New Policy Brief: Pathways Towards Improved Integrated Water Governance in the Júcar River Basin

od | jan 23, 2026 | Policy Briefs, Spanish CS

Integrated Water Governance in the Júcar River Basin: Turning Scarcity into Resilience

The Júcar River Basin, Valencia’s main water source, faces a critical juncture as frequent droughts, water scarcity, and groundwater overuse intensify under climate change. Political tensions between Castilla-La Mancha and Valencia add complexity to an already fragmented governance landscape where rigid legal frameworks and weak cross-sector coordination limit effective responses. This new RETOUCH NEXUS policy brief proposes a transformative shift toward integrated Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystems (WEFE) Nexus governance that balances water use with energy production, agriculture, and environmental needs while engaging stakeholders beyond traditional water actors.

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Key messages

1

Fragmented governance undermines sustainability: Current water-dominant approaches with limited engagement of smallholder farmers and environmental NGOs create coordination gaps and miss opportunities for synergies across water, energy, food, and ecosystem management.

2

WEFE Nexus integration is essential: Moving from sectoral planning to integrated approaches that explicitly recognize linkages and quantify trade-offs enables more coherent, basin-wide strategies that optimize outcomes across all four nexus elements.

3

Economic instruments drive efficiency and equity: Water pricing through volumetric and tiered tariffs can encourage efficient use while maintaining equity via differentiated rates and subsidies, with revenues feeding resilience funds for adaptive infrastructure.

4

Inclusive participation strengthens legitimacy: Expanding participatory platforms to include underrepresented stakeholders, particularly smallholder farmers and environmental advocates, ensures governance reflects diverse perspectives and fosters equitable resource distribution.

5

Progressive implementation builds capacity: A phased roadmap from 2025-2035 establishes foundations through stakeholder mapping and pilots, scales successful models while integrating economic tools, and ultimately institutionalizes nexus approaches in all planning processes.