Collaborative Systems: Water-Landscape Commons Shaped by Community-driven Resource Governance for Drought Resilience in the Tagus Basin

Abstract

Drought resilience poses a significant challenge for the Mediterranean in today’s climate crisis, given its already semi-arid conditions. The Tagus Basin in the Iberian Peninsula is a vital water source for agricultural activities and hydropower. Despite agreements under the Albufeira Convention to share transboundary river outputs between Spain and Portugal, the accelerating impact of global climate change has intensified water source depletion during dry seasons. This strain has pushed communities to overextend resources to meet water demands. In 2022, Spain declared it would no longer fully honor its responsibilities, prioritizing its citizens’ needs due to severe water scarcity. From local community scales, to regional and territorial scales, there was a lack of understanding and collaboration between the systems of the environment, society and governance. This has led to an exacerbation of these socio-ecological issues, leaving many communities in the agricultural industry struggling to make ends meet.
This thesis explores the concept of water-landscape commons as a collaborative medium for the environment, communities, and governance, a junction where these three intersect. The design of the commons will be represented, similarly, in three layers: systems of the environment, systems of society and systems of governance. The environmental systems will define the spatial boundaries and elements of the commons, while societal systems will explore community roles in maintaining and benefiting from the commons. Finally, governance systems will outline the responsibilities of different administrative layers and the processes essential for supporting the commons’ maintenance.