Speaking with Spanish Stakeholders
As a core part of the RIWET project, all partners hold regular meetings with their local and regional stakeholder groups and keep each other updated on events. On 19th September 2024, our Spanish project partners met in the Valencia Region.
The provincial Council of Valencia and the Limne Foundation organized their first workshop in Benimuslem. Besides representatives of these partner organizations, the first Spanish stakeholder meeting was attended by 23 representatives of consortiums and local governments from 13 different municipalities and NGOs. Municipalities are a key stakeholder in the project in Valencia, due to their role in water governance. Together they discussed the fact that some river and water bodies are publicly owned (as opposed to privately) and are managed by River Basin Authorities.
Laws & responsibilities
Spanish law says that the responsibility for river basins or water catchment areas, shared by more than one region (inter-communal) lies exclusively with the State, whereas the jurisdiction over river basins that fall within a single autonomous region’s territory (intra-communal) lies only with the latter. In addition, the last National Hydrological Plan states that both Autonomous Regions and local authorities (Municipalities) are involved in the management of inter-regional river basins, and they share control in environmental domains, meaning the conservation of rivers in urban areas is now a responsibility of those local authorities.
Rethinking & opportunities
In the last few decades this allocation of powers has led to some conflicts. “These discrepancies are due to the fact that the responsible administration does not have the economic and technical capacity to undertake the necessary river restoration actions, due to the high degree of degradation and complexity of these natural systems, “ according to Ramon Bellido, Project Manager from the Muncipality of Valencia. “Technical and economic difficulties stemming from the recent legislative approach add new complications in terms of territorial organization, and political and administrative issues. On the other hand, with a little rethinking, it's also a huge opportunity to develop new governance models.”
Highlighting public participation
Participants were introduced to the RIWET project and were given a broad outline of its aims and objectives. Regarding the latter, river stewardship and public participation were highlighted by our Spanish partners as a necessary steps in any process. “We must break with the tradition of laying responsibility for looking after a common heritage in the hands of the public administration,” project representative Sales Tomás Pons of Limne explained. Other topics addressed included the economic and development needs - vital to achieving a better commitment with the Water Framework Directive sites – as well as ongoing strategies to reach shared goals.
Close cooperation
Sales remarked: “This has been a very positive first stakeholder meeting. All the participants were strongly engaged showed a willingness to cooperate closely with the partners, working together on RIWET river restoration goals in the region. We have collected some great input during these initial discussions, and this will provide a great basis for follow-up events.”