Traditional irrigation systems in South-East Spain
Traditional irrigation systems extend throughout the area, from the high peaks (with systems of artificial aquifer recharge and artificial pastures) to the more fertile lowland areas generating oases in the middle of the desert. These characteristics have contributed to the creation of a unique landscape marked by impressive ravines and badlands where the historical relationship between humans and the environment has built balances based on a sustainable use of resources, particularly water and soils. The construction of these traditional irrigation systems dates mainly from the Middle Ages, during the Islamic period. They are still in use, managed by local farmer communities, but they are threatened by abandonment and agricultural intensification. The pilot is part of the so-called “emptied Spain”, affected by a depopulation process and with one of the lowest per-capita incomes in Spain. Some specific areas have attracted tourist interest (with overcrowded spots suffering the effects of touristification), but most of the territory are remote rural areas outside the tourist flows.
The pilot territory is a hotspot for climate change impacts and an area of active desertification. Historically, sustainable water management has created large, irrigated areas of land, including through the use of artificial aquifer recharge systems, drainage galleries and complex communal systems to manage and share water. The main actors are the local irrigator communities, responsible for water governance and management. These strong communal institutions represent most of the landowners. Local ecological knowledge is related to water, and to soil fertility, pastures and forest management. Despite the sustainability and ecosystem services it delivers and the capacity it provides for future resilience, this landscape is under great pressure from the intensification and industrialisation of agrarian production. It is also being affected by Global Change dynamics, and threatened by economic processes, public policies and the rural-agrarian crisis.
Actions will be focussed on historical irrigation systems and farmers associations managing water communally. We propose to use traditional irrigation systems as elements that promote cultural tourism. Through the payment for services agreements (whose effectiveness has been successfully tested in the INCULTUM project) and other innovative tools we want to promote their conservation and maintenance, involving the communities that historically are in charge of their management. The importance of these traditional irrigation systems is based not only on the variety of ecosystem services they generate. Also, because they can be understood as a dynamizing element of the local economies of marginal and depressed areas, converting them into resources for sustainable tourism. Continuing the work started in the INCULTUM project, the digitalization of historical irrigation systems will be carried out, generating a specific cartography, including processing of collaborative mapping. This data will be used for the creation of tourist resources and its use for sustainable business models will be also taken into ac- count in the framework of T2.5.
Activities are focussed on the local irrigator communities managing irrigation systems. These farmers are the owners and the experts of the canals, agrarian spaces, traditional practices and their values. The participatory approach will offer them a leading role in proposing, building and managing the routes, so that they will keep the control and autonomy and the benefits will return directly to the local communities, generating positive impacts.
Cultural tourism will become a complementary activity and a way to disseminate values of the traditional agrarian spaces to bring local production and rural reality closer to visitors. Tourists will be offered a first-hand experience as they will be guided directly by the farmers introducing them into the territory and the local rural culture (Farm to Fork strategy). It’s a diversification and empowerment exercise through local community engagement and active participation. Irrigation canals’ cultural routes managed by local farmers communities as part of the ecosystem services they provide.
Association of Historical and Traditional Irrigators Communities of Andalusia; Tourism Agency of Granada Province.
Historical irrigation systems are a common socio- ecosystem around the world, not only in the Mediterranean, but also in many other geographical regions. The UGR, responsible for this pilot, is already working and cooperating with many other institutions on this field in Europe, Latin America or Islamic countries in South Mediterranean and the Middle East.
The constitution of a heritage resource as a common (good)
The involvement of the community, fee-for-service, in the management of the heritage resource & creation of new visitor itineraries
The intrinsic values of historical and traditional irrigation systems in the Altiplano of Granada are fundamental for our subsistence
