Autores UPV
Taher-Kahil Mohamed,
Albiac-Murillo José,
Dinar Ariel,
Calvo Elena,
Esteban Encarna ,
Avellá Reus Lorenzo Federico,
García Molla Marta
Abstract
Water scarcity is a critical environmental issue worldwide, especially in arid and semiarid
regions. In those regions, climate change projections suggest further reductions in freshwater supplies
and increases of the recurrence, longevity and intensity of drought events. At present, one important
question for policy debate is the identification of water policies that could address the mounting
water scarcity problems. Suitable policies should improve economic efficiency, achieve environmental
sustainability, and meet equity needs. This paper develops and applies an integrated hydro-economic
model that links hydrological, economic and environmental elements to such issues. The model is
used to conduct a direct comparison of water markets, water pricing and institutional cooperation,
based on their economic, environmental and equity outcomes. The analysis is performed in the
Jucar Basin of Spain, which is a good natural experiment for studying water scarcity and climate
change policies. Results indicate that both institutional and water market policies are high performing
instruments to limit the economic damage costs of droughts, achieving almost the same social benefits.
However, the environmental effects of water markets are worrying. Another important finding is
that water pricing is a poor policy option not only in terms of private and environmental benefits but
also in terms of equity.