50% of the aquifers are in poor conditionwhich could condemn Spain to one drought even more severe. Much of the Spanish aquifers are in poor condition: 30% due to pollution, 27% due to water scarcity and 14% due to both causes. There are more than 300 bodies of groundwater in poor condition, or 140,000 km2 in Spain. Basically the Hydrographic Confederations, the Autonomous Communities and the rural oligarchy, among those mainly responsible for the problem.
The lack of water and how to manage the scarcity of this essential good for life is in the public debate. Desalination or transfer by ship are some of the solutions currently proposed. We spoke with Regina Lafuente Fernándezspecialist in social research on environmental problems.
Since 2004, Lafuente works at the Institute of Advanced Social Studies (IESA-CSIC) where he studies the social perception of topics such as drought and its management through public policies. In addition, it is part of the Citizen Drought Observatory.
Can drought in a country like ours lead to social conflicts?
In the coming decades in the southern Mediterranean regions we will witness an increase in the frequency and intensity of droughts whose impacts will be more serious in those most vulnerable systems.
If water demands continue to exceed existing resources, in successive droughts It will increase the socio-territorial conflict over water resources that we have already been observing in recent months: farmer protests, illegal wells or areas with restrictions on supplies.
It is at the social level where the greatest efforts must be made to prevent these situations. We must identify the causes why a recurring risk typical of our climate, such as droughtscauses unforeseen damage and why we are failing to adapt to this risk.
Are we prepared in Spain to address the state of the aquifers and the drought?
We are already in that situation, in fact, the drought problem that we currently suffer only aggravates a structural situation. The scarcity is related to the imbalance between the available water and the demand that exists to satisfy the different uses. In the case of the aquifers, the extraction rate in certain areas is higher than its natural recharge, and also coincides with places that have more critical levels in their reservoirs. That is, they are territories in which there is a great demand for water resources, which is being responded to with water from reservoirs and groundwater.
We face the current drought with the groundwater in worse condition than on previous occasions, and the problem is serious because these waters should be strategic reserves to alleviate them. On paper, we have developed tools to manage droughts preventively and in advance, but in practice these plans are not giving results and we continue to manage improvisedly in emergency situations.
What are people willing to do to avoid the effects of droughts in Spain?
To reduce water consumption, either by limiting allocations to agriculture or reducing the irrigated area. The survey was carried out in November 2023 and although the situation has worsened since then, 6 out of 10 people surveyed stated that there was not enough water in Spain, but only 2 out of 10 were in favor of reducing consumption.
It’s a contradiction, isn’t it?
In the results we find the keys to understand these resistances to reducing water consumption and to request that effort from the agricultural sector. First, because citizens associate the lack of water more with meteorological drought (41%) than with the scarcity caused by an increase in water demand (16%) or the combination of both phenomena in the territory (32%). If the problem for citizens lies in the lack of rain, it is logical that the suggested solution is to look for new sources through technology: desalination or regenerated water.
Is this a collective self-deception?
If the problem were understood by citizens as excess water demand, I am sure that there would be more social support for reducing the water we consume. But, in addition, only 30% point to the agricultural sector as the main consumer of water and only 8% correctly place its consumption at around 80% of the available water. It is also understood that the majority reject the reduction of irrigation allocations or the limitations on the extension of hectares dedicated to irrigation as measures that could adapt the sector to future droughts.
Citizen perception regarding drought is not realistic
Agriculture is a strategic sector in hydrological planning and also in adaptation to the climate crisis because it will suffer its impacts more than other sectors. However, in this adaptation to the effects of global warming it is not enough to make irrigation systems more efficient if consumption is not reduced. More than half of the people surveyed consider that the area dedicated to irrigation has decreased during the last decade and, on the contrary, the extension of hectares of intensive crops is the main cause of the water stress suffered by the territory. Reducing water consumption is a pending issue in intensive agriculture.
Are the people surveyed aware that drought is related to climate change?
Making citizens aware that the type of products we consume have a water footprint that we may not be able to afford in Spain would mean focusing the public debate on other key issues beyond whether the reservoirs are more or less full.
It is part of the Citizen Drought Observatory (OCS). What drought data is collected?
The OCS is a citizen science project funded by the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT) in the 2019 and 2021 calls that currently continues to update and prepare information on the situation of water resources in Spain. Data on climate, water uses, states of water masses, etc. They are collected mainly from the hydrological plans of the different demarcations and also from other public administrations. Much of this data is included in very extensive technical documents and is not easily accessible to the non-expert public. The OCS homogenizes this information in formats and repositories accessible to citizens.
How do citizens collaborate with the OCS and therefore with alleviating the drought?
The information that citizens upload to the OCS, about how they perceive the effects of climate change or how much they trust institutions, allows us to delve deeper into the degree of social vulnerability to the risk of drought. Vulnerability is defined, according to the proposal of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), based on exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity. Of these three components, the scientific challenge in which citizen science can make great contributions is precisely the capacity to adapt.
European regulations obliges administrations to promote public participation in water management. What is the reality?
The Water Framework Directive (WDF, or WDF 2000/60/EC) and its subsequent transposition into Spanish legislation in 2003 sets the objective of achieving a good ecological status of water bodies. This regulation requires the use of water to be made compatible with environmental objectives and changes the traditional vision of water policies, which until then were designed to respond to the demands of other sectors such as agriculture, tourism or urban development. To meet environmental objectives, in the last two decades, for example, significant investments have been made in irrigation efficiency, and legislation has been passed in favor of ecological flows or wastewater treatment.
Can citizens really participate?
To avoid conflict situations over the use of water such as those mentioned above, the DMA contemplates expanding public participation in the preparation of the hydrological plans of each demarcation, so that it includes not only interest groups, but also users. non-productive water users, that is, to the general public. In this way, it is aligned with the OECD principles on new forms of governance that pursue more just and equitable solutions for society.
How is this citizen participation articulated in decision-making regarding drought?
It makes more information available to citizens, the hydrological plans comply with the consultation periods and participation processes are organized in which the classic actors are included (irrigators, hydroelectric users, industrial users and supplies), and also representatives of sectors. social (ecological organizations, recreational users, experts and other citizen associations). However, the general public is still not included in decisions on key issues in hydrological plans.
For what reason?
We must correct the misinformation that we have detected in the survey about the uses of water, the situation of the aquifers, the extent of irrigation or the problems of water scarcity beyond the drought. As we have also seen, this set of opinions and perceptions form the context in which citizens define their preferences regarding hydrological planning.
What differences are there between men and women when it comes to perceiving drought?
Most of the works published so far on the gender perspective in water governance focus on non-industrialized countries and how to incorporate women into decision-making processes as productive users and not only as domestic users. With our study, based on a survey carried out in Andalusia between 2004 and 2013, we verified that many Andalusian women also continue to think about water management in a domestic sense, that is, they focus above all on saving water at home.
What does this difference in perception regarding drought reflect?
In a context like the one described above, with a serious problem of water stress, with more severe droughts associated with climate change and in which agriculture consumes 80% of the available water, domestic water saving has a much smaller impact than improving the efficiency of irrigation, which is the position most supported by men. Therefore, the fact that women are more inclined towards domestic savings as a priority measure means that they are more isolated than men from water problems and their solutions. Water management is a much more complex issue than turning off the tap at home. It must be in the public debate and requires citizens who are better informed about the uses of water and the possible solutions to the situation of scarcity to be able to participate in that debate.