dale Campbell and Alistair Rieu-Clarke (UNESCO Centre for Water Law, Policy and Science)
Abstract
Because the Tagus is subject to increasing pressures because of demands from urban
areas and agriculture, as well as climate change, the Tagus Segura water transfer and
natural impacts like the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), there is a need to further
develop monitoring and coordination mechanisms to govern the basins resources. Each
country has a basin plan in place, and a basin authority responsible for Tagus water
resources (in Portugal, the Tejo Hydrographic Region Administration, and in Spain, the
Tajo Basin Authority). Both countries have established basin plans for their respective
sections of the catchment, prepared in a collaborative and consensual way through the
Tejo Basin Council (Portugal) and the Tajo Council of Users (Spain). These bodies work
within the general national strategies prepared by their respective National Water
Councils.
The following stakeholders attended the STRIVER workshops and also gave valuable inputs to thisbrief:
Professor Alberto Garrido, Universidad Politecnica de Madrid Nuria Hernandez-Mora, New Water Culture Foundation Beln Ramos, Medio Ambiente en la Organizacin de Consumidores y Usuarios Joo Pedro Avillez, INAG Helder Careto, Geota Alexandra Brito, Conferacin de Agricultores de Portugal (CAP) Dr. Francisco Nunes Godinho, Portuguese Water Council adjunct Miguel Gamboa, IST Ms. Maria Joo Correia, LPN (Nature Protection League)
Fact box
The Tagus River rises in east-central Spain, in the Sierra de Albarracin at an altitude of 1 590 meters,
and flows through Portugal where it empties in the Atlantic Ocean near Lisbon. It is the longest river
on the Iberian Peninsula. The rivers main tributaries are the: Jarama, Alberche, Tietar, Alagon,
Guadelia, Almonte and Salor Rivers in Spain and the Erges, Ponsul, Zezere, and Sorraia Rivers in
Portugal. Two European capitals with a total of 11 million people depend on the river for their water
supply. It is navigable for about 160 km from its mouth, while dams harness its waters for irrigation
and hydroelectric power, creating large artificial lakes. The lower and upper courses pass through deep
gorges and are broken by waterfalls. There have been efforts to reforest the land surrounding the
river. The Tagus estuary, which is one of the three most important ones in Europe, is of great
international interest and is the most important wetland in Portugal. A part of the area is a nature
reserve under national law and is also designated as a EU Special Protection Area for wild birds.
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STRIVER POLICY BRIEF / ISSUE NO. 19 3
The following issues and policy/management
recommendations are a result of research
activities undertaken under the STRIVER
project, and discussions with stakeholders
during three workshops and a number of field
trips (2006-2009). The list of issues does not
confess to be either all encompassing or fully
reflective of all stakeholder interests. However,
every effort has been made to bring in as
broader range of perspectives as possible.
Participants during discussions at the Second Tagus
Stakeholder Workshop in Lisbon, February 28, 2008
1. Water availability and allocation issues
In the Tagus there are competing wateruses among different sectors (farming,
industry, urban water supply) and amongstregions (water transfer); sometimes
demand exceeds availability.
Increased urbanization, land use andclimate change heighten the potential for
conflict between water uses, particularly
during water shortage periods.
In Spain water saving upstream does notnecessarily affect water availability
downstream due to the Jcar and Segura
basin transfers.
In Spain, lack of water availability inMadrid in the future is a real possibility, as
is future pressure on the resources in the
headwaters of the Tagus
In Spain, the Tagus-Segura water transferaccounts for 10% of the total water use inthe Spanish part of the Tagus River Basin,
averaging 500 hm3/year. The Tagus-
Segura transfer therefore is a challenge in
achieving sustainable water allocation
within the basin.
Non-controlled water abstractions arecausing over-exploitation in some areas.
Water allocation is based mainly on long-term average values and assumes normal
management conditions. Adaptation of the
existing water systems to the concretecircumstances of each year is done
reactively rather than adopting an
anticipatory approach. Those systems may
therefore fail to accommodate drought
periods effectively. However, at the
bilateral level (State-State) there has been
a recent change in seasonal or weakly
allocation of water, from fixed annual
volume to seasonal flows.
The existing basin plans do not fullyaccount for the effects of climate and land
cover changes on water availability.
The maintenance and improvement ofhydrological monitoring systems are
fundamental conditions to ensure the
effectiveness of IWRM.
In view of the above findings:
All water consumptions must be measuredand not just estimated. The consumer
pays principle must be fairly implemented,and should take into consideration the
social, environmental and economic
consequences. Water pricing should be
designed to promote efficient use of
water resources. Distortion due to intra-
sectoral competition between the two
countries should be prevented.
There needs to be more incentives forwater saving and reuse.
New regulations should include hydricefficiency, similar to what has been done
with energy efficiency.
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STRIVER POLICY BRIEF / ISSUE NO. 19 4
Future river basin plans must take intoaccount the effects of climate and land
cover changes.
In water allocation and planningmeasures there is a need to consider
water quantity and quality together, given
that quality determines availability in
some rivers.
Sufficient resources must be put in placefor the maintenance and improvement of
the monitoring systems.
2. Water quality and ecological
status There are still many problems threatening
water quality within the basin, such as
deficient water treatment, especially in
small towns; over-exploitation, which
increases the concentration of pollutants
and nutrients; and diffuse pollution
sources.
In Madrid and in the metropolitan Lisbonarea (including Lisbon, Barreiro, Almada,
Montijo), for example, lack of capacity totreat all wastewater is a major challenge,
even to accomplish the goals of EC
Directives.
The lack of capacity to treat wastewateralso contributes to significant pollution of
the estuary.
Inflateable barrier at the Tagus River.
Photo by Geoffrey D. Gooch
The current water quality monitoring andmodelling system is still insufficient.
There are problems with the introductionof alien invasive species.
In view of the above findings:
Illegal water extraction should beprosecuted.
There is a need to increase investment inwastewater treatment, and control
wastewater dumping, gravel excavations
and effluents from farms and irrigation
systems.
Water quality should be adapted to userequirements, e.g., industrial use might
tolerate lower water quality than drinking
water.
More water quality control is required, withgreater funds and resources for
monitoring. Ecological quality evaluation must be
implemented in order to verify if the good
status objectives of the EC Water
Framework Directive are to be met by
2015.
An ecological flow regime should beimplemented in order to achieve good
ecological status/potential.
The polluter pays principle must also beimplemented effectively and fairly. Lessons
could be learnt from air pollution regimes.
3. Stakeholder participation in
water management
Although a significant effort has beenmade in the last few years to make all
technical data available to the public,
information about the decision-making
process is still deficient. Transparency in
decision-making can help ensure abalanced use of water and reduce
negative social and environmental
impacts.
Capacity building is a pre-requisite topublic participation. Basic education on
water issues is still lacking.
Water resources management has beenconsidered during decades a
predominantly technical issue, so public
participation was not incorporated in thepast, although notable developments
have occurred in recent years through the
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STRIVER POLICY BRIEF / ISSUE NO. 19 5
adoption of the Water Framework
Directive. However, the question of who
participates in what decisions and how,
remains a key challenge. Active involvement and public
consultation in decision-making remains
largely an aspiration rather than an
effective tool by which to manage water
resources equitably and sustainably.
Stakeholders at the 3rd STRIVER Tagus
Stakeholder Workshop in Madrid in April 2009
In view of the above findings:
More effort is needed to facilitate andpromote stakeholder involvement in
decision-making.
Management at local levels needs to becoordinated effectively to fully account for
public trust.
Water users should be provided with moreeducation campaigns focused on
promoting best practices. At the same
time, education and information tools
should be made available (e.g., teaching
materials, water footprint calculator, etc. Real time information on the quality of
drinking water could be implemented in
order to make people conscious of water
quality and motivate public trust.4. Legal and institutional aspects
Major efforts have been made to put alegal framework in place that facilitates
good water governance and IWRM -
although notable challenges remain.
There is ineffective law enforcement.
Overlapping competences betweendifferent authorities, as well as a lack of
dialogue and coordination of policies can
lead to inefficiency and inequity sinceweak institutions can result in the
allocation of water being determined
largely on the basis of power.
In Spain, different interests arerepresented by the Ministry of the
Environment and Rural and Marine Affairs.
In Portugal, intra-sectoral coordination is
needed between the different ministries
directly or indirectly involved.
The interstate Albufeira Convention doesnot sufficiently account for water qualityissues, or management of extreme events.
Intra-river basin management andcoordination between Spain and Portugal
is at an embryonic stage.
In view of the above findings:
There is a need for stronger support tomonitor implementation of laws relating
to access to information, participation and
IWRM. Water basin authorities should
have the necessary resources to monitorand enforce regulations.
Capacity building, stronger institutionalcoordination and awareness raising is also
needed.
Long term policies independent ofgovernment shifts are needed.
Policy-makers need to consider the long-term ecosystem impacts and the impact
on flows in Portugal of water transfers to
the southeast of Spain.
Co-ordination of the Spanish andPortuguese Tagus river basin authorities
should be promoted further, and
transparency to the public improved.
Supranational coordination, considering
the entire Tagus Basin, should be
enforced in the elaboration of each of the
new River Basin Management Plans. The
production of a final joint document is
desirable. The Albufeira Conventions
provisions relating to water quality andthe co-coordinated management of
extreme events should be strengthened.
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STRIVER POLICY BRIEF / ISSUE NO. 19 6
The STRIVER Policy and Technical Briefseries translate theresults from projects into practical and useful information for policymakers and water managers.
The Briefs are also available online: www.striver.no
About STRIVERSTRIVER- Strategy and methodology for improved IWRM - Anintegrated interdisciplinary assessment in four twinning river basinsis a three year EC funded project 2006-2009 under the 6thframework programme (FP6) coordinated jointly by Bioforsk and
NIVA. The point of departure for STRIVER is the lack of clearmethodologies and problems in operationalisation of IntegratedWater Resource Management (IWRM) as pointed out by both thescientific and management communities.13 partners from 9countries participate as contractual partners in addition to anexternal advisory board.
Title of project:Strategy and methodology for improved IWRM- An integrated interdisciplinary assessment in four twinning riverbasins(STRIVER)
Instrument: SUSTDEV-2005-3.II.3.6: Twinning European/thirdcountries river basins.
Contract number: 037141Start date of project: July 2006 Duration: 36 months
Project funded by the European Commission within the SixthFramework Programme (2002-2006)
DisclaimerThe information provided and the opinions given in this publicationare not necessarily those of the authors or the EC. The authors andpublisher assume no liability for any loss resulting from the use ofthis report.
Front-cover photo: Tagus River in Portugal. (Photo by GeoffreyD. Gooch)
Editor: Per Stlnacke (Bioforsk)
Launch-date: 30 June, 2009
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STRIVER POLICY BRIEFStrategy and methodology for improved IWRM- An integrated interdisciplinary assessment in four twinning river basins
PB No. 14
A comparative assessment of IWRM principles in
Tagus River basin (Spain and Portugal)
Results from a comparative assessment on the IWRM principles and
practices in the Portuguese and Spanish sub basins of Tagus River are
systematized.Important similarities and differences between the two
sub basins are identified as well as some critical issues subject to
improvement.
The STRIVER Brief series translate the results from the EC FP6-funded STRIVER project into
practical and useful information for policy makers and water managers
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STRIVER POLICY BRIEF / ISSUE NO. 14 2
A comparative assessment of the IWRM principles and
practices in Tagus River basin (Spain and Portugal)
Antnio Betmio de Almeida, CEHIDRO/IST, Portugal
Maria Manuela Portela, CEHIDRO/IST, Portugal
Marta Machado, CEHIDRO/IST, Portugal
Santiago Beguera, IPE-CSIC, Spain
Sergio Vicente-Serrano, IPE-CSIC, Spain
Jos Mara Garca-Ruiz, IPE-CSIC, Spain
Noemi Lana-Renault, IPE-CSIC, Spain
Nacho Lopz-Moreno, IPE-CSIC, Spain
AbstractThe Tagus River basin is shared between Portugal and Spain. In both parts of the basin
there are reference management plans that were elaborated under the inspiration of the
basic IWRM principles and implemented during the last decade.
Within the STRIVER project a comparative assessment of the IWRM principles and
practices in the Portuguese and Spanish sub basins was conducted. The comparison
focused on the following five main issues, identified as being particularly relevant for a
sustainable development: a) the environmental aspect; b) the efficient use of water; c)
the institutional dimension; d) the capacity building; and e) the transboundary issues.
This Policy Brief summarises some of the conclusions thus achieved. Important
similarities and differences between the two sub basins are identified as well as some
critical points that should be improved. This assessment can provide a contribution for
future recommendations, regarding the new generation of management plans that are
being prepared in both countries according to the European Water Framework Directive.
Fact box 1
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STRIVER POLICY BRIEF / ISSUE NO. 14 4
a new generation of river basin plans whose
studies are about to begin. In Spain the AGUA
Programme (Actions for the Management and
Use of Water) will lead to the preparation ofthe New Hydrological Plan for the Tagus basin.
c) Implementation of relevantmanagement instruments
Some of the management related issues
considered in the Portuguese and Spanish plans
dealt with water resource assessment;
monitoring; controls, standards and guidelines;
risk assessment and management;
environmental impact assessment; and
communication and access to environmentalinformation.
Regarding the water resources assessment,
both plans have evaluated the surface and
groundwater resources of the Tagus River
basin. For example, Portugal has performed an
assessment based on 50 years of data (from
1940 to 1990) and has estimated the water
consumption by sector, identifying the
withdrawals from surface and groundwater
sources.
Controls, standards and guidelines, as for
example the quality standards for drinking
water, are present in the two parts of the basin
and are enforced by national regulations. Both
countries apply the Waste Water Directive.
Systematic monitoring activities are taking
place on the Tagus basin.
Flood risk is included in the water and land
management. Flood mapping systems weredeveloped for the basins as measures to
manage the flood risk.
d) Management and integration of thedifferent environmental aspects
The following aspects were analyzed (Table1):
natural ecosystems and biodiversity; soil,
water, air, climate and landscape and
Integration of the different environmental
aspects.
The levels of protection for riparian zones andassociated ecosystems range from corrective
relation - such as the case of Portugal, where
all the fluvial corridors (50 m from the backline)
are considered protected areas - to the
protection of relevant water related
ecosystems, such as the Laguna de Los Llanosde Pealara in Spain. In Tagus basin there are
several natural parks and protected areas to
preserve the ecosystem habitat and
biodiversity.
Table 1 - Qualitative assessment of the level of integrationin different environmental aspects in Tagus river Basin
Level of integration in:Tagus(ES)
Tagus(PT)
Freshwater management andcoastal zone management
Medium Medium
Land and water management Medium Medium
Green water (for biomassproduction) and blue waters(water flowing in rivers andaquifers)
Medium ---
Surface and groundwatermanagement
High Medium
Quantity and quality in waterresources management
Medium Medium
Upstream and downstreamwater related interests
Low Medium
Measures to ensure efficient and
equitable use of waterSeveral initiatives were undertaken to improve
the efficient use of water and to spread the
perception of water as having social and
economic value. Some of the most important
initiatives are the polluter/userpay approach
(in the Portuguese side) and a set of incentives
for new water-saving technologies and efficient
transport and for replacement of water
intensive crops and cultivars (in the Spanish
side).
For monitoring and for recording and control of
all the water uses, a metering system is already
in place, as a consequence also of the adoption
of policy in which water payment is based on
the utilized volumes and not on a flat basis.
In general, water is recognized as an economic
and social good. The perception of the social
relevance of the water resource leads to the
adoption of strategies to preserve the
environmental value of the rivers, as opposed
to the economic value that is well understood.
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STRIVER POLICY BRIEF / ISSUE NO. 14 5
The price of water in both countries is based on
real costs and gained benefit. In the
Portuguese part, everyone pays with the
exception the minor users and abstractors,while in the Spanish part there is a political
price to help farmers. Local political priorities
are implemented in terms of different price
levels imposed to certain user categories or
according to the average welfare level of the
concerned society. Policies give irrigation a
special consideration, since required fees are
more or less political fees to sustain the
agricultural sector.
Institutional analysis and
stakeholder involvement in water
management
This issue comprehends three aspects:a) institutions and water law; b) institutional
structure; and c) stakeholder involvement.
Effective and equitable governance is crucial for
the implementation of IWRM plans. Stakeholder
participation is also very important. Citizens
and communities know the environment in
which they live and by sharing information
decision makers can both be better informed,
and take account of differing interests and
perspectives. Active stakeholder involvement is
fundamental to provide feedback in the basinmanagement.
a) Institutions and water law
The European Water Framework Directive
(WFD) demands that river basin districts are
established. Spain and Portugal are thereforebound to set up an administrative system for
water management based on hydrological basin
boundaries.
The present systems in Spain and Portugal are
in many ways similar. Each has a basin plan in
place, with each having a separate basin
authority responsible for the management of
the water resources in the basin (in Portugal,
the Tejo Hydrographic Region Administration,
and in Spain, the Tagus Basin Authority). In
both basins, the plans were prepared in a
collaborative and consensual way through the
Tejo Basin Council (Portugal) and the Tagus
Council of Users (Spain). These bodies provide
the participation of the basin stakeholderes and
work within the general national strategies
prepared by their respective National Water
Councils (again with the stakeholder
participation, but representative of national as
opposed to basin interests). In Portugal, the
national Water Institute is responsible for theimplementation of the different basin plans,
with the basin authority taking this function in
Spain. At the national level in Spain, water
resources management is controlled by the
Water Authority, which works under the
auspices of the Ministry of the Environment,
and the Rural and Maritime Environment. The
Water Institute in Portugal by which is
responsible the Ministry for Environment,
Spatial Planning and Regional Development
serves a similar function at the ministerial level.In both countries, there is no specific
coordinating body.
However, the constitution of the National Water
Councils in both countries goes some way to
alleviating this potential difficulty both are
made up of representatives from all relevant
ministries, sectoral users, NGOs, regional
authorities and technical bodies.
Finally at the supra-national level, both
countries have obligations with respect to waterpolicy and information provision under the
Albufeira Convention, which has established the
Water availability (Million m3)
Portugal 6 400 (34,4%)
Spain 12 230 (65,6%)
Total 18 630
Water availability (Million m3)
Portugal 6 400 (34,4%)
Spain 12 230 (65,6%)
Total 18 630
Water uses (Million m3)
Portugal 2 647 (41.3%)
Spain 3 447 (28.2%)
Total 6 084 (32.7%)
Water uses (Million m3)
Portugal 2 647 (41.3%)
Spain 3 447 (28.2%)
Total 6 084 (32.7%)
Fact box 2
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STRIVER POLICY BRIEF / ISSUE NO. 14 6
Conference of the Parts to coordinate
transboundary cooperation over the river, this
organization being quite effective.
Allocation networks
In the Tagus basin, Spains Water Law
demands that a particular hierarchy of uses be
respected in the context of a drought supply
to population; agricultural uses; electricity
generation; industrial uses; aquiculture;
recreational uses; navigation and aquatic
transport; and other uses. Interestingly,
environmental requirements are not covered in
this prioritization list. In Portugal the priorities
for water use, which apply in periods of
scarcity, are water distribution to the public,
followed by agricultural and industrial uses.
b) Institutional Structure
The following organograms give an outline of
the institutional structure in place for water
management in the Tagus River basin for the
Portuguese and Spanish parts.
Figure 1 Spanish (top) and Portuguese (bottom)
institutional structure organograms.
c) Stakeholder involvement
Both countries have achieved different levels of
public participation in the water management
process and have ratified three UNECEconventions which have provisions for access to
information and public participation:
Convention on Environmental Impact
Assessment in a Transboundary Context,
1991 (Espoo, Convention).
Convention on the Protection and Use of
Transboundary Watercourses and
International Lakes, 1992.
Convention on Access to Information,
Public Participation in Decision-making and
Access to Justice in Environmental Matters
(Aarhus Convention)
The Albufeira Convention about the cooperation
for the protection and sustainable use of the
waters of Portuguese-Spanish basins and the
additional protocol of the Convention states
that all information related to the Convention
must be available. The WFD also foresees the
access to information and public participation.
Despite these issues, the stakeholder andpublic participation have been relatively limited
in terms of decision-making process.
Access to information: Portugal
The Tagus River Basin plan was presented to
public discussion from November 2000 until
January 2001. All the studies were made
available in meetings and in official websites (of
the Water Institute). Stakeholders fora, where
key sectors were represented and where
strategic decisions were discussed, werepromoted via the National Water Council and
the Tagus Basin Council. After the public
discussion period, the Water National Council
issued a favourable opinion about the plan.
Access to decision-making: Portugal
During the elaboration of the Tagus River Basin
Plan, the law in force imposed a framework for
integrated water resources management, also
ensuring public participation in the decision of
the basin process.
According to the Regulatory Decree, that
approved Tagus River Basin Plan, the
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Community of Extremadura) and local
(municipal) authorities have competences
attributed in water management. The water
management is highly specific and centralized,and there is little public involvement, despite
the effort made in the last years to promote
transparency and public participation.
Figure 2 - Examples of capacity building improvement in
the main web page of the Portuguese Water Institute in
September 2008 (www.inag.pt).
Apart from what is mentioned in the plan, there
are a number of initiatives leaded by the TWC,
the public administration and otherorganizations (including NGOs, farming
organizations, etc.) devoted to capacity
building. These campaigns focus mostly on
good water use practices, and they are aimed
at the families, farmers, etc. Some examples
are campaigns promoting a rational use of
water such as those by the foundation
agua-dulce.org, or the campaign for a
responsible consume (including water) by the
TWC.
In Portugal, the public entities with competency
in all issues related with water resources are
the Water Institute (INAG), at the national
level, and the Hydrographic Region
Administrations (HRA) at the regional level.
Those who work in the different agencies need
to have a background compatible with the
activities they develop which ensures the
required capacity building. Besides that there
are also other organizations and groups that
contribute to capacity building, such as farmers
or fishermen organizations or NGOs, such as
the LPN (Nature Protection Association) and the
Quercus (National Association for the Nature
Conservation).
Also, whenever special situations occur, as
during the drought of 2005, warnings are
spread (through the media) teaching the
public how to preserve water or energy. Also,
the SNIRH website from the Water Institute
always has campaigns providing relevant
information regarding the water resources. It
has also a HydroLibrary where a large number
of articles, books and specific publication are
always available. Equivalent information though
more focused in the environmental questions is
also provided in the webpage of the Portuguese
Environment Agency. Nowadays there is a joint
program between the Education Ministry and
the Environment, Spatial Planning and Regional
Development Ministry (Eco-School Program)
which acts at the levels of the under graduated
schools and high schools providing information
related with all the environmental areas,
including the water resources. Also the so
called Eco-Centers aiming at spreading
information related with the environment are
being created, either by the PortugueseEnvironment Agency or by the local
Municipalities.
Transboundary issuesIn 1998 an Agreement on the cooperation for
the protection and the sustainable use of
Spanish and Portuguese transboundary basins,
also known as the Albufeira Convention was
signed by Portugal and Spain.
It came into force in 2000. In the Tagus basin
(as in the other four transboundary basinsbetween Spain and Portugal), important actor
in transboundary water management is the
Conference of the Parts which includes
representatives of the Spanish and Portuguese
Governments. A number of governmental and
departmental working groups also exist.
Concerning information exchange, there is an
Information Exchange Work Group, and
agreements stipulate the type of data that has
to be exchanged in order to monitor watermanagement in transboundary basins.
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ConclusionsThis comparative assessment, according to the
five selected IWRM themes, has revealed some
similarities and differences between thePortuguese and the Spanish Tagus River sub
basins. There is some similarity regarding the
economic development with socio-economic
pressures linked to agriculture, industry and/or
hydropower production. Economic growth often
comes at the expense of the environment, and
sometimes also of social equity - creating
grounds for conflicts between water users. An
effective institutional framework, guidelines and
policies are needed to ensure that mitigation
measures are devised, to sustain both naturalresources and important human and cultural
values.
Water quantity is a common problem for the
Tagus basin. Scarcity of water is related to
conflicts over the allocation of water both
between sectors and between urban and rural
areas. Urban versus rural consumption of water
is a big issue, especially in relation to the major
cities of Madrid and Lisbon.
In the Spanish part of the Tagus basin, waste
water treatment from small towns and from
Madrid is insufficient, causing problems for
agricultural crops which depend on water
quality. Runoff from agriculture and leaks from
old power stations are other important sources
of pollution in this area. It seems that in the
Portuguese part of the Tagus river water
pollution is not a major source of problem. All
the basin reports refer to water standards and
monitoring programs, but monitoring is said to
be insufficient in most basins.
Another aspect of environmental protection is
the existence of protected areas. The Tagus
basin has natural parks and protected areas to
preserve the ecosystem habitat and
biodiversity. However, if these areas represent
only a small fraction of the river basin, and
elsewhere the resources are managed in a
non-sustainable way, such areas may not be
sufficient.
From the technical point of view, both Portugal
and Spain have developed plans or policy
actions to protect most of the environmental
aspects. However, it is difficult to assess thestatus of implementation and the effectiveness
of such measures.
Both countries apply the user-payer approach
based on costs and benefits, and Spain has
incentives for the adoption of new water saving
technologies and efficient transport, and of non
water-intensive crops and cultivars.
Protected Areas
Natura 2000 sites (Directive 92/409/CEE)
SpecialProtection Area (Directive 79 /409/CEE)
Tejo Watershed Figure 3 - Protected areas in the Portuguese Tagus River
basin.
Transparency in the decision making process
can help to ensure a balanced use of water and
to reduce negative impacts on society and
environment. In the Tagus basin, publicparticipation in decision making has been
relatively limited, however the river basin plans
that are required under the WFD will open up
the decision making process more.
Capacity building may be important to achieve
effective public participation and is included in
many water policies and strategies of Tagus
basin.
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Fact box 3
During 2008, a focus group experience was conducted in the Tagus Basin in which different groups of stakeholders
were asked to discuss about some topics relevant for IWRM. The minutes of these series of workshops reflect the
opinion of the stakeholders about the implementation of IWRM in the Tagus Basin. Following are the main conclusions
drawn from the meetings held in Madrid. (Key: A: administration; F: farmers; E: ecologists; I: industry; X: fishermen
associations.)
Water availability. Water availability in the basin is threatened mostly by the Tajo-Segura water transfer (AFEXI),
and in second place by urban growth (FE). There is a problem of water scarcity and uncertainty for agriculture, and
there is not enough regulation (F).
Water allocation / equity issues. The Tajo-Segura water transfer is a major equity issue for the basin, and it is
solved politically (AFEXI). There is a discrimination of small companies and individual users in favor of large companies
(EI). Water concessions are seen as a property, and not a temporal concession (X).
Water quality. The water quality is low in the middle and lower parts of the basin (AFEXI) due to deficient water
treatment in small towns (AFEXI), illegal waste water dumping from the industry (AEXI), illegal gravel extraction (E)
and intensive farming (E). Law is not strong enough against pollutants (A). There is not enough control of water quality
(AEX), due to not enough funds and resources for monitoring (A).
Ecological flow, environmental impact. The minimum ecological flow is not respected in many cases (EXI), and
there is a lack of a well established methodology for determining the ecological flow (AXI). Besides, ecological flow
regulation is not imposed to old dealerships (A). There is not enough protection of the riparian environment (AF).
Water cost, new technology and efficiency. There is fear that increasing the water costs to meet the market prize
will be very negative for the agriculture (F). Modernizing the irrigation systems is expensive, more than water is, so
there should be public subsidies to promote modernizing and water saving (F).
Administration. There is a problem of mixed competences and lack of coordination between the water
administrations (AFEXI). Besides, there are territorial and political conflicts between regional administrations (AEI).
Law enforcement. In general, there is not enough enforcement of the water and environmental laws (AEXI).
EU Water Frame Directive. There are difficulties in adapting to the EU Water Frame Directive in time (A).
Information and participation.Although an effort has been made to make all hydrological data public on the web
(A), it is very difficult to get information beyond the technical data, so the decision-making process is not completely
transparent (FEXI). Public participation is still very restricted (FEXI), and many times the opinion of the users or the
request for information is ignored by the administration (EXI). Public participation is not an important issue even for
some people from the administration (A). There are doubts about the success or even the convenience of public
participation in IWRM due to sectorial and territorial conflicts, so there is a risk to convert the process of IWRM in a
political fight (AE). However, the situation is improving and a draft version of the new basin management plan will be
released and discussed with the public in 2009 (A), and meetings with the stakeholders are also planned (A).
IWRM. IWRM is currently not implemented in the catchment due to a lack of transparency and public participation
(FEXI). Water resources management is seen as a mere technical issue, and most managers are engineers (I).
Capacity building. There is a need to improve the education of the society with respect to IWRM (FEXI).
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STRIVER TECHNICAL BRIEF / ISSUE NO. 9 2
A case of transboundary water agreement - the
Albufeira Convention
Antnio Betmio de Almeida, IST, Portugal
Maria Manuela Portela, IST, Portugal
Marta Machado, IST, Portugal
Abstract
The relations between Portugal and Spain from the perspective of river basin
management date back to the 19th century and the signing, in 1864, of the Treaty of
Limits, which stipulates that boundary-spanning resources should be used for mutual
benefit and without harm to the interests of the other party. Between 1864 and 1968, a
further four international instruments were signed whose main aim was to promote theproduction of hydroelectric power. However, it was only from 1994 onwards that
significant steps were taken to progress bilateral cooperation in the field of
transboundary river basin management.
At that time, negotiations were started on the Convention on Cooperation for the
Protection and Sustainable Use of Waters in Portuguese-Spanish River Basins (Albufeira
Convention), which culminated in the signing of the Convention in 1998 and its entry into
force in 2000. The Albufeira Convention is notable for extending the scope and reach of
Portuguese-Spanish relations in matters relating to waters, not only broadening the
geographical scope to include all areas within the river basins, but also introducing
innovative substantive issues[3].
Fact box
The Albufeira Convention (1998) includes the Tagus, Minho, Lima, Duero/Douro, and
Guadiana Rivers, that all flow to from Spain to Portugal. The Convention cover themes
such as bilateral information exchange, information to the public, assessment and
dialogue on transboundary impacts, pollution control and prevention, water uses,
droughts and resource scarcity, assignment of rights, dispute resolution, etc. TheConvention follows very closely the recommended rules of international water law,
particularly the 1997 New York Convention (ILC Draft Articles) and the International
Court of Justice dispositions.
Source: Costa, L., Vergs, J.C., Arraqu, B. Shaping new Lusco Spanish Convention.
http://www.ualg.pt/5cigpa/comunicacoes/Shaping%20a%20new%20Luso%20Spanish%20Convention%20%2
0(15.10.2006).doc.
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STRIVER TECHNICAL BRIEF / ISSUE NO. 9 3
Portugal shares with Spain five river basins
(Figure 1), the areas of which represent 40%
of the total area of the Iberia Peninsula, 42%
of the area of Mainland Spain and 64% the
area of Mainland Portugal. It should be
stressed that most of the border between the
two countries (68%) coincides with river
stretches. Table 1 shows the distribution
between Portugal and Spain of the areas of
the shared basins. The bulk of those areas
(78%) is located in Spain, being mostly in an
upstream position.
Figure 1: Portuguese- Spanish river basins
Table 1: River basins shared between Portugal and
Spain
Spain Portugal Total Spain Portugal
Mio/Minho 16230 850 17080 95 5
Limia/Lima 1300 1180 2480 52 48
Duero/Douro 79000 18600 97600 81 19
Tajo/Tejo 55800 24800 80600 69 31
Guadiana 55300 11500 66800 83 17
Total 207630 56930 264560 78 22
River (Castilian/
/Portuguese)
Basin area
In km2 In percentage
Source: INAG (2001), Portuguese National Water Plan.
The specific reservoir capacity (that is, the
capacity of the existing reservoirs expressed in
hm3 per km2) is, in general, higher in Spain
than in Portugal (Table 2). Taking into accountthat almost 40% of the Portuguese water
resources flows from Spain, it is easy to
understand the relevance, namely for the
downstream country, of the shared basins and
of the transboundary rivers. The highlypronounced spatial and temporal irregularity of
the Portuguese hydrologic regime makes even
more important to its water budget the
contribution of the water flowing from Spain.
Table 2: Reservoir capacity in the shared river
basins
hm3 hm3/km2 hm3 hm3/km2
Mio/Minho 2880 0.18 0.2 0
Limia/Lima 170 0.13 400 0.34
Duero/Douro 1670 0.1 1080 0.06
Tajo/Tejo 11140 0.2 2750 0.11
Guadiana 9220 0.17 460* 0.04
Total 31080 0.15 4690 0.08
River (Castilian/
/Portuguese)
Reservoir capacity
Spain Portugal
*Before the construction of Alqueva dam in the
Portuguese stretch of Guadiana River. The Alqueva
reservoir is the largest artificial reservoir in Europe, having
a net capacity of 3,150hm3.
Source: INAG (2001), Portuguese National Water Plan.
The institutional agreement between Portugal
and Spain in what concerns water resources
management began in the 19th century and
since then several conventions or treaties were
signed:
Treaty on Limits (1864); Rules for the Uses of International
Stretches of Rivers (1866);
Convention on Limits (1926); Convention for the Use of the
International Stretch of River Douro and
its Tributaries (1927);
Convention for the Use of theInternational Stretches of Rivers Minho,
Lima, Tejo, Guadiana and Chana and its
tributaries (1968)
Most of the previous agreements aimed at
ensuring a convenient exploitation of the
hydropower resources along the international
stretches of the shared rivers.
Between 1993 and 1998 a new framing for the
transboundary waters was negotiated leading
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STRIVER TECHNICAL BRIEF / ISSUE NO. 9 5
Co-ordination of programmes ofmeasures for protecting waters and
ecosystems, pollution prevention and
control, ensuring sustainable uses ofwater;
Co-ordination of programmes ofmeasures for controlling floods, droughts
and pollution accidents;
Joint authorities to implement the regimeof the Convention.
The Convention establishes water allocation
rules: except for one of the rivers (the Lima
river), yearly guaranteed stream flows to
Portugal in normal hydrologic years wereinitially established. Under exceptionally dry
years, the non-significant term rule applied:
the water supplied to Portugal should guaranty
the ecologic flows required under those
conditions, these flows being established by a
specific technical commission (CADC). For the
Guadiana River, the definition of normal
years also accounted for the water storage in
the reservoirs located in the basin.
The Convention created an intergovernmental
technical commission - the Commission for the
Application and Development of the
Convention, CADC which is responsible for
analyzing and for preparing proposals related
with issues involving the interpretation and
application of the Albufeira Convention.
This Commission includes several work groups
(WG), such as the flow regime, droughts and
emergency occurrences WG; the information
exchange WG; the safety of infrastructures
and floods WG; the WFD and water qualityWG. It also includes a sub commission devoted
to public participation (Figure 2). The
application of the convention is controlled in
several measuring points, as shown in
Figure 3.
A political Conference of the Parties (headed
by a Minister of each State) to take decisions
was also created. The first Conference of the
Parties took place in Lisbon on 27 th July 2005,
bolstering the work of the Commission for theApplication and Development of the
Convention (CADC) through the stimulation of
its various working groups.
Support from the
Portuguese
Foreign Affairs
Ministry
Support from the
Spanish Foreign
Affairs Ministry
CADC
Portuguese
Delegation
CADC Spanish
Delegation
Flow regime, droughts and
emergency occurrences WG
Information exchange WG
Infrastructures safety and floods
WG
WFD and water quality WG
Public participation sub
commission
Working Groups (WG) and Sub
Commission
Portuguese
Technical
Secretariat
Spanish
Technical
Secretariat
Figure 2: Organogram of the Commission for the
Application and Development of the Convention, CADC.
Figure 3: Control points of the application of
Albufeira Convention (adapted from [1]].
The second Conference of the Parties was held
on 19th February 2008 in Madrid, at which joint
maps defining water masses were approved.
Of note was the approval of a new flow regime
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STRIVER TECHNICAL BRIEF / ISSUE NO. 9 6
based on a quarterly guarantee of minimum
flow rates, with weekly minimums under
certain conditions.
The Albufeira Convention can be understood
as the result of a long history of successfully
collaboration between Portugal and Spain in
what concerns the harmonious share of the
international natural water resources.
This collaboration allowed the construction
since the late fifties of important dams mainly
for hydropower purposes in the river reaches
along the border or near the border as it
happens in most of the transboundary rivers
(Table 3 and Figures 4 and 5). Some of those
dams, as Alcntara dam, also have an
important role in the flood control, mitigating
the flood impacts downstream in Portugal.
Table 3: Dams with transboundary impacts, located
at or near the border.Installed
capacityHeight
(MW ) (m)
Frieira/Freiria Spain Mio/Minho 1969 17.5 33
Sela Spain Mio/Minho Under design -- --
Miranda Portugal Duero/Douro 1960 390 80
Picote Portugal Duero/Douro 1958 180 100
Bemposta Portugal Duero/Douro 1964 210 87
Aldeadvila Spain Duero/Douro 1963 1139 139
Saucelle Spain Duero/Douro 1956 525 83
Alcntara Spain Tajo/Tejo 1969 915 135
Alqueva Portugal Guadiana 2004 240 96
Name Country RiverYear of
completion
Figure 4: Dams with transboundary impacts, locatedat or near the border.
Figure 5: Alcntara (Spain, Tajo/Tejo River) and
Alqueva (Portugal, Guadiana River) dams.
An example, among others, of the good
collaboration between Spain and Portugal was
the simulation exercise of Alcntara dam
failure, organized by the civil protectionauthorities of both countries.
To ensure the balance, between Portugal and
Spain, of the capacity installed along the
international reaches of the transboundary
rivers a last hydropower scheme is still waiting
to be built: the Sela scheme located in
Mio/Minho River (see Figure 4). To guarantee
an equitable distribution, the installed capacity
in such scheme will be split between the two
countries.
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STRIVER TECHNICAL BRIEF / ISSUE NO. 9 7
Despite the special features of each
transboundary basin, the Albufeira Convention
ensures a global and transversal policy, except
in what concerns the flow regime of the TagusRiver where the Tajus/Segura water transfer is
considered, as established since the
Convention of 1968
Some of the critics pointed out to the
Convention involved the guaranteed flows
(which had been set too low, their temporal
pattern within the year being as important as
their value, at least for Portugal) and the
criteria for the exceptional years (being not
so an exception: e.g. for Tagus River theirprobability of occurrence was about once in
each four years [2]).
In February 2008 the Conference of the Parties
approved the CADC proposal for a new flow
regime protocol.
This new protocol defines a more detailed flow
regime which, for Douro, Tejo and Guadiana
Rivers, specifies, under normal hydrological
situations, minimum flows along different
periods of the year. The Conference of the
Parties also approved a new protocol related
with the environmental evaluation of the
transboundary effects. A permanent technical
secretariat for the CADC was also created.
This will improve the capacity of the CADC for
monitoring and analyzing the transboundary
issues in the Iberian shared river basins(Figure 1).
Joint river basins authorities should be created
between Spain and Portugal for the shared
rivers basins aiming at elaborating and
implementing integrated river basin
management plans.
This would improve the ecological integrity of
the shared river basins and would guaranteethe sustainability of water use and of
development of the shared basins.
This STRIVER Technical Brief was based on
the following research reports and scientific
literature:
[1]Borges, O. A Conveno de Albufeira e o
novo ciclo de planeamento, El nuevo ciclo
de planificacin hidrolgica en Espaa - La
elaboracin de los planes hidrolgicos,
Madrid, Spain, 30 de Maro de 2007;
[2] Correia, F.N. O regime de caudais na
Conveno Luso-Espanhola (The flow
regime in the Luso-Spanish Convention) -
Workshop on the Water Resources Luso-
Spanish Convention, IST, Lisbon, Portugal,1999;
[3] Council of the European Union, Brussels, 29
February 2008, 7167/08, ENV 136;
For public information (websites):
www.cadc-albufeira.org
www.inag.pt
www.inag.pt/inag2004/port/a_intervencao/
planeamento/pna/pna.html
http://cnpgb.inag.pt/gr_barragens/gbingles
/index.htmwww.chguadiana.es/www.chtajo.es/www.chminosil.es/www.chduero.es/
Portuguese Natural Park of International Douro
River.
http://www.cadc-albufeira.org/http://www.inag.pt/http://www.inag.pt/inag2004/port/a_intervencao/planeamento/pna/pna.htmlhttp://www.inag.pt/inag2004/port/a_intervencao/planeamento/pna/pna.htmlhttp://www.inag.pt/inag2004/port/a_intervencao/planeamento/pna/pna.htmlhttp://www.inag.pt/inag2004/port/a_intervencao/planeamento/pna/pna.htmlhttp://www.inag.pt/http://www.cadc-albufeira.org/7/31/2019 The Albufeira Convention 1998. Spain & Portugal
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STRIVER TECHNICAL BRIEF / ISSUE NO. 9 8
The STRIVER Policy and Technical Briefseries translate theresults from the project into practical and useful information forpolicy makers and water managers.
The Briefs are also available online: www.striver.no
About STRIVERSTRIVER- Strategy and methodology for improved IWRM - Anintegrated interdisciplinary assessment in four twinning river basinsis a three year EC funded project 2006-2009 under the 6thframework programme (FP6) coordinated jointly by Bioforsk andNIVA. The point of departure for STRIVER is the lack of clearmethodologies and problems in operationalisation of IntegratedWater Resource Management (IWRM) as pointed out by both the
scientific and management communities.13 partners from 9countries participate as contractual partners in addition to anexternal advisory board.
Title of project:Strategy and methodology for improved IWRM- An integrated interdisciplinary assessment in four twinning riverbasins(STRIVER)
Instrument: SUSTDEV-2005-3.II.3.6: Twinning European/thirdcountries river basins.Contract number: 037141Start date of project: July 2006 Duration: 36 months
Project funded by the European Commission within the SixthFramework Programme (2002-2006)
DisclaimerThe information provided and the opinions given in this publicationare not necessarily those of the authors or the EC. The authors andpublisher assume no liability for any loss resulting from the use ofthis report.
Editors: Per Stlnacke and Johannes Deelstra (Bioforsk)
Launch date: 15 April 2009
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STRI VER TECHNI CAL BRIEF / I SSUE NO. 10 2
Development in r iver basin m anagement in Port ugal
past and fut ure perspectives
Maria Manuela Portela, IST, Portugal
Antnio Betmio de Almeida, IST, Portugal
Marta Machado, IST, Portugal
Abstract
As a consequence of the Water Framework Directive, WFD, deep transformations
occurred in th e I WMR process in Europe. The recent evolution of t he I WRM authorit ies,
concepts and practical tools in Portugal, as well as some of the short and medium-term
perspectives are present ed.
It should be stressed that the new water resource framing applies to any PortugueseRiver basin, including t he Tejo/ Tagus River basin, which mainly became part of th e
recentl y created Lisbon and Tagus Valley Hydrographic Region.
Fact box
The Tagus basin divides the Iberian Peninsula into two parts with similar areas, being a transition
between the wet Peninsula and the dry Peninsula. In fact there is a considerable differenceamong the tributaries of Tagus River, those located in the right/North bank having much more
water than the ones of the left/South bank.
The Tagus River basin has the highest population occupation of the Iberian Peninsula with three
millions of inhabitants living in the Portuguese sub basin and six millions in the Spanish sub basin,
both capitals Lisbon and Madrid - being located there.
In Portugal, the basin extends for three regions Centre, Lisbon and Tagus Valley and Alentejo
with a very concentrated settlement in the costal regions of Metropolitan Lisbon area and of
Setbal Peninsula and with disperse settlement in the rest of the basin, thus introducing a
pronounced asymmetry between the coastal and the inner zones. In Spain, the basin extends for
five autonomic communities three of those communities representing more than 90% of the basin
area: Castilha-La Mancha, Extremadura and Madrid, with 48.0, 30.0 and 14.4 %, respectively.
80% of the population of the basin is concentrated in the Madrid community.
The general pattern of the population distribution is similar in the Portuguese and Spanish sub
basins with a significant percentage of the population living very small areas the metropolitan
areas of Lisbon and Madrid. The concentration of the population allied with an intensive economic
activity demarcates those areas from the rest of the territory of each country.
Though the Tagus River is the third Iberian river in basin area and in water availability (after the
Duero and the Ebro Rivers), it provides water to the majority of the population of the Peninsula,
even supplying water to more one and a half more million inhabitants by means of the Tagus-
Segura transfer.
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Background
Freshwater management is crucial for
sustainable development, both in developed
countries, where water is still being wasted,and in developing countries, which cannot
hope to achieve the economic and social
development they seek unless they can
guarantee their populations a safe water
supply.
Instruments for water resource management
have an important role to play in preventing
water-related conflicts, through assessing the
resources spatial and temporal variability
along the river basin. It is therefore importantto design a long-term water policy in order to
promote more adequate land use and better
protection of water quality and associated
ecosystems. In this context, it is also important
to mention the need to tie integrated water
resource management in with the prevention
of and protection against extreme hydrological
conditions [4].
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
X
XI
VII
VIII
IX
XIII
XII
XIV
XV
I 6/2001, 5th
Dec - Guadiana RB
II 17/2001, 5th Dec - Minho RBP
III 18/2001, 7th
Dec - Tejo RBP
IV 19/2001, 10th
Dec - Douro RBP
V 5/2002, 8th
Feb - Mira RBP
VI 6/2002, 12th
Feb - Sado RBP
VII 9/2002, 1st
Mar - Mondego RBP
VIII 11/2002, 8th
Mar - Lima RBP
IX12/2002, 9
thMar - Ribeiras do
Algarve RBP
X 15/2002, 14th
Mar - Vouga RBP
XI 17/2002, 15th Mar - Cvado RB
XII 18/2002, 19th
Mar - Lea RBP
XIII 19/2002, 20th
Mar - Ave RBP
XIV 23/2002, 23rd
Mar - Lis RBP
XV26/2002, 26
thMar - Ribeiras do
Oeste RBP
Figure 1: Regulative Decrees that approved the 15
Portuguese River Basins Plans (Mainland Portugal).
In Portugal, the drawing up of the National
Water Plan (NWP), in 2001, and 15 River
Basins Plans (RBPs), in 2000, was based on aprocess of characterising and diagnosing the
current water resource situation, the
challenges brought about by a new policy
approach, socio-economic evolution scenarios
and the main pressures on water resources.
These Plans established a set of goals andmeasures, a timescale for their enforcement,
and mechanisms for their implementation and
assessment [5].
The Water Framework Directive and
the Port uguese Water Law f rom 2005
In 2005, a new Water Law, WL (Law
58/2005, 29th December 2005) came into force
in Portugal, strengthening the water resources
planning process by establishing the basis andthe institutional framework for the future water
management policy.
This new law aims at providing the means for
the sustainable management and protection of
the water resources to be undertaken by
regional water management authorities with
assigned territories designed around river
basins.
The Law 58/2005 transposes into the
Portuguese law the applicable Europeanlegislation on the subject, namely the Directive
2000/60/CE, of October 23, 2000, known as
the EU Water Management Framework
Directive, WFD, which, in fact, was the
driven force for a new era in terms of the
water resources management policies and
practices.
The new I WRM authorit ies and tools
According to the WL and, consequently, to theWFD, new public authorities were created and
called upon to assist in the planning and
execution of regulations and measures for the
implementation of sustainable water use.
Among these authorities the more important
ones are the newly created (in October 2008)
Hydrographic Region Administrations,
HRAs (in number of 10), and the existing,
though restructured, National Water Institute,
INAG. The HRAs, like the INAG, belong to the
Ministry for Environment, Spatial Planning andRegional Development (see fact Box) and are
regional entities, specialized in the water
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STRI VER TECHNI CAL BRIEF / I SSUE NO. 10 5
The HRMPs were conceived as multifaceted
tools for the water resources planning. They
shall also allow reporting to the European
Commission the evolution towards the
application of the WFD, in what concerns the
fulfillment of the environmental objectives in
2015, and they will enable the public
information.
Some of the general principles embedded in
the HRMPs are:
the globality principle which foresees the
integrated assessment of the technical,
economic, environmental and institutional
issues;
the rationality principle which states thearticulation between the demand and the
Fact box
FinancialController
National WaterCouncil
National Councilfor Environmentand SustainableDevelopment
National Commission
for Waste Management
Support
Commission for the
Climate Changes
National
Commission for the
National Ecologic
Reserve
CentralServices
Department ofProspective and
Planning andInternational
Relations
SupervisoryAuthority for the
Environment and
Territorial Planning
General SecretariatPortuguese
Environment Agency
Directorate-Generalfor Territoral
Planning and Urban
Development
Portuguese
Geographical
Institute
PeripheralServices
RegionalCoordination and
DevelopmentCommission -
North
RegionalCoordination and
DevelopmentCommission -
Centre
RegionalCoordination and
DevelopmentCommission - Lisbon
and Tagus Valley
RegionalCoordination and
DevelopmentCommission -
Alentejo
RegionalCoordination and
DevelopmentCommission -
Algarve
CentralOrganism
Water Institute
Nature andBiodiversityConservation
Institute
Institute forConstruction and
Real Estate
Financial Institutefor the Regional
Development
Regulative Institutefor Waters and
Waste
ChiadoReconstruction Remainder Fund
PeripheralOrganism
Hydrographic
Region
Administration -
North
Hydrographic
Region
Administration -
Centre
Hydrographic Region
Administration -
Lisbon and Tagus
Valley
Hydrographic
Region
Administration -
Alentejo
Hydrographic
Region
Administration -
Algarve
Parque Expo 98,
S.A.
guas de
Portugal, S.A.[AdP] Sintra Parks S.A.
Ministry for Environment, Spatial Planning and
Regional Development. Organogram
(Decree-Law n. 207/2006)
StatIndirectAdministration
State entrepreneurial
sector
Financial Controller
Consulting Board
Other Structures
StatDirectAdministration
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STRI VER TECHNI CAL BRIEF / I SSUE NO. 10 6
offer and the safeguard of the water
resources preservation;
the integration principle according to
which an articulation among the regional
planning, the land management and the
conservation and preservation of the
environment should exist;
the participation principle which states
the need to involve the economic agentsand of the populations as a way to
enhance wider consensus.
Among other aspects, each HRMP must include
a general description of the corresponding
hydrographic region, a characterization of the
existing pressures, both naturals and resulting
from the human activity, and a program of
measures envisaging the pursuit of the
environmental objectives established in the
Water Law. According to this Law, the plansshould be object of public consultation during
the development, revision and updating
phases.
Table 1 General content of the Hydrographic
Region Management Plans, HRMPs translated
from [3].
Part 1 General description of the Hydrographic
Region, HR
Part 2 Characterization of the pressures and
relevant anthropogenic incidencesPart 3 Identification and characterization of the
protected areas
Part 4 Assessment of the water status and
monitoring networks
Part 5 Development prospective scenarios
Part 6 Economic analysis of the water utilizations
Part 7 Environmental goals
Part 8 Measures programmes
Part 9 Other mandatory information
Part 10 Public participation
Part 11 Environmental strategic assessment
Part 12 System of promotion, control and appraisal
of the HRMPs
Lake waters
Water heavilymodily
Riverwater
Riverwater
Innerwater
Groundwater
Groundwater
Territorialwater Transition
water
Coastal water
Coastalwater
1 nautical mile
B
a
s
e
l
i
n
e
Fact boxFigure 4 - Water bodies according to the WFD and to the HRMPs adapted from [3].
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While the River Basin Plans developed between
2001 and 2002 were mainly use/quantity-goal
oriented, the HRMP are essentially
environment/quality goal oriented
Characterizationof the
hydrographicregions
Prospectivescenarios
Environmental
objectives
Programmes of
measures
Implementationassessment
Figure 5 - The Hydrographic Region Management
Plans, HRMP - adapted from [1].
Figure 6 Evolution of the objective and of thedomain from the River Basin Plans, RBP, to the
Hydrographic Region Management Plans, HRMP
adapted from [3].
For the implementation of the WFD and,
accordingly, for the development of the HRMPs
is indispensable the public involvement as a
way:
to guaranty a more sustainable decision
processes;
to ensure a better understanding of theenvironmental problems and of the
possible contributions from the different
sectors to achieve the environmental
goals;
to diminish potential conflicts caused by
lack of information or of knowledge; to increase the probability of success of
the implementation of the HRMP.
The public participation process is based on
three main issues:
information disclosure;
public enquiry;
active involvement of the stakeholders.
Active involvement
of the stakeholders
Public
enquiry
Information
disc losure
Figure 7 Public participation process adapted
from [3].
The public involvement is accomplished by
means of meetings, brochures and
advertisements in the newspaper, in the
Internet and via email. All the information
related with the process is available in the
website of the Water Institute (electronic
format) and in the documentation centre of
the same Institute (paper format).
Figure 8 - Main webpage of the Water Institute with
the link to the public participation in the HRMP
process.
Proactive management plan
To finish it can be stated that the development
of the HRMPs started a new era of proactive
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STRI VER TECHNI CAL BRIEF / I SSUE NO. 10 8
management where the past and the future
decisions are intertwined towards the
fulfillment of the different goals, with emphasis
for the environmental ones.
ReferencesThis STRIVER Technical Brief was based onthe following references:
[1] Brito, Antnio Guerreiro, 5th December
2008, A reforma institucional para a
gesto da gua em Portugal: as
Administraes de Regio Hidrogrfica ...
novas ferramentas para uma nova poltica,
Administrao da Regio Hidrogrfica do
Norte, MAOTDR.http://www.unizar.es/fnca/congresoiberico/docu
mentos/ppt_p0402.pdf
[2]http://www.euwfd.com/html/wfd_implementation_
timetable.html
[3] INAG, 2007. Planos de Gesto de regio
Hidrogrfica. Sesso Tcnica, Sesso
Pblica sobre os PGRH, 2007.http://www.aprh.pt/pdf/270607_SessaoPub
lica.pdf.
[4] Martins, J. E., Statement by Mr. Jos
Eduardo Martins, Secretary of State for theEnvironment at the Twelfth Session of the
Commission on Sustainable Development,
United Nations, New York, 29 April 2004.
http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/csd/csd12/
statements/portugal_2904.pdf
[5] Nunes Correia, F, 2005, Turning Political
Commitment into Action, Statement of Mr.Franscisco Nunes Correia, Minister of
Environment, Spatial Planning and Regional
Development at the Thirteenth Session of
the Commission on Sustainable
Development. United Nations, New York,
21 April 2005.
http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/csd/csd13/
statements/2104_portugal.pdf
() whenever the Tagus River flows, something
always happens, because a river has its own glories
and its own dramas. Like the men. A river lives,
breaths, works, builds and destroys. So do the men.
But men love and fall in love (..).
() A river has its own glories and its own dramas,
but it does not fall in love.
The Tagus River does not think it acts. It acts
according to the circumstances. It acts and it builds,
it acts and it destroys. Like a man. But a man thinks
and knows the doubt.
(Alves Redol, Portuguese writer, 1911-1969)
Figure 4 Continuous and adaptative IWRM perspective adapted from [3].
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STRI VER TECHNI CAL BRIEF / I SSUE NO. 10 9
The STRI VER Poli cy and Technical Bri ef series translate theresults from the project into practical and useful information forpolicy makers and water managers.
The Briefs are also available online: www.striver.no
About STRI VER
STRIVER- Strategy and methodology for improved IWRM - Anintegrated interdisciplinary assessment in four twinning river basinsis a three year EC funded project 2006-2009 under the 6thframework programme (FP6) coordinated jointly by Bioforsk andNIVA. The point of departure for STRIVER is the lack of clearmethodologies and problems in operationalisation of IntegratedWater Resource Management (IWRM) as pointed out by both the
scientific and management communities.13 partners from 9countries participate as contractual partners in addition to anexternal advisory board.
Title of project:Strategy and methodology for improved IWRM- An integrated interdisciplinary assessment in four twinning riverbasins(STRIVER)
Instrument: SUSTDEV-2005-3.II.3.6: Twinning European/thirdcountries river basins.Contr act number: 037141Start date of project: July 2006 Duration: 36 months
Project funded by the European Commission within the SixthFramework Programme (2002-2006)
DisclaimerThe information provided and the opinions given in this publicationare not necessarily those of the authors or the EC. The authors andpublisher assume no liability for any loss resulting from the use ofthis report.
Editors: Per Stlnacke and Johannes Deelstra (Bioforsk)
Launch date: 15 April 2009
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STRIVER TECHNICAL BRIEFStrategy and methodology for improved Integrated Water Resources Management(IWRM) An integrated interdisciplinary assessment in four twinning river basins
TB No. 11
IWRM status in the Tagus basin, Spain
An overview of themain conclusions of the
STRIVER project in the Spanish part of the Tagus
Basin, regarding water availability, water alloca-
tion, water prizing, water quality and pollution,
environmental impact and ecological flows, insti-
tutional aspects, law enforcement, implementa-
tion of the EU Water Frame Directive, information
and public participation, and capacity building.
The STRIVER Brief series translate the results from the EC FP6-funded STRIVER project into
practical and useful information for policy makers and water managers
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STRIVER TECHNICAL BRIEF / ISSUE NO. 11 2
IWRM status in the Tagus basin, Spain
Santiago Beguera, Sergio M. Vicente-Serrano, J. Ignacio Lpez-Moreno, Noem Lana-Renault, Jos
Mara Garca-Ruiz. (Agencia Estatal Consejo Superior de Investigaciones, CSIC, Spain),
Antnio Betmio de Almeida, Maria Manuela Portela, Marta Machado (CEHIDRO/IST, Portugal)
AbstractAn overview of the main conclusions of the STRIVER project in the Spanish part of the
Tagus Basin, regarding water availability, water allocation, water prizing, water quality
and pollution, environmental impact and ecological flows, institutional aspects, law en-
forcement, implementation of the EU Water Frame Directive, information and public par-
ticipation, and capacity building.
ReferencesMinisterio de Medio Ambiente 1999, Plan Hidrolgico de la Cuenca del Tajo, Madrid (Engl: Tagus Basin Hydrologic Plan).
Plan Hidrolgico Nacional, Law 10/2001 , modified in 2004 and 2005.
Water Law29/1985, modified by Law 46/19
Introduction
This report summarizes the major outcomes of
the analysis of the status of IWRM in the Span-
ish part of the Tagus basin. The conclusions
presented on this document are based on our
own analysis of hydro-climatologic data from
public information sources and the main doc-
uments regulating IWRM in Spain (see refer-
ences above), plus the information provided
by the stakeholders during the I and II Tagus
Stakeholder Meetings and in the focus groups
meetings (see fact box 1).
A total of ten issues were selected, ranging
from natural aspects such as the water availa-
bility and quality to the institutional legal and
social framework of IWRM in the basin.
Although some of the principles of IWRM were
not accounted for in the current Basin Plan,
the new plan that is now being elaborated
represents a good opportunity for implement-
ing them.
Fact box 1
Stakeholder participation in the framework of the STRIVER project
Promoting stakeholder participation from the earliest stages of the project was a key objective in STRIVER. Thus, a
total or three stakeholder meetings were held at different stages of the project, ensuring a fluent feedback be-
tween scientists and stakeholders. The meetings, held in Toledo (December 2006), Lisbon (February 2008) and
Madrid (April 2009), brought together stakeholders from Spain and Portugal, representing several groups from the
managers to the users of water.
In addition, five focus group meetings were held in Madrid during 2008, with groups of water managers and users.
During these meetings, the participants were asked to freely discuss about a series of general topics related to
IWRM in the basin. This experience raised a series of new questions and points of view that enriched further the
information obtained by other means.
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STRIVER TECHNICAL BRIEF / ISSUE NO. 11 6
have already been held. These included water
managers, social network, private compa-
nies/industry, end users and Institutions.
There is up-to-date information about the de-velopment of the new Basin Plan in the web
(http://nuevoplan.chtajo.es:8080/CHTAJO/info
publica3.htm) and by brochures, and there are
information offices in Madrid and several other
cites in the Basin. All participants in the meet-
ings are informed by SMS of any new devel-
opments of the Plan.
Issue 10. Capacity building
The current Basin Plan does not have any spe-
cific plans for capacity building. However, dur-
ing the meetings it was evident that there is aneed for improving education and capacity
building. Most end users, including members
from the Administration, still perceived water
as a right, and not as limited resource. The
leading ideas of IWRM are not at all wide-
spread among the users and even among the
managers. Some groups of stakeholders, such
as the farmer organizations, expressed no spe-
cial interest in the concepts of IWRM.
http://nuevoplan.chtajo.es:8080/CHTAJO/infopublica3.htmhttp://nuevoplan.chtajo.es:8080/CHTAJO/infopublica3.htmhttp://nuevoplan.chtajo.es:8080/CHTAJO/infopublica3.htmhttp://nuevoplan.chtajo.es:8080/CHTAJO/infopublica3.htmhttp://nuevoplan.chtajo.es:8080/CHTAJO/infopublica3.htmhttp://nuevoplan.chtajo.es:8080/CHTAJO/infopublica3.htmhttp://nuevoplan.chtajo.es:8080/CHTAJO/infopublica3.htm7/31/2019 The Albufeira Convention 1998. Spain & Portugal
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STRIVER TECHNICAL BRIEF / ISSUE NO. 11 7
Fact box 2
Projected trends in water availability in the Tagus basin
The water availability in the Tagus basin is highly determined by climate variability. The figure shows the evolu-
tion of a multi-scalar drought index (Standardized Precipitation-Evapotranspiration Index) calculated from pre-
cipitation and temperature data and considering three different time scales in the h