Water and Land Regulation in Aragon

Abstract

The close link between water policy and spatial planning is well illustrated within the Autonomous Community of Aragon. The construction of dams and irrigation channels has spurred social and economic development in large tracts of Aragon, but other of its areas have suffered the consequences. The rapid urbanisation of Aragon, as in the rest of Spain, has added an important new element to the equation.

Notes

1. The number of municipalities in Aragon has fallen from 957 in 1857 to 730 at present. Although the construction of dams and reservoirs has fragmented the social cohesion of some of the valleys in the Pyrenees, it would be unfair to blame water projects for the depopulation of the region. A decline in population was a problem throughout rural Spain in the mid-twentieth century.

2. The Aragon Water Commission is a collegiate organ of participation with consultative faculties. The commission is affiliated to the Aragon Water Institute and its pluralist membership represents all social interests. The operations of the commission are regulated by the 2001 Aragon Law on Planning and Participation in Water Management and by a regulatory decree of the following year.