Agua y Territorio / Water and Landscape

Publication rules

Revista Agua y Territorio — 2022-06-26

Reseñas bibliográficas: QUADROS RÜCKERT, Fabiano, Fábio Alexandre dos SANTOS, Guillermo BANZATO (Coordinadores) 2021: Aguas y políticas públicas en Argentina, Brasil y México. Jaén, Editorial Universidad de Jaén, 240 págs. ISBN 978-84-9159-401-7.

Facundo Rojas — 2022-06-24

Indexation

Revista Agua y Territorio — 2022-06-26

About the journal

Revista Agua y Territorio — 2022-06-26

The “Roman Bridge” of Cangas de Onís (Asturias, Spain) and the intervention of Luis Menéndez-Pidal (1940-1942): the recovery of the river landscape through the conservation of the bridge

Miguel Martínez-Monedero — 2022-06-24

The “Roman bridge” of Cangas de Onís that has survived to the present day is the result of the important restoration works carried out by the architect Luis Menéndez-Pidal between 1940 and 1942. With these works Menéndez-Pidal managed to restore the bridge, its functionality and image, mantaining the historical alterations that the architect considered valuable and fitting for its conservation. The article analyses the restoration work’s procedure and assesses its final outcome, highlighting the positive impact that this project had in the municipality's landscape by reconciling the river landscape and the territory, . The methodology used in the study is based on three axes: the preliminary historical study, as an auxiliary instrument of the restoration project; the analysis and interpretation, from a contemporary architectural perspective, of the technical documentation developed in these works; and, finally, the study of the bridge itself and its surroundings.

The impact of land use on the vulnerability of an aquifer in the San Juan watershed, Cuba

Mayelin González Trujillo — 2022-06-24

This article deals with an environmental problem in the San Juan watershed, in the province of Santiago de Cuba. The objective was to evaluate the vulnerability of the San Juan aquifer under the effects of land use. The methods used are documentary analysis and Groundwater confinement, Overlaying strata and Depth groundwater (GOD), vulnerability by exposure and environmental fragility, represented in a Geographic Information System (GIS). The results show an adapted methodological proposal that allows determining the vulnerability of aquifers and analyzing the effects of land use, providing a useful tool for decision making. The vulnerability map shows that the aquifer is subject to high and moderate vulnerability; the aquifer area is a zone in conflict of land uses, with a disorderly urban growth, potential contaminant uses, such as dumpings of domestic, hospital, industrial, swine and various crops.

Scientific concepts and their political implications in the management of Mexico-U.S. Transboundary water courses: Transboundary Aquifer or Transboundary Groundwater?

Gonzalo Hatch Kuri — 2022-06-24

The “Transboundary Aquifer” concept envisaged in the United Nations Resolution 63/has had a significant impact on the evaluation of transboundary aquifers. In the Mexico-U.S.A. case, it has not been possible to officially determine the total number of shared aquifers, therefore, the evaluation of groundwater is to be settled; it represents an lack of conceptual clarity on the subject. This contribution from an interdisciplinary approach (political geography and hydrogeology) carries out an analysis based on scientific evidence and legal documents to determine the nature of the current conceptual discrepancies between the scientific definitions of “Transboundary Aquifer” and “Transboundary Groundwater”. Results suggest the need to incorporate a systemic vision on the transboundary groundwater management, as well as the scientific homologation of concepts and methodologies applied for both countries guarantee an integrated transboundary water management.

The human right to water in the Gaza Strip from a gender perspective, in the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals

Karen G. Añaños Bedriñana — 2022-06-24

The Gaza Strip is one of the world's poorest areas in terms of water, mainly due to pollution and overexploitation of aquifers. In addition, the region has a humanitarian crisis as a result of the numerous escalations of war, the lack of food security and the lack of water and sanitation. A first conclusion is that water sharing, access and management are central to progress towards economic, social and political stability in the region. Gaza is in an unsustainable situation of permanent water scarcity, especially affecting the most vulnerable: women. A second conclusion is that, in order to improve the current situation of the right to water, it must be linked to women's rights, as well as to the strengthening of their role in negotiations and management in basic aspects for economic and social transformation in the Strip.

Evolution of the territory and analysis of flooding and water erosion between 1956 and 2010: case study in the province of Malaga (Spain)

Antonio Gallegos Reina — 2022-06-24

In the current context of Global Change, the analysis of socio-natural risks has become a priority issue for administrations. This paper quantifies the evolution of flooding and potential soil erosion in four representative areas of the Spanish Mediterranean coast, located in the province of Malaga (Spain). This is related to the evolution of the territory in the study areas in the last 50 years. Flooding has been calculated by means of a hydrological-hydraulic study and HEC-RAS, and the potential soil erosion using the revised formulation of the Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE). The results show territorially unsustainable urban changes and direct repercussions on floods and loss of soil, with increases that in some cases double, or even quadruple, the values of flooding and lost soil in 1957.

Conflicts over water and the use of agrochemicals in Salta and Santiago del Estero, Argentina: a political ecology analysis

Mariana Schmidt — 2022-06-24

This article explores the consequences of the use of agrochemicals in Salta and Santiago del Estero, provinces located in the north-western of Argentina. This contribution offers a critical characterization of the role of competent authorities and regulations, and also realizes an approach to conflicts around spraying, focusing on water pollution and its health effects. The methodology combined the use of secondary sources and interviews. As main findings it shows that there are specific laws and a certain institutional framework regarding the environment conservation in general, and for water resources in particular, together with regulations to the use of agrochemicals. However, there are conflicts that, with varying degrees of visibility and intensity, problematize health and environmental effects at local scales. The critical health and water situation of the region becomes central, through renewed questions that arise from a water justice perspective.

Amazon Basin water resources ecosystem services on the approach of Global Public Goods

Mónica Lizeth Cardozo MLC MLC — 2022-06-24

This article analyzes the ecosystem services of water resources in the Amazon basin (water supply, waste processing, climate regulation, nutrient cycle) according to the theoretical scope of global public goods, identifying the spatial extent of ecosystem benefits and their beneficiaries. Four groups of beneficiaries were found: Brazil's trading partner countries that use the mouth of the Amazon River, the South American countries that receive moisture from the Amazon basin through “aerial rivers”; the Atlantic Ocean due to the contributions of sediments and organic matter from the “Amazon Plume” and the countries that integrate the Amazon basin that use water resources for direct consumption or to produce goods and services. Due to spatial dimension of benefits from ecosystem services studied, the Amazon Basin, must be understood as Global Natural Common.

Use of Game Theory as a tool for identifying and mitigating conflicts over water use in the area covered by the Estreito HPP – MA- Brazil

Cristiane Matos da Silva — 2022-06-24

Game Theory (JT) is a mathematical theory that assesses in the strategy games the understanding and interaction of the actors, being an important tool in the identification and analysis of conflicts. Therefore, the objective was to analyze conflicts over water use and propose mitigating measures in the Hydrographic Region of the Middle Tocantins, applying after the identification of possible conflict-generating agents, the JT. This made it possible to identify the conflict scenarios and the degree of intensity in which they occur, varying at high, medium and low levels. The "players" reported that many environmental impacts and conflicts could be avoided if communication were better, emphasizing the need to create a basin committee, which will allow greater interaction between users. Therefore, the JT when used as a tool to identify conflict scenarios due to the use of water, proves to be quite effective, enabling the modeling of scenarios to minimize conflicts.

Drinking water tariff policy: vulnerability, regulation, and sustainability in the Colombian case

José Andelfo Lizcano Caro — 2022-06-24

Until four years ago, regulations of the drinking water consumption in Colombia did not consider climate change variables and national and international water-urban guidelines in its rate policy. In this sense, it is proposed to determine the scenario of the basic water consumption through a normative revision implemented to guarantee the supply, considering the six socioeconomic strata and classifying three types of cities according to the water endowment and geographic location. It was found, that the Bogotá city shows an initial increase of 58% for stratum 1, which can be considered as high, compared with Medellín and Cali cities (53% and 43%). Hence, changes presented in resolution CRA/750/2016, according to a new consumption of household public services of the Aqueduct, have a large impact on the economy of families, especially for strata 1, 2, and 3.