GROUNDWATER AND ECOSYSTEM SERVICE VULNERABILITY AND RESILIENCE

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1 GROUNDWATER AND ECOSYSTEM SERVICE VULNERABILITY AND RESILIENCE The View from Europe and Spain IWMI Workshop Managing Smallholder Groundwater-dependent Agrarian Socioecologies using an Ecosystem Service and Resilience Based Approach Elena Lopez-Gunn, Aurelien Dumont and Africa de la Hera

2 Presentation Plan 1. Introduction 2. EU Water Framework Directive and GDASES in Spain 3. DPSIR assessment approach to GDASEs: critical issues-the Experience in the EU and Spain 4. Most critical parameters and thresholds for GDASEs 5. An Example: Groundwater and Adaptation Services? 5. Main Conclusions and comments

3 1. Introduction Most European countries operate under the EU Water Framework Directive (e.g. Scandinavia voluntarily). Groundwater seen as part of the full hydrological cycle Yet differences abound Northern Europe: mainly used for public water supply -75% of PWS (in some countries like Denmark even higher) Southern Europe: mainly for irrigation following the pattern of the silent revolution Yet.from the perspective of ES: Focus on the resource base

4 1. Introduction (ii) Groundwater a system or a resource? The European Union s WFD aimed at bringing a more ecological approach to water Integrity has been defined as the ability of the system to maintain all internal and external processes and attributes interacting with the environment in such a way that the biotic community corresponds to the natural state of type-specific aquatic habitats However in practice..for groundwater Directly Focus on quantity and quality Indirectly include also the impacts on terrestrial habitats and protection of groundwater dependent ecosystems Thus regulatory timid steps towards looking at groundwater as a system rather than as a (provisioning) resource service alone

1. Introduction (iii) EU Water Framework Directive

Small farmers with no rights (informal) 3.

5 1. Introduction (iii) EU Water Framework Directive (2000) Groundwater bodies GDASEs Small Holder farming 1. Small farmers + renting land absentee landowner 2. Small farmers with no rights (informal) 3. Small farmers,medium and large farmers 4. Small farmers but very profitable agriculture (60,000 euros/ha/yr)

2. DPISR and the EU WFD Case study in the

6 2. DPISR and the EU WFD Case study in the Upper Guadiana Protected water related ecosystems Areas connected with aquifers Guadiana river basin (Spain part): 55,575 km 2 Upper Guadiana basin: 18,901 km 2 Mancha Occidental I groundwater body: 2,003 km 2

7 2. DPISR and the EU WFD (ii) Pressures Drivers Impacts Response

8 2. PRESSURES and IMPACTS Characterisation of the water body (groundwater): pressures, impacts and economic analysis Annex II of the WFD states that: Member States shall carry out an initial characterisation of all groundwater bodies to assess their uses and the degree to which they are at risk of failing to meet the objectives for each groundwater body under Article 4 [relative to the environmental objectives] (European Commission, 2000). GWB at risk to refer more concisely to the GWB that fail to meet this requirement

9 2. PRESSURES and IMPACTS (ii) EU SPAIN Source: Dumont (in preparation)

10 2. RESSURES and IMPACTS (iii) Step 1: Risk assessment- quantitative and chemical pressures Step 2: Assess each body to see if damage caused to GDE - good groundwater status = no "significant damage" to groundwater dependent terrestrial ecosystems and groundwater dependent wetlands Step 3: Groundwater body declared in poor or good status Status (>2015) vs Risk Assessment (>2015)

Decide which of these GWDW have been significantly damaged by pressures acting through groundwater. De la Hera, A.

11 2. PRESSURES and IMPACTS (iv)- GDEs 1. Identify all groundwater-fed wetlands (GWDW) in Spain. (Action 4, DGA-IGME (2007) 2. Decide which of these GWDW have been significantly damaged by pressures acting through groundwater. De la Hera, A.; Martínez Santos, P. y Fornés, J.M. (2010). Analysing the concept of significant damage and its application to groundwater-dependent wetlands in Spain. European Groundwater Conference Madrid, Spain, May 2010.

12 2. DPISR and the EU WFD Structural Descriptive Pressures Drivers Impacts Response

13 RESPONSE: Programme of Measures Measure Guadiana RBMP- Special Plan for the Upper Guadiana: a compensation programme to buy water rights from legal owners to allocate for environmental flows and to regularise illegal farmers

14 Usually small holders RESPONSE: Programme of Measures Comparison of authorized and illegal groundwater use Share of illegal activity per crop (%)

15 2. DPISR and the EU WFD Structural Descriptive Pressures Drivers Impacts Response

16 2. Internal DRIVERS (access to water) RESOURCE CLOSURE: Only groundwater users using water prior to 1985 were given access (water rights) Vegetables: Rights were granted to big landowners on the basis of small farmers who had irrigated land renting it from land owners (bundled land and water rights) Vine: Irrigation was banned until Farmers who did not have rights from cereals could not reallocate them to vine irrigation and have illegally irrigated vines. 1 job m m m m 3 56 ha 11 ha 8 ha 3 ha 11,100 m 3 1,100 m m m ha 0.6 ha 0.2 ha 0.1 ha Barley Vine Melon Pepper

2. External DRIVERS (markets) Water consumption period 2007-2009 (Mm 3 ) FACTS Water consumption x3 for vineyards over the period 2000-2009.

17 2. External DRIVERS (markets) Water consumption period (Mm 3 ) FACTS Water consumption x3 for vineyards over the period Key variation: cereals & variation spring rainfall intensity DRIVERS: market price of cereals pumping costs Decrease in melon and vegetable areas due to market uncertainty.

18 2. External DRIVERS (markets) Monoculture (intensification of provisioning service at expense of other ES services + Mechanized harvest = Less jobs Water rights bought for 10,000 euros/ha (= difference between rainfed and irrigated land)- revealed value 15,700 of vines regularized with a water rights of 700 m 3 /ha/yr Vines irrigation Authorized Price support of wine Incentives for wine irrigation: Mid 1990s drought: Vines irrigation Forbidden CIRCLE OF OVER-PRODUCTION Overproduction Drop in prices + Rain-fed production unprofitable

3. GDASES: critical parameters and thresholds (i) Example on quantitative status Introduction of a safety factor of 0.8, i.e. withdrawals shall be less than 80 % of available resources.

19 3. GDASES: critical parameters and thresholds (i) Example on quantitative status Introduction of a safety factor of 0.8, i.e. withdrawals shall be less than 80 % of available resources. The quantitative status assessment relies almost entirely on the pressure index (criteria 1) and the drop in water levels (criteria 2).

3. GDASES: critical parameters and thresholds (ii) Critique 1: One of the

thresholds (or bandwidths), which are quite general and furthermore,

So there is a need for a more dynamic / or fuzzy / or probability-based

20 3. GDASES: critical parameters and thresholds (ii) Critique 1: One of the problems of WFD is the scientific basis of approaches for administrative thresholds (or bandwidths), which are quite general and furthermore, highly affected by other variables. So there is a need for a more dynamic / or fuzzy / or probability-based establishment of thresholds (i.e. a more holistic approach). CRITIQUE 2: GROUNDWATER ECOSYSTEM SERVICES- BEYOND PROVISIONING!

21 3. GDASES: critical parameters and thresholds (iii) 1) Rain-fed vines accessed to high groundwater table 2) Drop in GW table made vines vulnerable to drought making it necessary to irrigate, Direct access to the GW table is an Ecosystem Service that has been lost Ecosystem service monoculture (TRADE OFF) current magnitude and composition of the local agrarian economy and its dependence on groundwater - a radical change of model is needed to maintain enough outflows to the wetlands. Limited reduction in water consumption implies that the Tablas de Daimiel will dry during droughts periods, which will intensify under climate change.

4. Groundwater and Adaptation Services Dry and Wet Periods Tablas de Daimiel 1950-2012. De la Hera, A.; Henriksen, H.J.; Villarroya, F. and Chistiansen Barlebo, H. (2014).

22 4. Groundwater and Adaptation Services Dry and Wet Periods Tablas de Daimiel De la Hera, A.; Henriksen, H.J.; Villarroya, F. and Chistiansen Barlebo, H. (2014). Análisis de la capacidad de resiliencia del acuífero de la Mancha Occidental (PNTD) y sus implicaciones en la gestión del agua. II Simposio sobre gestión del agua en Espacios Protegidos. Cuba, 20 a 25 de Octubre de pp:

4. Groundwater and Adaptation Services (ii) Payment for Adaptation Groundwater Services Renewable Water Stock of the aquifer (Mm 3 ) Water Availability for agriculture (blue

23 4. Groundwater and Adaptation Services (ii) Payment for Adaptation Groundwater Services Renewable Water Stock of the aquifer (Mm 3 ) Water Availability for agriculture (blue line ) vs. Water Needs of agriculture (circles ) DROUGHTS VERY LIKELY TO INCREASE FREQUENCY AND INTENSITY FOR MEDITERRANEAN REGION No pain Small pain Drought: Big pain Years

24 4. Groundwater and Adaptation Services (iii) Payment for Adaptation Groundwater services Example: Natural Water retention Measures, water markets and MAR bundles.

25 GROUNDWATER AND ECOSYSTEM SERVICE VULNERABILITY AND RESILIENCE: e.g. the WFD Adaptative ES Audit Cycle

26 Conclusions- issues for discussion First WFD does not make full use of ecosystem services concept as conceived under the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA, 2005). i.e. assessment number of indicator species for state assessment. - not consider the driver/passenger species, i.e. the role of particular systems across environmental gradients. In short, i.e. Second, the WFD refers more to ecosystem structure than processes. It does not pay full attention to ecohydrological processes E.g. it concentrates on the reduction of loads to water systems. i.e. the regulation of biota-hydrology interaction in the landscape, including urban areas. Third, the WFD relies solely on water pricing regulations, and the 'polluter pays' principle, i.e. Yet involvement in agro-environmental measures or forest-environmental payments is voluntary to a great extent and therefore may not sustain the ecosystem services of river basins to go further by exploring best practices in the area of Payment for Ecosystem Services. Fourth, not conscious of the impact that management practices have on the rate of decline of species number, and neither on the impact these changes have on quality of life E.g. studies on environmental awareness in relation to water and in particular, for biodiversity perceptions show that users of water-related services are usually (e.g. more than half respondents expected no impact in the near future or no impact at all). Great scope for aligning awareness, perception and knowledge to ensure social and economic viability. The fifth issue need to undertake integrated (holistic) measures at the river basin scale under climate change to adapt the WFD to changing conditions, E.g. use of 3D-integrated groundwater and surface water models for proper assessments of climate change effects on groundwater aquifers and surface water systems (CLIWAT, 2012).

27 Conclusions DPSIR: State/response indicators in the beginning, much to be done need to look more deeply into the internal and external drivers which can then open deeper, structural windows for responses Parameters and Indicators: be aware it is a dynamic system Look particularly beyond provisioning to other ES Look at the interfaces: E.g. Low hanging fruit of groundwater and climate change adaptation- Payment for Adaptation (groundwater) services

THE UPPER GUADIANA CASE

THE UPPER GUADIANA CASE José Ángel Rodríguez Cabellos Jefe de la Oficina de Planificación Hidrológica GUADIANA RIVER AUTHORITY (CONFEDERACIÓN HIDROGRÁFICA DEL GUADIANA) Spain oph@chguadiana.es Introduction