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Introduction
Nuria Hernández-Mora is a senior researcher and consultant. She has a PhD in Geography from the University of Seville. Her work focuses on water policy development, evaluation and design, institutional analysis, urban water management, public participation and drought risk management. She has worked with non-profit organizations, universities, local, regional and national administrations in Spain, the European Commision and the World Bank.
Additional affiliations
January 2017 - present
Fundacion Nueva Cultura del Agua
Position
- Research Associate
December 2012 - May 2016
February 2010 - December 2012
Position
- Research Associate
Description
- PREEMPT Project: Policy-relevant assessment of socio-economic effects of floods and droughts
Publications
Publications (95)
Water markets are a prime example of decentralised resource allocation, yet their success often depends on strong coordination institutions, particularly as water is redistributed across sectors and political borders. The territorial division of authority in federal countries creates potential intergovernmental coordination challenges in river basi...
Methodological guide for the participatory development of drought management plans in medium and small sized municipalities
Sustainable development and the human right to water. The experience of Spain
AMBIENTA | nº 135 | marzo 2023
Mega-damming, pollution and depletion endanger rivers worldwide. Meanwhile, modernist imaginaries of ordering ‘unruly waters and humans’ have become cornerstones of hydraulic-bureaucratic and capitalist development. They separate hydro/social worlds, sideline river-commons cultures, and deepen socio-environmental injustices. But myriad new water ju...
The process of drafting, approving and implementing the Water Framework Directive (WFD) has played
a pivotal role in the water-related political agenda of the Iberian Peninsula. The WFD has provided an institutional
impetus for a shift from the dominant hydraulic paradigm towards a new water governance approach. The new
approach, known as the New W...
Grassroots initiatives that aim to defend, protect, or restore rivers and riverine environments have proliferated around the world in the last three decades. Some of the most emblematic initiatives are anti-dam and anti-mining movements that have been framed, by and large, as civil society versus the state movements. In this article, we aim to brin...
En el marco del proyecto de investigación “La gestión de los recursos hídricos en los planes del tercer ciclo: retos para y propuestas para avanzar en sostenibilidad”, la Fundación Nueva Cultura del Agua ha realizado un análisis tentativo de las respuestas de los organismos de cuenca a las observaciones y alegaciones presentadas, especialmente por...
En este capítulo se presenta brevemente la situación del agua y los ecosistemas acuáticos en España, la pervivencia del paradigma hidráulico tradicional, centrado en suministrar recursos hídricos a los sectores que los demandan (regadío, sector hidroeléctrico) a través de obras hidráulicas financiadas con fondos públicos, así como la irrupción de l...
Esta comunicación presenta un análisis de los mecanismos formales que existen en la actualidad para lograr una actuación coordinada entre administraciones públicas relacionadas con la planificación y gestión del agua y para facilitar la involucración de las partes interesadas en los procesos de toma de decisiones, para luego formular propuestas de...
En marzo de 2019 la Fundación Ramón Areces acogió la celebración de una reunión científica en torno a la gestión del agua y los espacios naturales protegidos en el contexto de descentralización competencial característico del estado autonómico español. La reunión buscaba analizar los retos asociados al desarrollo de mecanismos de coordinación inter...
Empirical research on land sharing and land sparing has been criticized because preferences of local stake-holders, socioeconomic aspects, a bundle of ecosystem services and the local context were only rarely integrated. Using storylines and scenarios is a common approach to include land use drivers and local contexts or to cope with the uncertaint...
El proyecto de mejora y modernización de regadíos en Valles Alaveses propone la puesta en regadío de 5.613 hectáreas en la Ribera Alta Alavesa, proyecto que incluye la construcción del embalse de Barrón y otras infraestructuras. Atendiendo a la inquietud surgida en el territorio, la Fundación Nueva Cultura del Agua articuló dos equipos de investiga...
Las sequías son fenómenos recurrentes que forman parte de la normalidad climática en la península ibérica y los archipiélagos balear y canario. Además, los pronósticos derivados de los modelos de cambio climático prevén un aumento en la frecuencia e intensidad de este tipo de fenómenos en España. Ante esta realidad se hace necesario orientar los es...
Resumen España es un país políticamente descentralizado donde la gobernanza del agua requiere la coordinación eficaz de diversas administraciones con competencias y objetivos diversos, interrelacionados, y en ocasiones contrapuestos. La comunicación revisa la evol ución de las interacciones intergubernamentales en España, tanto horizontales (entre...
El texto que se presenta tiene como objetivo principal exponer el estado de la cuestión en relación a la implementación del Derecho Humano al Agua y al Saneamiento (DHAS) en el contexto español en la actualidad. Para ello se hace una síntesis de los aspectos fundamentales del DHAS según su formulación por organismos internacionales, así como de su...
Spain is a highly decentralized country where water governance is a multi-level institutional endeavor requiring effective intergovernmental coordination – in terms of objectives and actions. The paper revisits the evolution of vertical and horizontal intergovernmental interactions in Spain, with a special focus on four interregional river basins....
This is a special issue dedicated to the widespread mobilizations to oppose further privatizations of water services and to bring back under public control those systems that had been privatized, which have been taking place in Spain over the last decade. It features 6 articles.
Analysis of the socioeconomic impacts of the Tajo-Segura interbasin water transfer on the riparian municipalities of the Entrepeñas and Buendía dams, in the Upper Tajo basin, where the transfer originates.
This report analyzes the situation of the open data in the field of water resources in Spain. Starting from a definition of key concepts, it reviews the institutional framework for open data in Spain. It maps the key water data producers and consumers and their interrelationships. The report concludes with some examples of good practices and some f...
Since the recognition of the Human Right to Water and Sanitation by the United Nations
in 2010, processes and debates have emerged regarding its effective implementation
on an international, European and Spanish scale. Without doubt, the expression Human
Right to Water is a key point of reference in debates about the management of urban
water suppl...
The article starts by summarizing the state of the art of the current debate on scalar politics
in the management of natural resources, in particular water. Against this background,
we review the territorial, juridical and political evolution of basin organizations in the
Iberian Peninsula, since their creation in 1926 to the situation in 2015, in...
The report presents the experience of the Mancomunidad de Canales del Taibilla (MCT), a regional authority that has successfully guaranteed urban water supply in a context of strong competition for scarce water resources in the region of Murcia, southeaster Spain. Guaranteeing access to water resources for drinking, irrigation and other economic ac...
El Real Decreto-Ley 10/2017, de 9 de Junio, establece medidas urgentes frente a la sequía y modifica la Ley de Aguas en relación con el canon hidroeléctrico. Sin obviar la importancia de esta segunda cuestión y la necesidad de un debate respecto al fondo y al procedimiento empleado (vía decreto-ley) para introducir esta reforma en la Ley de Aguas,...
The uncertainty associated with the definition of strategies for climate change adaptation poses a
challenge that cannot be faced by science alone. We present a participatory experience where, instead of
having science defining solutions and eliciting stakeholders’ feedback, local actors actually drove the
process. While principles and methods of t...
For the past several years we have engaged with Erik Swyngedouw in a productive
discussion about the role seawater desalination plays in Spanish hydropolitics. The 2016
publication of his most recent paper on the subject in Water International (with Joe
Williams) has animated this discussion (Swyngedouw, 2013, 2015; Swyngedouw and
Williams, 2016 –...
This article summarizes the state of the art of the current debate on scalar politics and water governance. In this context, the authors review the legal and organizational evolution of river basin authorities in Spain, since their origins in 1926 to their situation in 2015, in light of the current critical approach to the river basin as the unques...
La transición desde un enfoque técnico-administrativo de la política de aguas hacia modelos de gestión más transparentes, multinivel y participados ha resultado en una geografía cambiante de actores, escalas de acción, y modos de influir en los procesos y resultados de la toma de decisiones. En España, donde el paradigma hidráulico ha guiado la pol...
The chapter deals with some of the common issues of inter/transdisciplinary working groups, but also how these problems might be altered for better collective understanding and integration.
Arizona has developed strong regulatory mechanisms to ensure long-term sustainable water use, and to integrate land and water use planning for the most populated areas (Jacobs, 2009). The sustainability objective in Arizona’s water policy is based on the concept of “safe yield”; i.e., that the extraction of groundwater on a basin-wide and long-term...
The European Union (EU) Water Framework Directive (WFD) requires EU member states to produce and implement river basin management plans, which are to be designed and updated via participatory processes that inform, consult with, and actively involve all interested stakeholders. The assumption of the European Commission is that stakeholder participa...
Supplementary Materials: Transforming European Water Governance? Participation and River Basin
Management under the EU Water Framework Directive in 13 Member States.
The supporting information provides the variable descriptions and a detailed account of the
data aggregation procedures employed during the analysis, as well as a list of literature so...
This chapter adopts the concept of water security as securing water for people and their livelihoods while safeguarding ecosystem services in Spain, which has a long history of engaging with water security. The chapter analyses water security from a Spanish perspective by focusing on the evolution of the concept, which has adapted over time to mirr...
Para entender la profundidad y la dificultad de la reorientación de la gestión de las sequías en España, en este texto comenzamos recapitulando la trayectoria histórica de la política hidráulica en España: el Regeneracionismo hidráulico, que define la política del agua del país, en un proceso de cambio y adaptación profunda, desde finales del siglo...
En España la sostenibilidad no es uno de los principios rectores de la política económica general, pero sí que lo es (o debería) de la política del agua dado el obligado cumplimiento de la Directiva Marco de Agua. En el presente artículo se evalúa la sostenibilidad de la política del agua aplicada en la demarcación hidrográfica del Tajo, analizando...
Economic instruments are being promoted as a desirable alternative to public sector action in the allocation and management of natural resources. A wide body of literature has developed that critically analyzes this phenomenon as part of a wider project of 'neoliberalization of nature', trying to uncover the underlying rationale and commonalities o...
In the last few years, parallel evolutionary processes in the socio-political, governmental and technological arenas have been providing new pathways for the collaborative generation, coordination and distribution of polycentric information. From a technological perspective, the proliferation of information and communication technologies (ICTs) has...
The shift from hierarchical-administrative water management toward more transparent, multi-level
and participated governance approaches has brought about a shifting geography of players, scales of action, and
means of influencing decisions and outcomes. In Spain, where the hydraulic paradigm has dominated since the
early 1920s, participation in dec...
El cambio de paradigma que ha protagonizado la gestión del agua a lo largo de los últimos 25 años -resultado de una reorientación de objetivos, metodologías, aproximaciones conceptuales y profundos cambios institucionales (agentes implicados, marco normativo)- se viene aplicando de manera cada vez más generalizada, generando resistencias desde plan...
In a semiarid and drought-prone region, Spain has managed successfully for more than 50 years to increase water supply to meet ever-increasing demands through the construction of publicly funded hydraulic infrastructures. Inter-basin water transfers are the most expensive, controversial and complex supply-side tool used. Deteriorated freshwater eco...
The Doñana wetlands, in the lower part of the Gualdaquivir basin (Spain), is one of the richest natural ecosystems in Western Europe. On their eastern side they are surrounded by the largest rice-producing area of the country. The great dependence of the wetland ecosystem and rice production system on water and climate makes this region particularl...
Water management goals, methodologies, conceptual approaches and institutional frameworks have evolved significantly over the past 30 years. These transformations have been stimulated by the promotion of the Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) paradigm by experts, academics, managers and international institutions. However, the application...
The Water Framework Directive (WFD) represents a significant departure from prior water management and planning practices in Spain. The traditional water policy, oriented towards supply augmentation to meet increasing water demands, is required to shift focus and prioritize the protection of the aquatic environment and ecological health. Despite th...
Este libro es el primer volumen dedicado al Tajo que recoge una visión del estado del río a lo largo de todo su recorrido, desde su nacimiento en España hasta su desembocadura en Portugal, reclamando una planificación y gestión coordinada de toda la cuenca. El documento recoge tanto contribuciones técnicas desde la perspectiva de la ecología, el de...
The economic evaluation of drought impacts is essential in order to define efficient and sustainable management and mitigation strategies. The aim of this study is to evaluate the economic impacts of a drought event on the agricultural sector and measure how they are transmitted from primary production to industrial output and related employment. W...
Drought is an increasingly frequent phenomenon throughout Europe, but responses and their effectiveness vary significantly. The European Commission-funded PREEMPT project has assisted the relevant authorities in better appreciating the risks posed by droughts. The focus has been on the elements that are essential for policy implementation: improvin...
Public participation is considered broadly to have a positive impact
on the quality of governance. Transparency is the first step in the public participation
ladder since it implies that people have access to the necessary information to make
informed contributions to decision-making. This chapter gives an overview of the main
challenges for the Sp...
The work presents a comprehensive evaluation of the economic impacts of the 2005-2008 drought in the Ebro river basin, Spain. It also looks at the management of the drought period, the measures put in place, and the resulting vulnerability to droughts of the system.
This chapter provides an overview of the different legal, administrative and economic factors that provide the institutional context for water management in Spain, focusing on the effects of the 2000 European Water Framework Directive (WFD). At present and partially due to the WFD implementation process, the Spanish water sector is experiencing a s...
This paper offers insights into Spain’s experiences in implementing the requirements of Europe’s
Water Framework Directive (WFD), which is essentially a set of key environmental indicators
describing the health of Europe’s aquatic ecosystems. The WFD enables nations to identify areas of
concern and take appropriate measures to improve them. The...
Water scarcity and drought are particularly relevant phenomena in Spain, a country with a Mediterranean climate and intense pressure on existing water resources. Spain’s drought management policies have evolved significantly over time, and today Spain is at the forefront of drought management and mitigation planning in Europe. However, drought mana...
The analysis of drought impacts is essential to define efficient and
sustainable management and mitigation. In this paper we present a
detailed analysis of the impacts of the 2004-2008 drought in the
agricultural sector in the Ebro river basin (Spain). An econometric
model is applied in order to determine the magnitude of the economic
loss attribut...
In a highly emotional speech delivered last year after a series of
strikes, Julia Gilbert, the Australian PM, noted that Australia has
watched in horror as day after day a new chapter in natural disaster
history has been written. And so did the whole world. 2011 went on to
become the costliest year in terms of natural hazard losses in the
recent hi...
Public participation is broadly considered to have a positive impact on the quality of governance. Transparency is the first step in the public participation ladder since it implies that people have access to the necessary information to make informed contributions to decision-making. This chapter gives an overview of the main challenges for the Sp...
La transparencia es uno los principios de buena gobernanza identificados tanto por organismos internacionales como por la literatura cientí-fica relativa a la relación entre la autoridad y los ciudadanos. La transparencia de la Administración se considera básica para permitir una par-ticipación pública eficaz, ya que sólo un público informado puede...
a Founding member, Fundación Nueva Cultura del Agua (nhernandezmora@yahoo.com) b Universidad de Zaragoza, FNCA (abc@unizar.es) Abstract The Water Framework Directive establishes a common framework for EU water policy. One of its guiding principles is the promotion of public participation in water planning and management. In response to this require...
Los procesos de participación pública implementados a raíz de Ia Directiva Marco del Agua (DMA) constituyen un importante salto adelante para la democratización de la gestión del agua en España. En el presente texto, a partir de un análisis documental y entrevistas exploratorias, se señalan algunas de Ias virtudes y debilidades de dichos procesos....
Spain has a long-term record of intensive water usage and allocation schemes. This system is apparently very successful, and there has been an increase in overall water availability, strong associated economic development and few urban water supply shortages. Historically, there has been wide-ranging agreement among the main water decision-makers a...
In modern institutional economics, institutions have a much broader context that mere organizations or administration agencies. Institutions in this ample vision are defined as a set of rules and property rights that govern the behavior of individuals and determine their actions in such a way that these actions affect not only those individuals but...
