Case Study 1: Matarraña River Basin - Euwareness

Meanwhile, meetings held between the Administration and the users from the high and
the middle and lower basin could not reach any agreement. As a matter of fact, each
part looked for support to their claims in different arenas. Actors at higher basin could
mobilise the support of the some experts of the University of Aragón, important regional
environmental organisations (Fundación Ecología y Desarrollo and COAGRET) and of
some municipalities of the Aragon Pyreness and others from the regions of Catalonia
and Valencia. The Central Union, which mostly represents the interests of the middle
and lower basin, looked for the support of the regional government and started an
information campaign in the rest of the municipalities of the river basin in order to
explain their scarcity problems and their reasons to support the pumping project.
Neighbours of the high basin kept organising several demonstrations and some of
them started a hunger strike. Besides, in December 1997 they organised the first
Seminar on the Matarraña river basin: 15 university professors (from the University of
Zaragoza and Barcelona) took part in the event and concluded that the construction of
the Torre del Compte dam was not viable and that the modernisation of the irrigation
system in the Matarraña river basin was required in order to rationalise water demands.
Before the ending of the year, a slight dialogue channel between actors located at the
higher and the middle-lower basin, without the participation of the Administration or
other intermediaries, seemed to be opened. Although both coalitions had some points
in common —they all agree in accusing the central administration and the CHE of
having been unable to find an efficient solution to the scarcity problems of the basin—,
an agreement on a suitable solution was still not reached.
In 1998 a serious drought period would not only modify the definition of the water
problem but also the position of some of the actors in the policy network, resulting in a
new and more favourable context for negotiation. Along this year the territorial conflict
within the Matarraña river basin was coincident with a national environmental and
social movement against the construction of more dams and diversion projects
promoted by the central administration. At the beginning of 1998 PALDEMA was
created. It took the decision of having no more demonstrations for the moment.
Meanwhile, the claim for a large regulation project in the middle and lower basin
strengthened: several representatives of water uses of the Matarraña river basin
(irrigation farmers, representatives of farm organisations and some municipalities)
showed their support to the construction of the Torre del Compte dam, as they
considered it as being the best solution for granting water supply for all uses. Such
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