Myths, Falsehoods, Paradoxes, Errors and Virtual Water in Mediterranean Europe: The Case of the Iberian Peninsula

Abstract

The statement that everything remains the same in Mediterranean Europe in matters of continental waters following the course of the last three decades is untrue. In effect, following the drought of 1995 or perhaps coinciding with it, social movements and a high proportion of scientists and even numerous members of the administrations have dealt extensively with the issue. As a result of the many books, articles in scientific journals and conferences, etc., expression New Water Culture, demand management, water quality etc. are today highly promoted amongst academics and managers to such an extent that they considered themselves as fellow believers of these new tendencies in water policy or, at least, few dare to publically state their opposition to them. But, in reality, have the aforementioned changes and other developments substantially affected the principles that inspire current hydropolitics in Mediterranean Europe? Or, on the contrary, do “old ghosts” reappear whenever there are periods of less rainfall? This article discusses and differentiates some aspects of the water situation in Mediterranean Europe and, above all, the correlative management models that have been developed in recent decades with a particular analysis of the cases of Spain and Andalusia. It asks whether the previous diagnosis is still correct today or, on the contrary, the cultural and institutional changes that have already taken place have been appropriate and sufficient for the establishment of a New Water Culture in Southern Europe. Frequently used terms, expressions and concepts such as throwing water into the sea, hydraulic works are in the general interest, wet Europe and dry Europe, the water transfer will definitively solve the problem, water deficit, water must be distributed fairly, everyone has a right to water, water is a public asset etc. shall be reviewed from a scientific approach. The concept of water scarcity is normally unquestioningly assumed by people and the administrations that irrationally integrate it into public policy. This article discusses and differentiates the concepts of physical and economic scarcity, of the prices and effects these have on the efficiency and equity of water management and usage. As well as an analysis of the problem of the pollution of continental waters, there is also a brief examination of the pollution caused by their discharges into the Mediterranean Sea. There is a discussion of a number of general comments in regards to water transfers and provide a short overview of three of the most controversial of these works in Spain: The Ebro-Almería, Tajo-Segura and the Castril River Water Transfer. A new line of research is presented for the management of water, the virtual water approach that produces and confirms the results I already previously obtained through conventional procedures. The last section describes the economic effects on agriculture and tourism that climate change is causing in a number of Mediterranean regions. It is to be stated in advance that the conclusion is: The New Water Culture (NWC), from the South, demands the prior recognition that the biggest statements on the scarcity of water are not the result of climatic conditions, rather, they are due to the economic development and social model followed, misgovernment by competent institutions and, definitively, because the conflicts made evident between different users have solely been resolved with arguments of political and, ultimately, economic power. Keywords: Mediterranean, water, crops, tourism, prices, pollution, virtual water