Datos básicos sobre el uso del agua en Españarecursos didácticos

Zusammenfassung

Water is a great resource for teaching, it provides a wealth of educational opportunities for classroom application. Articles dealing with this issue appear both in the journal Enseñanza de las Ciencias de la Tierra, and in the various editions of Symposia of Geology Teaching. This article adds novelty insofar as it provides recent data on water use in Spain. The entry of Spain in the European Union (EU) in 1986, the publication of EU Water Directive (DMA) in December 2000 and its adaptation to the Spanish legislation, provided a new perspective for water management. The old paradigms of agricultural development, irrigation promotion, supply management, etc., were replaced by a new approach where water is perceived as a versatile good: besides fostering economy and well-being, we appreciate an aesthetic value, landscape content, support of ecosystems, harmonizing with the philosophy of the New Water Culture. The deep economic crisis, the corruption scandals and the relatively humid period that Spain is experiencing, have silenced the debate on water that is usually stimulated by general elections and / or droughts. But it is necessary to reach a wide consensus or agreement in order to learn from the lessons of the past and look forward to a future with guarantees of a good water management. This article presents the main figures on water resources and uses in Spain and revises the paradigms that have governed water politics in the 20th and the beginning of the 21st century. The article states that there is room for improvement in water management and mentions six mechanisms that can make it effective: a rise in the price of water that conveys the message of a greater responsibility in its use; the promotion of water users’ communities; favoring water markets; modernization of irrigation; efficiency in the use of the water and a greater transparency in the whole water management process. Based on this, a shared vision of the future should be encouraged to reach a great Water Agreement. The material provided by this article can be exploited as a teaching tool to encourage discussion and debate in the classroom with students. A number of issues are given as suggestions for teachers to use with the students.