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Cost-benefit analysis of irrigation modernization in Guadalquivir River Basin

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  • Borrego-Marín, María M.
  • Berbel, J.

Abstract

In water scarce areas, policy makers frequently opt for water conservation and saving technologies (WCSTs) as a measure to ensure resource use sustainability, although this policy is subject to scientific and political debate. This paper presents an application of an integrated methodological approach for analysing the costs and benefits of using WCSTs to achieve water policy objectives. The focus is on the measures aimed at reducing irrigation water abstraction under the 1st and 2nd cycle of Water Framework Directive implementation in the Guadalquivir River Basin (Southern Spain). The method is a combination of a multicriteria assessment of the main effects of water-saving investments at basin level, estimated using a selected group of indicators. In a second stage, a cost-benefit analysis is conducted. The study finds a benefit-to-cost ratio of 4.1/1 for the Guadalquivir River Basin, thus concluding that irrigation modernization in this case study has been a good social investment. The method can be extended to other hydrological systems (aquifer basins) to draw general conclusions.

Suggested Citation

  • Borrego-Marín, María M. & Berbel, J., 2019. "Cost-benefit analysis of irrigation modernization in Guadalquivir River Basin," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 212(C), pages 416-423.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:212:y:2019:i:c:p:416-423
    DOI: 10.1016/j.agwat.2018.08.032
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    Cited by:

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    3. Julián González-Trinidad & Hugo Enrique Júnez-Ferreira & Carlos Bautista-Capetillo & Laura Ávila Dávila & Cruz Octavio Robles Rovelo, 2020. "Improving the Water-Use Efficiency and the Agricultural Productivity: An Application Case in a Modernized Semiarid Region in North-Central Mexico," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(19), pages 1-15, October.
    4. Espinosa-Tasón, Jaime & Berbel, Julio & Gutiérrez-Martín, Carlos, 2020. "Energized water: Evolution of water-energy nexus in the Spanish irrigated agriculture, 1950–2017," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 233(C).
    5. Antonio Ruiz-Canales & Manuel Ferrández-Villena García, 2021. "Sustainable Applications in Agriculture," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-5, April.

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