Cost-benefit analysis of irrigation modernization in Guadalquivir River Basin

Borrego-Marín María M,Berbel Julio

doi:10.3390/ecws-3-05826

Abstract

In water scarce areas, policy makers frequently opt for water conservation and saving technologies (WCSTs) as a measure to ensure resource use sustainability, although this policy is subject to scientific and political debate. This work presents an application of an integrated methodological approach for analysing the costs and benefits of using WCSTs to achieve water policy objectives. The focus is on the measures aimed at reducing irrigation water abstraction under the 1⁠st and 2⁠nd cycle of Water Framework Directive implementation in the Guadalquivir River Basin (Southern Spain). The method is a combination of a multicriteria assessment of the main effects of water-saving investments at basin level, estimated using a selected group of indicators. In a second stage, a cost-benefit analysis is conducted. The study finds a benefit-to-cost ratio of 4.1/1 for the Guadalquivir River Basin, thus concluding that irrigation modernization in this case study has been a good social investment. The method can be extended to other hydrological systems (aquifer basins) to draw general conclusions.

Highlights

The world’s population is expected to grow to almost 10 billion by 2050, boosting agricultural demand leading to more intense competition for natural resources, especially water that appears as one of the most limiting factors to deliver sustainable food and agricultural production
This work presents an application of CBA to investment in irrigation water saving measures in the Guadalquivir river basin (South of Spain)
The results of the evaluation of water saving measures in the Guadalquivir river basin (GRB) are summarized in Table 1. 71

Summary

Introduction

The world’s population is expected to grow to almost 10 billion by 2050, boosting agricultural demand leading to more intense competition for natural resources, especially water that appears as one of the most limiting factors to deliver sustainable food and agricultural production. This work presents an application of CBA to investment in irrigation water saving measures in the Guadalquivir river basin (South of Spain). The Guadalquivir river basin (GRB) contains 25% of Spain’s irrigated land and the longest of the southern rivers (657 km); it can be considered one of the most important basins in Spain. It covers an area of 57,679 km[2] and has a population of 4.3 million. Journal Name 2016, x, x climate with a heterogeneous precipitation distribution. The annual average temperature is 16.8°C, 40 and the annual average precipitation is 573 mm, with a range between 260 mm and 983 mm (standard 41 deviation of 161 mm). The main land uses in the basin are forestry (49.1%), agriculture (47.2%), urban areas (1.9%) and wetlands (1.8%) (Confederación Hidrográfica del Guadalquivir, 2015)

Mehodology

Results

Discussion

Conclusions