Water-energy nexus

Water Observatory

Water, energy and land, which are increasingly under pressure, are fundamental to human development and wellbeing.

A first assessment of the water and energy nexus in Spain was performed in 2009-2011. The results were published in a monograph on “Análisis y evaluación de las relaciones entre el agua y la energía en España” and in a scientific paper entitled Evaluation of Spain’s Water-Energy Nexus (Hardy et al., 2012).

Subsequently, research on the water, land and energy nexus has been deepened, participating in the project “Characterization of the water-energy-land nexus in Spain and Europe” sponsored by the Canal de Isabel II Foundation (2014-2015). The results are summarized in the publication El nexo agua-energía-tierra: un análisis de la huella hídrica y energética de los regadíos en España.

Other publications include Tarificación, asignación, rentabilidad y ahorro de agua: propuestas para un nuevo marco económico del regadío (Doctoral thesis of Alarcón, co-directed by Juana and Garrido) and Is the rebound effect or Jevons paradox a useful concept for better management of water resources? Insights from the irrigation modernization process in Spain (Dumont et al., 2013).


Programmes

Other programmes

Discover other programs related to this section

Groundwater

Groundwater

The Water Observatory analyses groundwater from an inter and multidisciplinary perspective, looking primarily, not at the classical hydrogeology and groundwater hydrology, but giving great weight to economic, environmental, legal and social aspects.

Challenges and paradigms in water management

Challenges and paradigms in water management

The numerous works in relation to the Spanish situation show that the widespread idea of water scarcity in Spain is to a large extent an obsolete hydromyth.

Ethics of water and transparency of information

Ethics of water and transparency of information

The relevance of ethical issues in water policy has always been present in the activities of the WO. For instance, a chapter is devoted to the topic in the book of Llamas and Hernández-Mora (2001).

Bringing society closer to sustainable water management

Bringing society closer to sustainable water management

The Water Observatory has always tried to disseminate innovative advances on the water management problems.

Water footprint and environmental sustainability related to food consumption and agricultural production

Water footprint and environmental sustainability related to food consumption and agricultural production

Sustainable consumption and production is one of the main challenges for humanity and an important part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development of the United Nations.

Improvement of the environmental quality of the waters

Improvement of the environmental quality of the waters

The achievement of the good status of rivers includes both having adequate liquid and solid (sediments) flows to maintain aquatic ecosystems and good water quality.