the albufeira convention 1998. spain & portugal

7/31/2019 The Albufeira Convention 1998. Spain & Portugal

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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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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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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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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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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.


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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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


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.


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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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
http://www.striver.no/http://www.striver.no/


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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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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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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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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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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.
http://www.inag.pt/http://www.inag.pt/http://www.inag.pt/http://www.inag.pt/


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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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23/49


24/49

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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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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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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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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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/


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The STRIVER Policy and Technical Briefseries translate theresults from the project into practical and useful information forpolicy makers and water managers.


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.


Instrument: SUSTDEV-2005-3.II.3.6: Twinning European/thirdcountries river basins.Contract number: 037141Start date of project: July 2006 Duration: 36 months



Editors: Per Stlnacke and Johannes Deelstra (Bioforsk)

Launch date: 15 April 2009
http://www.striver.no/http://www.striver.no/


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32/49

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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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



Centre


DevelopmentCommission - Lisbon

and Tagus Valley



Alentejo



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


36/49


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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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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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.


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.


Instrument: SUSTDEV-2005-3.II.3.6: Twinning European/thirdcountries river basins.Contr act number: 037141Start date of project: July 2006 Duration: 36 months



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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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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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.htm


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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

the albufeira convention 1998. spain & portugal

Documents