Building resilience: LIMNE shares river management insights
During a recent event in Murcia (Spain) on building resilience to floods and droughts hosted by the Interreg Europe Policy Learning Platform, our RIWET partners from the LIMNE Foundation were keynote speakers, offering valuable insights on governance and innovative approaches to river management in the face of flooding.
On February 26th, Sales Tomas Pons and David Campos, colleagues from the LIMNE Foundation, were keynote speakers at the Interreg Europe event organized around the topic of building resilience to floods and droughts, including governance and innovative approaches to river management in the face of flooding. Their speech, which focused on water governance in Spain, attempted to offer valuable insights on a complex framework.
Water governance responsibilities
In Spain, water governance is a multifaceted issue and responsibilities are shared among various administrative bodies. While River Basin Authorities under the National Government manage publicly owned rivers, Regional Governments oversee intra-community basins and flood zones outside the public hydraulic domain. Additionally, municipalities play a crucial role in urban planning and other activities within river areas, but their actions require approval from Hydrographic Authorities. This complex division of powers can lead to conflicts and inefficiencies in water management.
Some terminology
When discussing stormwater management we can distinguish between hydrology and hydraulics. Some aspects overlap but, in general, the two are very different.
In the field of stormwater engineering, hydrology typically refers to the rate of precipitation, the quantity of water, the rate of surface runoff, and the timing of its arrival at a point of interest. Alternatively, hydraulics is the study of the movement/flow of water in physical systems. A hydraulic analysis is used to evaluate flow in rivers, streams, storm drain networks, water aqueducts, water lines, and sewers, for example. Although hydrologic and hydraulic processes are interdependent, they are distinctly different.
Communication, cooperation, co-responsibility
The DANA disaster in Valencia last September highlighted the dire consequences of poor land planning and inadequate water governance. The lack of communication, coordination, and preparedness among administrative bodies, along with outdated practices and citizen exclusion from decision-making processes, exposed the system's weaknesses.
To address these issues, Spain needs a paradigm shift in water governance. This includes reinforcing public administration and improving coordination between different levels of government; enhancing information generation, knowledge sharing, and transparency; and promoting cooperation and co-responsibility among citizens and social agents.
A Basin-Wide Approach
Fluvial stewardship is a promising approach as this focuses on collaboration and partnerships between administrations, citizens, and organizations to achieve sustainable river management. The Limne Foundation, for example, works with local communities and administrations to restore rivers and promote environmental education.
One key aspect of effective water governance is adopting a basin-wide attitiude that fosters coordination among municipalities and other stakeholders within a river basin. This approach ensures that everyone is aware of potential risks and can work together to implement nature-based solutions for better river and wetland management.
The Way Forward
Spain faces significant water management challenges due to climate change and other factors. However, by embracing a new way forward that includes improved land planning, better coordination between administrations, and active citizen participation through fluvial stewardship, the country can build resilient communities and rivers capable of withstanding future challenges.