Spanish Environmental Management: Plans, Laws, and Initiatives

National Water Plan

Project coordinating river basin management plans and water resources. The 2008 plan, aligned with EU guidelines, focuses on environmental actions (supply, treatment, purification, irrigation, forestry impact, channels) and works regularization, including the Ebro water transfer and construction of new dams.

Water Transfer

Interbasin transfer from water surplus to deficit areas. Currently, 38 are operational, including the Tajo-Segura. The National Hydrological Plan proposes new transfers, like the Ebro to the Mediterranean. However, protests in regions like Aragon and potential environmental impacts (Ebro Delta) have led to exploring alternatives, such as the Rhone-Catalonia transfer.

Reservoirs

Artificially stored water extensions created by dams or crossbars, often utilizing steep river topography. Private reservoirs are used for electricity production, while state reservoirs address chronic water shortages. The National Water Plan considers constructing more reservoirs based on technical, economic, and environmental feasibility.

Environmental Challenges

Acid Rain

Precipitation with higher acidity due to atmospheric sulfur and nitrogen emissions mixing with water vapor, forming sulfuric and nitric acid solutions. These fall as rain, impacting vegetation, soil, water, and buildings.

Greenhouse Effect

Emission of gases like methane and carbon dioxide, trapping solar radiation and preventing its escape. Increased emissions lead to higher heat retention, causing global temperature increases and climate change.

Environmental Legislation and Protection

Law of Nature (1916)

Spain's first public protection of natural areas, primarily based on scenic beauty (alpine mountains), neglecting biological or geological factors.

Law of Conservation of Nature and the Flora and Wildlife (1989)

State project for conserving and restoring natural areas, amended in 1997 to incorporate autonomous communities' powers. Establishes various protected areas based on landscape, biological, and geological importance: national and natural parks, natural reserves, natural monuments, and protected landscapes.

Parks

Spaces protected under the 1989 Law due to their high ecological value and minimal human impact. National parks represent natural features of national interest, while natural parks allow for balanced resource exploitation and tourism.

Global Network of Biosphere Reserves

International system of protected terrestrial, coastal, and marine areas aiming to preserve biodiversity while harmonizing with human presence and generating financial resources. Spain has 22 such spaces, including the Cantabrian Mountains, Pyrenees, Central and Béticos Systems, Sierra de Aracena, Cazorla, Segura and Las Villas, and Grazalema.

Environmental Management Initiatives

LINDE

Spanish state initiative to identify areas with overexploited and degraded rivers and implement programs for their rational use.

PICHRA

Integrated Hydrologic Basin Environmental Restoration Plans funded by the European Union. Objectives include addressing land degradation, particularly erosion, through afforestation, channel corrections, promoting recreational use, and integrating rivers into urban environments.