Towards a more flexible water concession system in Spain: public water banks in Andalusia

Abstract

The traditional management paradigm that has governed water policy in Spain during the last century is currently undergoing a critical process of change. Recently, regional Andalusian and national legislation have developed a new framework, where novel strategies, based on the reallocation of concessional rights, can be adopted to respond to water shortage conditions. The purpose of this study is to examine the factors that could potentially affect the legal reform in Andalusia, which is targeted at developing a market-based redistribution system of water rights in the various river basins within the region.