From users’ disputes to political conflict through regional reinforcement. Lessons from the 2008 drought in Barcelona and the inter-basin transfer solution

Abstract

In the Mediterranean context, in which the demand for water is close or exceed the total availability, confrontations over water have become a leading cause of social and territorial conflicts. Beyond the historical conflicts between farmers, urban water, hydroelectric companies and other users or stakeholders, the inequalities in water distribution and the existence or perspectives of transfers between basins have opened the door to an increasingly open conflict between territories. Technically, reasonable solutions can be envisioned to enhance the management of the water cycle, but territorial disputes translated
into the political arena does not allow their implementation which leads to the adoption of political solutions that could be worse from an environmental, economic and social point of view.

Key words: water management, social conflicts, regional planning.