Shared waters: exploitation

The Albufeira Convention, the agreement which establishes the basis for joint cooperation and shared management of the rivers that flow from Spain to Portugal, has just celebrated a quarter of a century. 

But as droughts become more intense and frequent in the Iberian Peninsula and water due for consumption becomes more scarce due to climate change, will the rules defined by the convention be fit to face Iberian’s current reality?

With the support of Journalism Fund Europe’s Earth Investigations Program, we have uncovered a culture that prioritises economic gain and the exploitation of resources over the conservation of rivers and water reserves. In times of drought, we are accelerating consumption instead of curbing use. But there are those who fight against this.

In the second article in a series of three, we focus on the projects, in progress and under discussion, that contribute to the uphold of an extractivist paradigm, from the agricultural model to pressures and challenges faced by farmers.

Part II: Exploitation

The use of water for the primary sector has been called into question In times of drought. But above all, concern is being raised about intensive irrigated agriculture, which uses the most water. 

Changing crops, increasing the price of water, renewing transportation networks or transferring water – there are many solutions.

The current period of intense drought has been experienced south of the Tagus since 2019, according to IPMA data. But before that, in 2016, the use of water was already the subject of disputes and tensions between Portugal and Spain. 

On both sides, accusations of abuses of water use were exchanged, especially on the Tagus and Guadiana rivers.

The first flows from Madrid to Lisbon and the second crosses the border multiple times, being crossed by the Alqueva dam, one of the largest in Europe.

After the negotiations of the Albufeira Convention, the tensions that developed over the disproportionate use of water were not an obstacle to cooperation between the two countries, but rather a result of localised and concrete tensions over water releases. These tensions have always had a common motive: agriculture.

Both the Tagus and the Guadiana cross extensive irrigated areas and contribute to the dynamism of the rural economy, to the development of the primary sector of both countries and as a guarantee of the natural ecosystems and agro-silvo-pastoral systems of the surrounding geographical area.

Agriculture dependent on water flows

One of the main causes of risk for the sustainability of agriculture is in the concrete management of the distribution and release of water between the two countries.

This has to be done in a regulated way and in a way that maintains ecological flows and, at the same time, allows the water catchments that already exist to be able to respond to the need for water for agriculture. This is not what happens at the moment.

We need relatively constant flows that allow ecosystems and biodiversity to function. But the management that is made of the release of water finds its contradiction between the quarterly and annual goals of the flows. Sara Correia is a project manager at Associação Zero, in Portugal, who works on the problems of drought and water management. She said: that in reality, the water released is “the minimum necessary to comply with those quarterly flows, and then at the end of the year the remainder is released until the full annual flow is fulfilled”. 

These targets cause two major problems.

By not ensuring that the flows are regular and constant, the management of the release of water that is currently carried out by the two countries puts those who depend on that water in a particularly precarious situation, possibly dependent on the decisions taken in the other country.

Instead of receiving a constant and reliable flow of water, the flows increase or decrease according to irregular water discharges, which will have an effect on ecosystems but also on the following dams and water catchments of that same river, and also on agriculture.

But there is a particularly perverse dynamic in this logic. Sara said: “If Spain has very high levels of rainfall, it will release much more water. If they are in a drought situation, they release as little as possible”. 

The countries can therefore play with flow targets to release less water in periods of drought and release more when they have more water, even if it harms the neighboring country’s ecosystems or dam water levels. And this has impacts on agriculture.

At the moment, the situation is one of tension over the use of water between Portuguese farmers and Spanish farmers, each group claiming the retention of water on its side of the border. “It is Spain’s agricultural sector pulling to its side and Portugal also pulling to its side.”

In 2023, when the Chança and Andévalo reservoirs, the two main reservoirs in Huelva, were at 38 per cent and 25 per cent capacity respectively, the Alqueva reservoir was at 68 per cent. 

These figures meant that while Alentejo farmers survived the drought, their counterparts in Huelva – which is called the “garden of Europe” – were struggling and desperate to maintain their production. Despite this, cooperation remains not a priority, even when roles change. 

Amparo Sereno, a researcher on Iberian water management, indicates that farmers are collecting water but there is no cooperation from the authorities of the two countries to monitor anything. 

“They collect it and don’t pay for it. The Spanish authorities do not control it because it is not their waters, so to speak. And the Portuguese authorities don’t control it either, because it’s outside their jurisdiction, it’s in Spanish territory.”

Sara doesn’t see an easy solution to this problem. “I don’t see the agricultural sector giving in to joint management. Not least because Spanish farmers and Spanish agriculture have a weight and pressure on the government that our agricultural sector does not have”. 

In fact, in Spain, Regantex – Association of Irrigation Communities of Extremadura – has managed to create a structure to represent Spanish farmers in an area that is keenly feeling the impacts of drought. 

Francisco Sánchez Bautista, the president of Regantex, explains that “the creation of Regantex was the consolidation of what all the communities of irrigators independently had already been doing and now it is unified under the criteria of the association itself”. 

And Spanish farmers even further north where the drought is not so severe have been mobilising against water discharges to Portugal.

In 2022, more than three thousand farmers from the Spanish provinces of León, Zamora and Salamanca, organised in the Association of Irrigation Communities of the Douro Basin, took to the streets to protest discharges that, despite being extraordinary, were mandatory according to the Albufeira Convention. 

According to them, the discharges would mainly harm farmers in these provinces and should therefore be prohibited.

In a game in which both Portugal and Spain can be at an advantage or disadvantage compared to the other, depending on the rivers and concrete situations, cooperation seems to be an increasingly distant reality, in which the use of water is always claimed to the detriment of the other. 

“I don’t know how this could be done, but in fact this issue was important, that is, to safeguard that there is water available on both sides to guarantee the agricultural system”, concludes Sara.

What if the problem is the agricultural system?

The drought that has been dragging on since 2016 means uncertainty for Huelva. Indeed, 2023 was the fifth year in a row with a rainfall deficit. 

In Andalusia, the Guadalquivir basin is at 47 per cent of its capacity, with a deficit of 13 per cent compared to the average over the last 25 years. The areas in the south of the Iberian Peninsula,which have intensive agriculture, are all in the same situation.

In January this year, the reservoirs in the Algarve, in southern Portugal, were at about a quarter of their capacity.

These figures are particularly worrying for local authorities coming as they do in the middle of winter. The authorities have have announced cuts of up to 70 per cent of water use in agriculture and 15 per cent in the urban sector. 

This is closely related to the irrigated crops that predominate in the Algarve, according to the researchers. Irrigated crops use much more water, especially those that are permanently irrigated.

Amílcar Duarte and Ana Rita Trindade, researchers at the University of Algarve, in an article published in the agricultural magazine Voz do Campo trace the relationship between the end of rainfed crops, such as carob, almond or olive, the emergence of irrigated crops in the Algarve – especially citrus fruits – and the drought. 

But Francisco believes that “the greatest contribution that can be made to the rural world is irrigation.” 

This is because “all the cities that are in irrigated areas have increased their population compared to the rest of the cities that are in rainfed areas, which have decreased their population.”

In fact, irrigated crops brought economic and primary sector growth to the Algarve, at a time when rainfed crops were no longer competitive. 

Luís Mira, the secretary-general of the Confederation of Portuguese Farmers (CAP), agrees with Francisco. “If you don’t have a crop there that gives profitability and that has productive capacity, people abandon the land.” 

This pro-irrigated crops position unites CAP, Regantex and Ajasul – and also the Association of Young Farmers of the South. This support extends to intensive irrigation.

This is because irrigation is an economic stimulus. The impact of ending these crops would be devastating for the economy of the districts south of the Tagus. 

“The consequence that this will have on the management of those territories is terrible”, comments Luís. “We can’t say: ‘we don’t like this’, without having another alternative”.

The number of projects linked to crops that require intensive use of water for their production has increased in the south of Portugal and Spain in recent years –  having expanded by 1,200 hectares. The modernisation of irrigation has been aggressive. This is supported by the Municipality of Extremadura.

A further agroforestry project was announced in Portugal at the beginning of 2024 that will occupy approximately 722 hectares with avocado plantations. 

The project, to be carried out by the Aquaterra / Exponente Frugal group, adds to others that make up about 3,000 hectares within the space of the Natura 2000 Network – a network of areas designated for the protection of ecosystems and species.

Avocado is one of the most popular crops in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, along with blueberries, citrus fruits and vegetables. 

CAP, however, does not necessarily see a problem in this increase. It has pushed back against claims that the intensive use of water for agriculture is one of the main drivers of drought in the region. 

Luís Mira, from CAP, states: “This happens because a journalist went there to see avocados and thought: ‘this is a tropical crop!’ But isn’t corn a tropical crop? And the potato? These are crops that consumers demand and farmers respond.”

The Confederation of Portuguese Farmers explain the emergence of newer, higher demanding crops as only a response to the market and consumer demand.

Mr Mira added: “Today we live in a world of abundance and have lost the total notion of the natural cycles of things.”

Customers are increasingly demanding access to out-of-season agricultural products. The fear is that if Portuguese farmers do not meet this demand, buyers will turn to producers from other parts of the world.

This has lead some farmers to downplay the impact of these high demand crops on the water shortage. Some even claim that avocados are still pretty rare in the south of the peninsula and that these crops therefore “use as much water as orange groves”.

Mário Carvalho, a researcher at the University of Évora and specialist in rain-fed agriculture, has pointed out that the orange trees are already placing too heavy a burden on the water resources. Both crops have a direct impact on the drought that is worsening in the south of the Iberian Peninsula. 

“People will say, ‘it’s okay because the avocado tree has the same consumption as the orange tree’. That’s true. But the orange tree already has an excessive consumption.”

Ecologistas En Acción, a federation of Spanish environmental groups, has warned about the impact the crops are having on the water supplies. 

The environmentalists point to the lower water levels in reservoirs closest to areas of intensive irrigation. As much as 85 per cent of the water available has been diverted to agriculture in those areas where irrigated crops take up almost 60 per cent of the available land.

How the price of water impacts choices in agriculture

The core of this problem is, according to Mário, a “dichotomy between ecology and economy”, where decisions driven by profits and prices do not necessarily benefit ecosystems. 

This has increased the pressure on the environment precisely when the climate crisis is increasing droughts and other stresses.

This is made worse by the fact that Portugal and Spain as rival markets compete against each other even though they have to share share water resources and therefore the same hydrological problems.

These systems are complex and there are many moving parts. 

Mário does not blame farmers for choosing the crops that give them the most profit. “Entrepreneurs are not stupid or crazy”. 

The real problem is the fact that the price of water as a cost of production does not correspond to its real social and environmental cost. 

At the moment, water for irrigation is sold in Portugal at four cents per cubic meter, a price so low that it does not imply major consequences in terms of overexploitation of this resource.

“Water is being sold at virtually zero euros,” Mário explains. This has a structural impact on the way water is used and crops are chosen.

The National Program for the Efficient Use of Water supports farmers through various policies. But Mário believes that ending subsidies for water and selling it at its “real price” would make farmers manage water more efficiently. 

In addition, by keeping water prices for irrigation below those in Spain, the Portuguese Government is giving an incentive to investment in Portuguese territory. 

With lower production costs, Portuguese agriculture out-competes Spain, strengthening the Portuguese economy but further fostering the race for water in times of drought, especially since Spanish farmers also use water from the Alqueva.

Exploiting intensively in precarious mode

The impact of the Alqueva dam is a major concern for researchers and activists. The cultivation of land near the dam also extends further than the official designated area. This has created a potential house of cards.

The exploitation of water was not so efficient when the agreements about usage were first signed 25 years ago. Mr Mira from the CAP explains: “Technology has evolved a lot. With this water, instead of supplying this area, you can supply a larger area.”

Farmers on the land furthest from the dam have installed infrastructure to draw and store even more water, as they know only too well that they are the first to stop receiving supplies in times of drought.

“But these people also installed permanent crops, such as olive groves”, Mr Mira says. 

“This is something that never stops. Because those who are here are precarious, and also next door there is another precarious user. And this resource is not infinite.”

The more efficient use of water from the dam has indeed expanded the territory that can be supplied by the reservoir from the dam. But this has only created new problems down stream.

Sara Correia, the leader of the Confederation of Farmers of Portugal, explains: “They are using more water than what was agreed.  

“It is an issue that has been getting worse over the years and that the trend will continue in that direction. They will continue to expand, and usually to the installation of permanent crops in an intensive regime”.

The area surrounding the Alqueva has been increasingly put to the test. The Alqueva controls the water that passes back to Spain. This creates a domino effect. 

The technical solution around the corner?

One suggestion is that fresh river water that flows into the sea and is therefore “wasted” should be captured and then redistributed to farmland across Portugal. Similar schemes are already in operation in Spain.

This solution is advocated by the Confederation of Farmers of Portugal. However it has been strongly contested by many local communities.

“The Douro has a use of its flow of seven per cent and the Tagus, 20 per cent”, Mr Mira said. “Without this management it would be like having a country where there was electricity in the North and in the South there was no electricity and it was left in the dark”. 

The fact is building the infrastructure to transfer water would itself create environmental and economic issues.

Mário Carvalho believes the issue is again the price of water. Transporting water from the north to the south would mean greatly increasing costs. “If farmers knew they were going to pay for water at the real price of water, they wouldn’t want transfers.”

Nonetheless, water transfers might prove necessary in the end. “The diversion could be on the table if climate change is accentuated and we stop having water to have some economic activity and support the population in the south.”

Paulo Constantino from the ProTejo Association argues that the agricultural sector “has to pay for the renewal of the water distribution network … because there are losses of 40 per cent in the distribution of water for agriculture.”

In fact, plans to modernise the water supply and distribution infrastructure already exist in both countries. 

A €14 million grant from the European Union’s Resilience and Resolution Plan has been promised to improve water supply networks in Portugal. The money should go towards gains in operational efficiency. However, work is yet to start.

In Spain, the urban water cycle digitisation program is one of the tools through which the government seeks to overcome the difficulties in water losses.

This includes introducing new technologies, improving the distribution networks and replacing water meters that are more than 12 years old.

Some hope that improvements to the infrastructure would render massive water transfers unnecessary. 

“If we reduced all water losses in agriculture, plus all water losses in the distribution for human consumption for urban people, and improved efficiency, we would do the same as we do today with less than half of the water,” argues Paulo.

Should land and agroforestry systems be managed to sustain current production models? Or should industry submit to the limits of natural resources and adapt to the lack of water and the transformation of ecosystems? 

This is the question of our epoch. The use and conservation of water depends on whether and how we manage to create a synergy between economy and ecology.

This Author

Daniel Borges is a journalist in Portugal with a focus on social inequality and environmental issues.

This cross-border investigation series of in-depth environmental reports made by journalists Luzia Lambuça (Part I), Daniel Borges (Part II) and Emerson Mendoza Ayala (Part III) and photographer Michele Curel, have been supported by JournalismFund Europe.