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Introduction: Water Policy and Management in Spain

Access to water and water resource management is arousing increasing interest worldwide. International organizations are demanding that greater attention be paid to all the problems related to water management. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has identified water as one of the four critical environmental priorities for the coming two decades (OECD, 2008). Therefore, one of the greatest challenges for the international community in relation to water is related to the increasing levels of water stress observed in many regions. Almost half the world population will be living under severe water stress by 2030 (OECD, 2008). Demand and supply factors explain the situation forecast. Demand for water is expected to increase in the coming years as a result of global population growth, the change in the lifestyles and the industrialization of developing countries, among other factors (Biswas & Tortajada, 2009). In addition, climate change, as announced by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (Bates et al., 2008), will further aggravate water stress in many regions of the world. In Spain, water stress is an important challenge for water policy and water management. Furthermore, this problem will become more important in forthcoming years. Around three-quarters of the Spanish territory is currently under severe water stress and the situation is not expected to improve in the coming decades. According to the European Environment Agency (2010), average temperatures are expected to increase, particularly in the Mediterranean basin, while the availability of water is expected to decrease. Droughts and water stress are expected to increase, especially in Southern Europe and particularly in summer. One of the consequences of the excessive pressure on water resources is frequent disputes over water. These disputes take place between different water users, but also transcend to the regional government level. The conflicts between autonomous regions over water competences have even jeopardized the principle of basin unity in some cases. However, water management is a complex issue that goes beyond the problem of balancing supply with the various demands on the resource. The excessive pressure that exists on water resources, the poor coverage of waste water treatment and the contamination problems