Plan T8: Testing Water Tenure "The experience in Spain", By Dr Elena Lopez‐Gun, Land and Water Days in Near East & North Africa, 15-18 December 2013, Amman, Jordan

1. Plan T8
• Presentations:
– The VGGT Voluntary Guidelines
– Water Tenure: defining the concept
– Water Tenure: testing the concept
• Questions:
– Q and A: VGGT Voluntary Guidelines on the
Responsible tenure for Land, Forests and Fisheries
– Exercise: Health check on water tenure
– Discussion- Is Water Tenure a useful concept?

2. Testing Water Tenure:
The experience in Spain
Dr Elena Lopez-Gunn

3. PRESENTATION PLAN
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
WHY
WHAT
WHERE
WHAT
… and SO WHAT?

4. WHY water tenure?
• Era of increased scarcity (population growth, demand
from other sectors, climate change) (e.g. Presentation
of Prof. Abu Zeid)
• Next frontier (cheapest?): Tools for improved
management (e.g. World Bank recent report)
• Demands increased but supply is fixed… (even after
desalination, recycling and technical efficiency…)….Scarcity 2.0
LOOKING FOR INNOVATIVE TOOLS
Water Tenure as a tool for management (bottom up) and
for planning (top down)

5. WHAT is water tenure?
• Water Tenure offers a diagnostic frame to
document “real” (de facto) water uses
• “All inclusive” (gives non-judgamental space for
all uses)
• Formal water rights, de minimis, customary and local uses,
informal, environmental and future generations
• Benchmarking “good” water tenure on a series of
key criteria (security, sustainability and equity)
• Allows to move up and down scales : Macro
level- strategic planning and vision all the way
down to the micro level- individual farmer
/irrigation community

6. WHAT makes it distinct?
• = ‘the relationship, whether formally or customarily
defined between people, as individuals or groups,
with respect to water resources’.
reality on the ground- bottom up approach
mapping the existing relationships
No a priori normative judgements.

7. HOW did we “test” water tenure
• Proof of concept = real application
• Three case studies:
– South Africa
– India
– Spain
water
tenure
water
accounting

8. India so far….
Potential/anticipated benefits of a water tenure approach in India
•
•
•
•
•
A (new) means of internalising or taking more explicit account of
informal laws, informal regulatory instruments and procedures;
A practical regulatory instrument to protect water rights on the ground,
which could only improve equity of water allocation but also lead to
increased willingness to invest in land
Better alignment of land and water tenure, that could open up new
opportunities (or perspectives) for tackling priority challenges of the
water, WASH, agriculture, rural development sectors
A practical methodology to track progress (or at least changes) in water
tenure and its impact on water stress
A way of identifying actual and potential conflicts – and an organizing
principle for local (up to district level) government action or plan for
future water stress situations (e.g., through a District Water Committee,
including elected representatives, bureaucrats & engineers; or a local
branch of higher-level regulatory institutions already in place), etc.

9. Spain so far…

10. Spain so far…
2X2 ANALYSIS
WATER ACCOUNTING ANALYSIS
• “Official “ water accounting
+
• Water balances e.g. remote
sensing
WATER TENURE ANALYSIS
• “Official” water rights
registers
+
• Water use on the ground
e.g. via WUA inventories on
use
Mixed Methodology:
Quantitative: official data, remote
sensing,
Qualitative: desk review, water registers,
Interviews and workshops

11. WHERE
DUERO:
IRRIGATION MODERNISATION PROJECT
GUADIANA:
INTENSIVE GROUNDWATER USE

12. Duero Tenure of uses

13. Guadiana tenure of uses

14. Duero Basin
• Focus: Look at an Irrigation
Modernisation project which
affected 95% of consumptive use
from a water tenure perspective
• Main Lessons- water tenure as an
inroad for :
Table *.
3
Use
Water rights (m )
Percentage
Energy
204,123
0,51%
Environmental
50
0,00%
Industry
54,053
0,14%
Irrigation
39,342,099
98,42%
Livestock
204,810
0,51%
Public supply
296,580
0,42%
– improved /efficient management (2.5
Mm3/yr “left” in the river)
– WUA reorganisation and infrastructure
– Shed light very quickly on
discrepancies between use and water
rights BUT non-judgamental
– .. Thus allow for a constructive
dialogue among water users (e.g.
nature reserve and farmers) and with
the water authority (nonconfrontational, contructive)

15. Upper Guadiana basin
• Focus: a closed basin with
strong competition for
intensively used
groundwater
• Main Lessons- water tenure
as an inroad for
1956
2006
Table *. Imbalance in water supply/demand
Demands
3
(Mm )
Public supply
Livestock
7.52
0.09
Environment
4.11
3
Irrigation
Overall
demand
10.0
Industry
129.8
151.52
Supply [available renewable resources - according to RBMP] (Mm )
91.20
Imbalance in water supply/demand (Mm 3)
60.32
– Quickly diagnose where are
the “knots” in the system
– Bottom up: need for
flexibility and control
– Identify points of more
difficult agreement
– Top down: misalignment
between uses and water
rights

16. WATER RIGHTS VS WATER USE

17. WATER TENURE AND ALLOCATIVE EFFICIENCY:
UNBUNDLING LAND FROM WATER (Part 1)
WATER PRODUCTIVITY (MORE EUROS WITH LESS M3)
•vineyards (1.0-3.0 €/m3),
•cereals (0.1-0.2 €/m3)
•thermo-solar power (10.0-20.0 €/m3).
•1.5-15.0 €/m3 for vegetables,

18. WATER TENURE AND ALLOCATIVE EFFICIENCY:
UNBUNDLING LAND FROM WATER (Part II)
“More jobs and euro per illegal drop..”
A-
B-
C-
Figure. Water footprint (A) in millions cubic meter, gross revenue (B)
in millions of € and employment (C) in number of jobs by category of
crop for the legal and non-authorized groundwater use in the WMA
(Dumont et al IN PRESS).

19. WATER TENURE AND
WATER GOVERNANCE
ve
ti
ec
ff
e
•
“Water tenure also has an important role to play in terms of the promotion of
effective water governance particular in terms of conferring the security on
water users necessary for genuine participation in decision making processes as
well as in terms of promoting accountability. At the same time, though, effective
governance is essential for secure and effective water tenure” (Hogson, p.4,
2013)
EFFECTIVE WATER
TENURE
MECHANISMS
EFFECTIVE
WATER
GOVERNANCE

20. Benchmarking: Security of tenure
WATER RIGHTS
INFRASTRUCTURE
RESOURCE BASE
Have an administrative
That the equipment has
Rainfall
concession
got water
Depending on the terrain
Legislation
Enough water supply
Keep the resource among all
Save as far as possible
Use water correctly
of us
within the water concession Adequate Water
With wet years
you have
distribution
consumptions is less
Regularise water
Use adequate irrigation
important
considerably
methods
Correct use of resources
Have all water concessions Good irrigation
in order
installations and
Make our exploitations
equipment
legal
Transparent administration
Sustainabililty (stewardship)
That each farmers uses the
water right allocated
Legality of Water
concessions
ES
R
TS
UL

21. Benchmarking: Equity of tenure
PRIORITY
BETWEEN USES
SOCIAL NEEDS CONTROL
ACCESS TO
WATER RIGHTS
EFFICIENCY AND
GOOD
STEWARDSHIP
Proportional
allocation
according to
first/priority
needs
Preference for
public water
supply
Reasonable water
allocations to
keep the socioeconomic balance
Priorities should
not be subjected
to different
powers/interest
Water use must
be correlated with
the utility of the
resource
Water as a social
good
Social
Water has to
meet priority
needs
Water and land
have to be tied
together
Economic, keep
areas populated
Relationship
well and farmer
are linked, even
if it is a
community
How is the water
issued: you either
have rights or you
cannot access
water any other
way
Clear and legal
concessions
Adapt the farm for
responsible use
Make rational use at
all times
Keep the water
reserve to produce
“products”
Cultural, protect
fauna and flora,
tourism
Adjustment of m3 per
plot
Control on the
water reserves
Water meters
for all water
abstractions
Control via
water meters
ES
R
TS
UL

22. Benchmarking: Sustainability for tenure
AUTONOMY AND CARE
FOR OTHERS
EFFICIENT AND CAREFUL
USE (GOOD HUSBRANDY)
RESOURCE BASE
Look out so that others
do not feel affected by
our use (damaged
parties)
Reasonable use
Legitimization and
regularisation
Farmers must be an
agent to better his/her
environment in the long
term
Social awareness
Do everything possible so
that no one is forbidden
from its (his/her) use
Make all farmers aware on
good management
Efficient water use
Water meters to control
use
Precise and effective
regulation
irrigate with moderation
according to the crop needs
Not consume more water
than the water rights be
have been assigned
Control of plot consumption
Take into account your
water concession
Consumption according to
resources
Sow crops according to the
allocated quotas
The aquifer is very big, and it
will not run out if it is used
well and it rains now and
again
Incentivise innovative use to
keep uses without impacting
on water allocations and
rentability/profitability
Use according to different
uses e.g. recycling of water
Save water when it rains
TS
UL
ES
R

23. So what?- Conclusion
What does water tenure have to do
with a key hole, a spotlight, a ladder
or a video?

24. THE KEYHOLE
An inroad into some of the thorniest,
most difficult problems in water
management and planning

25. A SPOT LIGHT
A spotlight into these thorniest issues
together with possible identification
of potential options or solutions or
root causes (diagnostic tool)

26. A LADDER
A ladder because it can go all the way
from the bottom at farmer level and
all the way to the top, to water
planners and strategists

27. From a still photo to a
moving video
An incorporation on the nature of
water as a dynamic resource; where
needs are changing and both fleibility
and control are key

28. Thank You! Gracias! ‫شكرا‬
Contact: elopezgunn@gmail.com

29. WATER TENURE WORKSHOPS
PART 2:…NENA REGION!
From the ground up..defining “water tenure”

30. WATER TENURE: UPSCALING
• Could a water tenure approach address some of the
KEY CHALLENGES in the NENA region?
• Examples:
– water priority allocation challenges e.g. under water scarcity? (e.g.
growing conflicts between water users?
– policy-dilemmas such as allocating water to rural communities for
poverty-alleviation versus high-value uses such as industry?
– measuring, valuing and controlling water?
– How to deal with climate variability and exposure to risk?
– Would secure tenure help reduce vulnerability?
– How does water tenure link to sustainable water use?
– Can tenure help lead to a more efficient and equitable use of scarce
resources?)

31. 2 Handouts + 1 Exercise
MAPPING WATER TENURE +

32. MAPPING of water tenure
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
FORMAL RIGHTS
DE MINIMIS OR UN-REGULATED USES
CUSTOMARY/LOCAL LAW RIGHTS
IRRIGATION RIGHTS
COMMUNITY DRINKING WATER SUPPLY
NON-CONSUMPTIVE WATER USE FOR FISHING AND
OTHER LIVELIHOOD ACTIVITIES
G. THE ENVIRONMENT/RIGHTS OF FUTURE GENERATIONS
H. INFORMAL USES

33. WATER TENURE HEALTH CHECK:
Please assess each type of tenure arrangement in terms of security, equity and
sustainability
Formal water rights
Factors to be taken into account. Use Examples if needed
Security
SCORE
Score 0 1 2 3 4 5
Equity
Score 0 1 2 3 4 5
Sustainability
Score 0 1 2 3 4 5
(0 unsecure and 5 highly secure)
(0 unequitable and 5 highly equitable)
(0 unsustainable and 5 highly sustainable)