meIn April, the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, suggested that the severe drought would become “one of the central political and territorial debates in our country in the coming years”. This stark warning surely applies to southern Europe as a whole, as the prospect of another summer crisis looms after a disastrously dry winter.
The absence of snow from the Alps has left Italy’s Po River as shallow like during the summer of last year, very hot. In January and February, France recorded the highest number of days without rain since records began, and there are water restrictions in the Pyrenees-Orientales region. about 90% of mainland Portugal is suffering from a drought, which is considered severe in a fifth of the country. In Spain, from Catalonia to Andalusia, unseasonal heat has contributed to the drying up of reservoirs and a disastrous drop in olive oil production. By the middle of this month, southern Spain had barely received 30% of the expected rainfall. As temperatures continue to rise and Europe warms faster than the global average, drought across large swathes of land is simply becoming the norm.
There are obvious moves that can be made to alleviate water scarcity. A quarter of drinking water in Europe is lost due to leaking pipes. In Italy, one of the worst offenders in this regard, a drought task force has been created to improve water infrastructure. In France, Emmanuel Macron has established a 10% water saving objective for all sectors of the economy by 2030 and required much greater reuse of wastewater. New desalination techniques with low energy consumption will be key to guaranteeing the future supply of water for human consumption.
There is, however, no foreseeable technical solution to avoid difficult decisions about an increasingly scarce resource. The politics of a new, dry reality will be tense and contested, especially in relation to food production on transformed land. In France, plans for new reservoirs to irrigate farmland have come to fruition violent confrontations between the police and environmental protesters, who argue that agricultural practices must be less water-intensive.
In Andalusia, regional proposals to legalize irrigation in part of the Doñana Natural Area, one of the world’s most important wetlands, have become a wedge issue ahead of this weekend’s local elections. Vox, a far-right party that has made political gains by downplaying the severity of the climate emergency, has positioned itself as an advocate for strawberry growers who will benefit from the plans. In Seville, thousands have demonstrated against the project, which has been condemned by both Madrid and the European Commission.
Global warming will force rural economies like Andalusia’s to diversify in order to survive. To do this, they will need substantial help from both national governments and the European Union. More needs to be done to help those on the receiving end of an emerging crisis for agricultural production. The absence of adequate economic support will generate dangerous resentment in regions that have traditionally prided themselves on meeting Europe’s fruit, vegetable and grain needs.
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In an era defined by geopolitical, economic and climate-related upheavals, water policy represents another formidable challenge. Sophisticated and empathetic policy is required, balancing concerns for food security, rural livelihoods and environmental imperatives.
