Assessment of Ecosystem Services and Water Accounting Methodologies for Integrated Water Resources Management in water scarce basins

Tesis por compendioEven though practical water resources planning and management has evolved greatly, there is still a mismatch between it and Integrated Water Resources Management. In light of the European Water Framework Directive and other European Policies related to water and sustainability, the Ecosystem Services assessment and Water Accounting methodologies have been identified as tools that can help approaching Integrated Water Resources Management. However, the existing methodologies are disconnected from the real requirements of water resources planning and management in complex river basins such as the ones suffering from water scarcity. The Water Accounting frameworks adopt a financial accounting perspective that is too exhaustive for the purpose of transmitting the relevant water stocks and flows for water managers and users in a river basin, and that entail less accuracy in the global water balance. Also, the analysed Ecosystem Assessment Tools overlook the influence of water management as well as the temporal and spatial variability of water resources and demands. This Thesis proposes methodologies for Water Accounting and Ecosystem Services Assessment which overcome the identified limitations and are especially adapted to be implemented in water scarce river basins. The Australian Water Accounting Standards are simplified to avoid exhaustive accounting for the sake of accuracy and transparency of water management information. An improved version is fully designed, and some criteria are proposed to guide its implementation at river basin scale with the purpose of improving public information and governance. A set of Integrated Water Resources Management Tools embedded in the Decision Support System AQUATOOL is tailored with economic information in order to obtain the benefits of three Freshwater Ecosystem Services considering the influence of water management with a detailed time step. The application of the resulting methodologies to different cases of study show the relevance of adopting a water management perspective in order to capture all the complexity of water scarce river basins in the results, so that they are useful for informed decision making. The Water Accounting results disclose synthesised and relevant information for water users and other stakeholders about the state of water resources and their allocation and supply during the analysed period. The Freshwater Ecosystem Services assessment results reveal helpful to classify water bodies or watersheds according to their capacity to provide environmental benefits, and to analyse the tradeoffs between the traditional water demands and the Ecosystem Services beneficiaries. Finally, the methodologies are put into context inside the Integrated Water Resources Management process that covers the target variables to consider, the tools that allow analysing the influence of management actions on them, the indicators that are more informative to water managers, and the ways to transmit the information to the general public. Furthermore, the types of analyses which can be conducted with the proposed methodologies are detailed, and illustrated with examples in scientific literature. The presented research is based on published work, which is expanded or detailed, and includes other non published material. The result is a Thesis that provides improved results and conclusions with respect to the stand-alone papers.A pesar de que la planificación y gestión de los recursos hídricos ha evolucionado enormemente, existe todavía discordancia entre la misma y la Gestión Integrada de Recursos Hídricos. A la luz de la Directiva Europea Marco del Agua y otras Políticas Europeas relacionadas con el agua y la sostenibilidad, la Contabilidad del Agua y la evaluación de los Servicios de los Ecosistemas se han identificado como herramientas que pueden ayudar a aproximarse a la Gestión Integrada de Recursos Hídricos. Sin embargo, las metodologías existentes actualmente están desconectadas de los requisitos reales de la planificación y gestión de los recursos hídricos en cuencas hidrográficas complejas como las que sufren de escasez hídrica. Los marcos de Contabilidad del Agua adoptan una perspectiva de contabilidad financiera que es demasiado exhaustiva para el propósito de transmitir información relevante sobre las reservas y flujos a los gestores y usuarios del agua en una cuenca, y conllevan menos precisión en el balance global de agua. Además, las herramientas analizadas para la evaluación de los Servicios de los Ecosistemas pasan por alto la influencia de la gestión del agua así como la variabilidad temporal y espacial de los recursos hídricos y las demandas. Esta Tesis propone metodologías para la Contabilidad del Agua y la Evaluación de los Servicios de los Ecosistemas que superan estas limitaciones y que están especialmente adaptadas para su implementación en cuencas con escasez de agua. Los Estándares Australianos de Contabilidad del Agua se simplifican para evitar la contabilidad exhaustiva a favor de la precisión y la transparencia en la información sobre la gestión del agua. Se diseña una versión mejorada y se proponen algunos criterios para guiar su implementación a escala de cuenca con el propósito de mejorar la información pública y la gobernanza. Un conjunto de herramientas para la Gestión Integrada de Recursos Hídricos que forman parte del Sistema Soporte a la Decisión AQUATOOL se une con información económica para obtener los beneficios generados por tres Servicios de los Ecosistemas de Agua Dulce considerando la influencia de la gestión del agua a una escala temporal detallada. La aplicación de las metodologías resultantes a distintos casos de estudio muestra la relevancia de adoptar una perspectiva de gestión del agua para capturar en los resultados la complejidad de las cuencas con escasez de agua, de modo que sean útiles para la toma de decisiones informadas. Los resultados de Contabilidad del Agua muestran información sintética y relevante para los usuarios del agua y otros actores interesados sobre el estado de los recursos hídricos, y su asignación y suministro durante el periodo analizado. Los resultados de la evaluación de los Servicios de los Ecosistemas de Agua Dulce se revelan útiles para clasificar las masas de agua o subcuencas de acuerdo con su capacidad para proporcionar beneficios ambientales y para analizar el equilibrio entre las demandas de agua tradicionales y los beneficiarios de los Servicios de los Ecosistemas. Finalmente, las metodologías se ponen en contexto dentro del proceso de Gestión Integrada de Recursos Hídricos que abarca las variables objetivo a considerar, las herramientas que permiten analizar la influencia de las acciones de gestión sobre ellas, los indicadores más informativos para los gestores del agua, y los modos de transmitir la información al público en general. Además, se detallan e ilustran con ejemplos en la literatura científica los tipos de análisis que pueden llevarse a cabo mediante las metodologías propuestas. La investigación que se presenta está basada en trabajos publicados, que se expanden o detallan, e incluye material no publicado. El resultado es una Tesis que proporciona resultados y conclusiones mejorados respecto a los artículos independientes.A pesar que la planificació i la gestió dels recursos hídrics ha evolucionat enormement, existeix encara discordancia entre aquesta i la Gestió Integrada de Recursos Hídrics. A la llum de la Directiva Europea Marc de l'Aigua i altres Polítiques Europees relacionades amb l'aigua i la sostenibilidad, la Comptabilitat de l'Aigua i l'avaluació dels Serveis dels Ecosistemes s'han identificat com a ferramentes que poden ajudar a aproximar-se a la Gestió Integrada de Recusos Hídrics. No obstant això, les metodologies existents actualment estan desconnectades dels requeriments reals de la planificació i gestió dels recursos hídricos en conques hidrogràfiques complexes com les que pateixen d'escassesa hídrica. Els marcs de Comptabilitat de l'Aigua adopten una perspectiva de Comptabilitat financera que és massa exhaustiva per al propòsit de transmetre informacó relevant sobre les reserves i fluxes als gestors i usuaris de l'aigua en una conca, i comporten menys precisió al balanç global de l'aigua. A més, les ferramentes analitzades per a l'avaluació dels Serveis dels Ecosistemes passen per alt la influència de la gestió de l'aigua així com la variabilitat temporal i espacial dels recursos hídrics i les demandes. Aquesta Tesi proposa metodologies per a la Comptabilitat de l'Aigua i l'Avaluació dels Serveis dels Ecosistemes que superen aquestes limitacions i que estan especialment adaptades per a la seua implementació en conques amb escassesa d'aigua. Els Estàndards Australians de Comptabilitat de l'Aigua es simplifiquen per evitar la comptabilitat exhaustiva a favor de la precisió i la transparència en la informació sobre la gestió de l'aigua. Es dissenya una versió millorada i es proposen alguns criteris per guiar la seua implementació a escala de conca amb el propòsit de millorar la informació pública i la governança. Un conjunt de ferramentes per a la Gestió Integrada de Recursos Hídrics que formen part del Sistema Suport a la Decisió AQUATOOL s'uneix amb informació econòmica per obtindre els beneficis generats per tres Serveis dels Ecosistemes d'Aigua Dolça considerant la influència de la gestió de l'aigua a una escala temporal detallada. L'aplicació de les metodologies resultants als distints casos d'estudi mostren la rellevància d'adoptar una perspectiva de gestió de l'aigua per capturar als resultats la complexitat de les conques amb escassesa d'aigua, de manera que siguen útils per a la presa de decisions informades. Els resultats de la Comptabilitat de l'Aigua mostren informació sintètica i rellevant per als usuaris i altres actors interessats sobre l'estat dels recursos hídric, i la seua assignació i subministrament al llarg del període analitzat. Els resultats de l'avaluació dels Serveis dels Ecosistemes d'Aigua Dolça es revelen útils per classificar les masses d'aigua o subconques d'acord amb la seua capacitat per proporcionar beneficis ambientals i per analitzar l'equilibri entre les demandes d'aigua tradicionals i els beneficiaris dels Serveis dels Ecosistemes. Finalment, les metodologies es posen en context dins del procés de Gestió Integrada de Recursos Hídrics que abarca les variables objectiu a considerar, les ferramentes que permeten analitzar la influència de les accions de gestió sobre elles, els indicadors més informatius per als gestors de l'aigua, i les maneres de transmetre la informació al públic en general. A més, es detallen i il¿lustren amb exemples en la literatura científica els tipus d'anàlisis que es poden portar a terme mitjançant les metodologies propostes. La investigació que es presenta està basada en treballs publicats, que s'expandeixen o detallen, i inclou material no publicat. El resultat és una Tesis que proporciona resultats i conclusions millorades respecte als articles independents.Momblanch Benavent, A. (2016). Assessment of Ecosystem Services and Water Accounting Methodologies for Integrated Water Resources Management in water scarce basins [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/75523TESISCompendi

Integrated water resources management for ecosystem services assessment

[ES] Las tendencias actuales a nivel internacional, y específicamente a nivel europeo, avanzan hacia la gestión sostenible y eficiente de los recursos naturales. Esta corriente se plasma en la ¿Directiva Europea Marco del Agua¿, en las estrategias ¿Europa 2020¿ y ¿Estrategia de la UE sobre la Biodiversidad hasta 2020¿, y en el ¿Plan para salvaguardar los recursos hídricos de Europa¿, entre otros documentos oficiales. La evaluación de los Servicios de los Ecosistemas puede ayudar a preservar ecosistemas sanos, impulsando decisiones efectivas sobre los recursos naturales. Además, la Gestión Integrada de Recursos Hídricos, apoyada por Sistemas Soporte a la Decisión, permite considerar múltiples variables de un sistema de recursos hídricos dentro del objetivo más amplio del desarrollo sostenible. En este trabajo se propone una metodología para la Gestión Integrada de Recursos Hídricos, y se aplica al Sistema de Recursos Hídricos del Río Tormes, en España. Esta consta de cinco modelos encadenados para la evaluación de los recursos hídricos y la contaminación difusa, la gestión del agua, la modelación de la calidad del agua y la evaluación del hábitat; todos ellos integrados en el Sistema Soporte a la Decisión AQUATOOL. Se propone un análisis de compensación para presentar la evolución de la calidad del agua, la satisfacción de las demandas y la disponibilidad de hábitat frente a la variación de caudales ecológicos en diversos puntos del sistema. Los resultados se analizan mediante gráficos que pueden ser fácilmente entendidos por los decisores y los actores interesados, apoyando decisiones consensuadas e informadas. Se propone una metodología para integrar la evaluación de los Servicios de los Ecosistemas y la Gestión Integrada de Recursos Hídricos, que se desarrollará en futuros trabajos. Esta unión conlleva el enriquecimiento de la metodología para la Gestión Integrada de Recursos Hídricos, añadiendo al análisis multiobjetivo tradicional del suministro a las demandas y caudales ecológicos, otras variables interesantes para la toma de decisiones como la producción de agua, el almacenamiento en acuíferos, la autodepuración del agua y la biodiversidad.[EN] Current trends at international level, and specifically at European level, advance towards sustainable and efficient management of natural resources. This current is expressed in the ¿European Water Framework Directive¿, the strategies ¿Europe 2020¿ and ¿EU biodiversity strategy to 2020¿, and in ¿A Blueprint to safeguard Europe¿s Water Resources¿, among other official documents. The Ecosystem Services Assessment can help preserving healthy ecosystems, underpinning effective natural resource decisions. Besides, Integrated Water Resources Management, supported by Decision Support Systems, allows considering multiple variables of a water resources system, inside the broader objective of sustainable development. In this work, a methodology for Integrated Water Resources Management is proposed and applied to the Tormes Water Resources System, in Spain. It consists of five chained models that stand for water resources evaluation, diffuse pollution evaluation, water management, water quality modelling and habitat evaluation; all they integrated in the Decision Support System AQUATOOL. A tradeoff analysis is proposed to present the evolution of water quality, satisfaction of demands and habitat availability, as environmental flows change in several points of the water resources system. The results are analysed through graphics that can be easily understood by decision makers and stakeholders, supporting sound and informed decisions. A methodology to integrate Ecosystem Services Assessment and Integrated Water Resources Management is proposed here, and will be developed in further research. This union entails the enrichment of the methodology for Integrated Water Resources Management, adding to the traditional analysis of supply to demands and environmental flows, other interesting variables to take decisions like freshwater production, water storage in aquifers, water purification and biodiversity to the multipurpose analysisMomblanch Benavent, A. (2013). Integrated water resources management for ecosystem services assessment. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/37379Archivo delegad

Improved modelling of the freshwater provisioning ecosystem service in water scarce river basins

Freshwater provisioning by the landscape contributes to human well-being through water use for drinking, irrigation and other purposes. The assessment of this ecosystem service involves the quantification of water resources and the valuation of water use benefits. Models especially designed to assess ecosystem services can be used. However, they have limitations in representing the delivery of the service in water scarce river basins where water management and the temporal variability of water resource and its use are key aspects to consider. Integrating water resources management tools represents a good alternative to ecosystem services models in these river basins. We propose a modelling framework that links a rainfall-runoff model and a water allocation model which allow accounting for the specific requirements of water scarce river basins. Moreover, we develop a water tracer which rebounds the value of the service from beneficiaries to water sources, allowing the spatial mapping of the service

Improved modelling of the freshwater provisioning ecosystem service in water scarce river basins

[EN] Freshwater provisioning by the landscape contributes to human well-being through water use for drinking, irrigation and other purposes. The assessment of this ecosystem service involves the quantification of water resources and the valuation of water use benefits. Models especially designed to assess ecosystem services can be used. However, they have limitations in representing the delivery of the service in water scarce river basins where water management and the temporal variability of water resource and its use are key aspects to consider. Integrating water resources management tools represents a good alternative to ecosystem services models in these river basins. We propose a modelling framework that links a rainfall-runoff model and a water allocation model which allow accounting for the specific requirements of water scarce river basins. Moreover, we develop a water tracer which rebounds the value of the service from beneficiaries to water sources, allowing the spatial mapping of the service.The authors acknowledge the support of Universitat Politecnica de Valencia through its Support Programme for Research and Development. We also wish to thank Confederacion Hidrogr afica del Duero (belonging to the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment) for the data provided in developing this study and the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness for its financial support through the projects SCARCE (Consolider-Ingenio 2010 CSD2009-00065) and NUTEGES (CGL2012-34978). We also value the support provided by the European Community in financing the Seventh Framework Program projects DROUGHTR&SPI (FP7-ENV-2011, 282769), ENHANCE (FP7-ENV-2012, 308438), the H2020 project IMPREX (H2020-WATER-2014-2015, 641811), the grant WAMCD (EC-DG Environment No. 07.0329/2013/ 671291/SUB/ENV.C1) and the Life þ project LIFE ALBUFERA (LIFE12 ENV/ES/000685).Momblanch Benavent, A.; Andreu Álvarez, J.; Paredes Arquiola, J. (2017). Improved modelling of the freshwater provisioning ecosystem service in water scarce river basins. Environmental Modelling & Software. 94:87-99. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2017.03.033S87999

Using ecosystem services to represent the environment in hydro-economic models

[EN] Demand for water is expected to grow in line with global human population growth, but opportunities to augment supply are limited in many places due to resource limits and expected impacts of climate change. Hydro-economic models are often used to evaluate water resources management options, commonly with a goal of understanding how to maximise water use value and reduce conflicts among competing uses. The environment is now an important factor in decision making, which has resulted in its inclusion in hydro-economic models. We reviewed 95 studies applying hydro-economic models, and documented how the environment is represented in them and the methods they use to value environmental costs and benefits. We also sought out key gaps and inconsistencies in the treatment of the environment in hydro-economic models. We found that representation of environmental values of water is patchy in most applications, and there should be systematic consideration of the scope of environmental values to include and how they should be valued. We argue that the ecosystem services framework offers a systematic approach to identify the full range of environmental costs and benefits. The main challenges to more holistic representation of the environment in hydro-economic models are the current limits to understanding of ecological functions which relate physical, ecological and economic values and critical environmental thresholds; and the treatment of uncertainty. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.The authors acknowledge the backing of Universitat Politecnica de Valencia through its Support Programme for Research and Development. Support by the CSIRO for an internship visit by the lead author is also acknowledged. We also wish to thank the European Commission for financing the Seventh Framework Program project ENHANCE (FP7-ENV-2012, 308438) and the H2020 project IMPREX (H2020-WATER-2014-2015, 641811), and the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness for granting the project NUTEGES (VI Plan Nacional de I+D+i 2008-2011, CGL2012-34978).Momblanch Benavent, A.; Connor, JD.; Crossman, ND.; Paredes Arquiola, J.; Andreu Álvarez, J. (2016). Using ecosystem services to represent the environment in hydro-economic models. Journal of Hydrology. 538:293-303. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2016.04.019S29330353

Adapting water accounting for integrated water resource management. The Júcar Water Resource System (Spain)

[EN] An increase in water demands, exacerbated by climate change and the tightening of environmental requirements, leads to a reduction in available water resources for economic uses. This situation poses challenges for water resource planning and management. Water accounting has emerged as an appropriate tool to improve transparency and control in water management. There are multiple water accounting approaches, but they generally involve a very exhaustive list of accounted concepts. According to our findings in this research, one of the best water accounting methodologies is the Australian Water Accounting Standard. However, its implementation for integrated water resource planning and management purposes calls into questioning the amount of information and level of detail necessary for the users of water accounts. In this paper, we present a different method of applying the Australian Water Accounting Standard in relation to water resource management, which improves its utility. In order to compare the original approach and that proposed here, we present and discuss an application to the Júcar Water Resource System, in eastern Spain. 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Authors would like to thank Universitat Politecnica de Valencia for its Support Programme for Research and Development, and the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness for its financial support through the projects SCARCE (Consolider-Ingenio 2010 CSD2009-00065) and NUTEGES (CGL2012-34978). We also value the support provided by the European Community's Seventh Framework Program in financing the projects SIRIUS (FP7-SPACE-2010-1, 262902), DROUGHT-R&SPI (FP7-ENV-2011, 282769) and ENHANCE (FP7-ENV-2012, 308438). We would also like to express our gratitude to the Jucar River Basin District Agency (Spanish Ministry of Environment) for the data provided to develop this study. Finally, thanks to the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation in Adelaide, Australia, for hosting one of the authors for a research stay. This paper reflects only the authors' viewpoints and the mentioned institutions are not liable for any use that may be made of the information herein contained.Momblanch Benavent, A.; Andreu Álvarez, J.; Paredes Arquiola, J.; Solera Solera, A.; Pedro Monzonís, M. (2014). Adapting water accounting for integrated water resource management. The Júcar Water Resource System (Spain). Journal of Hydrology. (519):3369-3385. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2014.10.0023369338551

Managing water quality under drought conditions in the Llobregat River Basin

[EN] The primary effects of droughts on river basins include both depleted quantity and quality of the available water resources, which can render water resources useless for human needs and simultaneously damage the environment. Isolated water quality analyses limit the action measures that can be proposed. Thus, an integrated evaluation of water management and quality is warranted. In this study, a methodology consisting of two coordinated models is used to combine aspects of water resource allocation and water quality assessment. Water management addresses water allocation issues by considering the storage, transport and consumption elements. Moreover, the water quality model generates time series of concentrations for several pollutants according to the water quality of the runoff and the demand discharges. These two modules are part of the AQUATOOL decision support system shell for water resource management. This tool facilitates the analysis of the effects of water management and quality alternatives and scenarios on the relevant variables in a river basin. This paper illustrates the development of an integrated model for the Llobregat River Basin. The analysis examines the drought from 2004 to 2008, which is an example of a period when the water system was quantitative and qualitatively stressed. The performed simulations encompass a wide variety of water management and water quality measures; the results provide data for making informed decisions. Moreover, the results demonstrated the importance of combining these measures depending on the evolution of a drought event and the state of the water resources system. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.The authors would like to thank the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness for its financial support through the SCARCE (Consolider-Ingenio 2010 CSD2009-00065) and NUTEGES (CGL2012-34978) projects. We also value the support provided by the European Community's Seventh Framework Program in financing the SIRIUS (FP7-SPACE-2010-1, 262902), DROUGHT-R&SPI (FP7-ENV-2011, 282769) and ENHANCE (FP7-ENV-2012, 308438) projects. Moreover, we are grateful to the Catalan Water Agency for the data provided to develop this study.Momblanch Benavent, A.; Paredes Arquiola, J.; Munné, A.; Manzano, A.; Arnau Cosín, J.; Andreu Álvarez, J. (2015). Managing water quality under drought conditions in the Llobregat River Basin. Science of the Total Environment. 503-504:300-318. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.06.069S300318503-50

SusHi-Wat - Monthly maps of snow cover

<div>These data were generated for the project Sustaining Himalayan Water Resources in a Changing Climate (SusHi-Wat), which aims at improving our understanding on how water is stored in, and moves through, a Himalayan river system in northern India.</div><div><br></div>The data set contains a list of images (GeoTIFF format) corresponding to monthly maps of dry snow and wet snow for a Himalayan river basin. The maps were obtained by combining satellite remote sensing data from Sentinel-1 and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS).<div><br><div>The image resolution is about 500m.</div><div>The coordinate system is EPSG:4326</div><div>The possible pixel values are:</div><div>0: no snow</div><div>1-100: wet snow cover fraction</div><div>101-200: dry snow cover fraction with an offset of 100</div><div>240: missing Sentinel-1 data</div><div>250: pixel wrongly identified as wet snow by sentinel-1 (false positives)</div><div>255: fill value</div><div><br></div></div

Análisis de medidas para la mejora de la calidad del agua en el tramo bajo del río Lurín (Perú)

Los autores desean agradecer al Área de Cooperación al Desarrollo de la Universitat Politècnica de València por su apoyo financiero a través del Programa ADSIDEO. También valoramos el apoyo proporcionado por la Maestría en Gestión Integral de Cuencas Hidrográficas, el Doctorado de Ingeniería Ambiental y el Departamento de Ingeniería Ambiental, Física y Meteorología de la Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina.Momblanch Benavent, A.; Paredes Arquiola, J.; Andreu Álvarez, J.; Ramos Fernández, L.; Baldeón Quispe, W.; García Hernández, J. (2015). Análisis de medidas para la mejora de la calidad del agua en el tramo bajo del río Lurín (Perú). Universidad de Córdoba. 1-10. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/138908S11