2018

EBRO RIVER SYSTEMS REPORT

Jordi Stillhart
GESS I&S Class 9A
12/10/2018
River Systems Report Jordi Stillhart, I&S Class 9A

Table of Contents
1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................2
2. RIVER SYSTEM OVERVIEW ...............................................................................................................3
2.1 Map of the river system...........................................................................................................3
2.2 Key characteristics ...................................................................................................................3
3. RIVER SYSTEM ISSUES ......................................................................................................................5
3.1 Identification of key issues ......................................................................................................5
3.2 Causes of key issues .................................................................................................................5
3.3 Who is affected by key issues ..................................................................................................6
4. MANAGEMENT STRATEGY ...............................................................................................................7
4.1 Recommendations ...................................................................................................................7
4.2 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................7

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River Systems Report Jordi Stillhart, I&S Class 9A

1. INTRODUCTION

The Ebro is a river on the Iberian Peninsula. The Ebro is the longest river in Spain but only the second
longest river in the Iberian Peninsula coming just after the Tagus. It is also the second biggest in the
Iberian Peninsula if measuring by discharge volume and drainage just after the Douro. (Ebro, The
Columbia Encyclopedia)

According to a book called The Battle for Spain. The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939, written by military
historian Antony Beevor, the Ebro has been fought over since the Spanish Civil War where the Terra
Alta comarca of Catalonia and the Auts region close to Fayón, fought over the rights to own the
river, which lead to tens of thousands dead, many more wounded and still no advance in who got to
own which parts of the river.

In more recent events (1997), Spanish ecologist Jose Manuel Naredo predicted that what at the time
was called a ‘water problem’ would eventually lead to a ‘water war’ because of how much water the
government was taking from the Ebro and using it in southern regions of Spain where rainfall was
much scarcer than in northern regions. Three years later he was proven right by 400,000 people
marching through the streets of Zaragoza, Spain. The people of Zaragoza wanted the National Water
Plan (NWP) to change. (Octavi Marti, UNESCO Courier Journalist)

This report will be addressing the problems of the past and present while also providing solutions for
the future.

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River Systems Report Jordi Stillhart, I&S Class 9A

2. RIVER SYSTEM OVERVIEW

The map below shows the whole Ebro from mouth (top left) to delta (bottom right).

As shown on the map below, Ebro has many tributaries. According to Britannica, the Ebro receives
water from over 200 tributaries. The main tributaries being: Segre-Cinca, Gállego, and Aragón river.
These three rivers all originate in the Pyrenees. These tributaries contribute to the majority of Ebro’s
volume.

2.1 Map of the river system

2.2 Key characteristics

Source
- Location Fontibre, Cantabria, Spain
- Elevation 1980 m (6500 ft)

Mouth
- Location Mediterranean Sea, Tarragona, Spain
- Elevation 0 m (0 ft)

Length 930 km (580 mi)

Discharge
- Location Mouth
- Average 426 m3/s (15,000 cu ft/s)

(All this information comes from Britannica)

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River Systems Report Jordi Stillhart, I&S Class 9A

The top image shows the Nationalists territories (blue) and

the Republican territories (red) from October 1937.
According to Victor Hurtado, Antoni Segura and Joan
Villarroya from the University of Barcelona, the nationalist
parties (blue) were against the water irrigation to the other
parts of Spain while the Republicans were supporting the
irrigation of Ebros water. This was during the Battle of the
Ebro.

The middle image shows the two different political parties

again but this time, it is from November 1938, which is just
after the war finished. As shown on the map, the change in
opinion was not large but parts of north-eastern Spain
which is where the Ebro runs through were starting to
realise the harm it would do to their crops and to the local
wildlife if more water was taken.

The last image is more recent and comes from the

Barcelona Field Studies Centre and the image shows
Spain’s National Water Plan at the moment. The map
clearly shows that water from the Ebro goes mostly to the
south of Spain via Valencia, Murcia and Almeria but also
gets transported north to Barcelona. According to BBC,
the delta is being hugely affected by this process of
irrigation and the local wildlife and the rice fields in the
delta could rapidly die out.

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River Systems Report Jordi Stillhart, I&S Class 9A

3. RIVER SYSTEM ISSUES

3.1 Identification of key issues

Identify and describe the issues/conflicts affecting the river

According to Octavi Marti (UNESCO Journalist) the main argument for the people that want the
water from the Ebro to stay where it belongs is that instead of using the water for irrigation
purposes such as rice fields, they are using it for their own benefits and for economical benefits
which destroys the environment.

On the other hand, by using the water from the Ebro for economical purposes, it helps Spain as they
are already in a financial crisis where each year more and more people are losing their jobs.
According to tradingeconomics.com, in the last quarter of 2016, unemployment in Spain was much
higher at 18.63 percent. The unemployment rate in Spain went down to 16.38 percent in the third
quarter of 2017 from 17.22 percent in the previous period. It is a new low since the last three
months of 2008 when the jobless rate was 13.79 percent.

3.2 Causes of key issues

As explained above, the unemployment rate has started decreasing due to the government focusing
more on the economical state of Spain rather than the environmental state of Spain. According to
BBC, the water is used mostly for gold courses, water parks and sometimes power plants. All of
which supply jobs to jobless people of Spain. But with all the irrigation and dams in the Ebro, they
have cut the sediment down by 90% (BBC).

“The 400,000 demonstrators may have been exaggerating a little when they shouted that the waters
of 'our Ebro' would be used to keep golf courses green, fill swimming pools for tourists and supply
amusement parks while others die of thirst and neglect” is a quote from Octavi Marti’s journal which
shows why the people are upset at the government. Octavi also states that people (not only from
areas near the Ebro) have lost trust and respect in the governments Water Policy and are asking for
a new one to be made.

The Spanish government has long tried to put in place a plan in order to regulate the Ebro. They
called it the Ebro River Basin Management Plan. The plan was to be used not only to regulate the
river but also to put the rights to use the waters on a firm legal footing (BBC).

This plan was not approved by locals who believed that the government had prioritised developers
over the environment. "Under EU law you have to set the minimum environmental flow to conserve
the river and the delta and then you can start to talk about any excess water and what to do with it,"
said Brian Cutts, a man who lives in the region and has been a long-time member of the PDE
(Plataforma en Defensa de l'Ebre).

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River Systems Report Jordi Stillhart, I&S Class 9A

3.3 Who is affected by key issues

Discuss who is affected by this issue/conflict e.g. Humans/animals/environment

Pictured here is the green and fertile river delta. Now

according to BBC, the Ebro’s delta. The Ebro’s delta has
been recognised as a national park and is also
internationally recognised as an important resource for
wildlife, especially birds. Adding on to that, the delta also
provides a huge number of foodstuffs including, rice,
vegetables and fruits. "The most important problem is the
lack of large floods," said Dr Carles Ibanez, who studies aquatic ecosystems at IRTA, the Catalan
government's research institute. The problem is, the delta used to be rich in sediment and used to
flood a lot of times which was good for the rice fields around it but since the sediment has been cut
down by 90%, the water isn’t as rich anymore and it doesn’t flood as much anymore causing a rapid
decrease in growth of the foodstuffs and wildlife.

Ebro’s landscape is also very fragile. Campaigners say that if the government keeps taking water out
of the Ebro, the landscape could soon be very well gone.

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River Systems Report Jordi Stillhart, I&S Class 9A

4. MANAGEMENT STRATEGY
4.1 Recommendations
The obvious solution would be for the government and the locals to come to some sort of an
agreement instead of the government just making a plan by themselves which disregards the locals.
The plan would have to be fair on both the locals and the government which wouldn’t be easy. This
plan could involve the government having less dams. There are massive dams put in place where the
Ebro becomes very narrow and is constrained by mountain ranges. The dams put there unnecessary
according to the local people and it sees the Ebro decreasing and decreasing each year by volume.
This solution would obviously come at a cost since the dams were not cheap and destroying them
wouldn’t be cheap either, but it would benefit the environment and make the local people much
happier which is what the government should be looking at.

Rogelio Galvan and Manuel Omedas Mergeli (Ebro River Basin Authority) suggested that the Spanish
government try and speak with the EU. They suggested that instead of taking water from rivers
which need the water, to take water from other rivers in Europe who perhaps flood too often or
rivers that have more than enough water to sustain the ecosystem while also being able to support
the government with their needs. This solution could also be quite costly, but the Spanish
government would make up that money when the water is put to use in golf courses and water
parks where rich tourists would then be paying to use these attractions.

4.2 Conclusion
In conclusion, the Ebro’s water rights are a major problem between the locals and the Spanish
government. This conflict is not only affecting people but also the agriculture and ecosystem of the
Ebro.

As stated above, there are different solutions to this conflict, but the solutions would all come at a
cost. For example, destroying dams would not only be costly but could also provide an unpredicted
water flow which could lead to floods in areas where it usually doesn’t flood. Getting water from
other rivers in different countries of Europe would also be expensive and would most probably lead
to the same problem where the locals of said river will need more water and then the Spanish
government will have another problem.

Even though these solutions have flaws, they are much better than what the Spanish government
has come up with so far. Since the Spanish government clearly cares more about their economy than
the environment, the second solution would be a better fit for them because even though they do in
fact lose money by bringing water in from other countries, they probably will make it up when rich
citizens and tourists make use of that water. This would satisfy the government at least in the short
term and the locals of the Ebro would be satisfied as the government would no longer be taking the
water from them.

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River Systems Report Jordi Stillhart, I&S Class 9A

REFERENCES
“Ebro, The Columbia Encyclopedia.” Razor Tie Artery Foundation Announce New Joint Venture Recordings | Razor & Tie,
Rovi Corporation, 26 July 2008, web.archive.org/web/20080726204457/http://www.bartleby.com/65/eb/Ebro.html.

Herring, David. “Ebro RIver Delta, Northeastern Spain.” Razor Tie Artery Foundation Announce New Joint Venture
Recordings | Razor & Tie, Rovi Corporation, 30 Sept. 2006,
web.archive.org/web/20060930231809/http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=1
6617.

Rodriguez, Vicente. “Ebro River.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 29 Oct. 2013,
www.britannica.com/place/Ebro-River.

“Spanish Water Rights Fight Raises Fears for Ebro Delta.” BBC News, BBC, 8 Feb. 2016, www.bbc.com/news/science-
environment-35502084.

Beevor, Antony. (2006). The Battle for Spain. The Spanish Civil war, 1936–1939. Penguin Books. London. ISBN 978-0-14-
303765-1.

Marti, Octavi. “When the Rain in Spain Is Not Enough.” Barcelona Field Studies Centre, 9 Dec. 2018,
geographyfieldwork.com/NationalWaterPlan.htm.

“Spain Unemployment Rate.” Kenya Government Debt to GDP | 1998-2018 | Data | Chart | Calendar, TRADING
ECONOMICS, 2018, tradingeconomics.com/spain/unemployment-rate.

Coward, Ros. “Clear Conflict.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 27 Nov. 2002,
www.theguardian.com/society/2002/nov/27/guardiansocietysupplement3.

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