Nacho Guilera, geographer and expert in territorial and urban studiess i urbans
«Paradoxically, we’ve seen that in the Mediterranean, the major risk is a lack of water resources owing to intense droughts combined with episodes of torrential rain and flooding»
Nacho Guilera boasts more than 20 years of experience in environmental consultancy, and is currently the head of consultancy services at Anthesis Spain.
He is a qualified geographer and has a Master’s degree in Territorial and Urban Studies. Guilera’s experience centres on the incorporation of en vironmental sustainability criteria into the design of public spaces and urban and territorial development.
What are the challenges posed by climate change?
Realisation and awareness. The consequences of climate change have been amply demonstrated, but we need to be aware of the dangers we are facing. Emergency management is also important, with specific
regard to territorial planning and management, infrastructure (such as the AIGUANEIX project), warning
and alarm systems and protocols, emergency plans, etc.
What risks does climate change pose to water management?
In the Mediterranean, the major risks are the increasingly more frequent and intense periods of drought, combined with episodes of torrential rain and flooding, like the tragic events we witnessed in Valencia. In coastal areas, rising sea levels may have a very severe impact on communities and their economic activities.
Will there be an increasingly significant impact on our health?
If we don’t combat global warming, and if we don’t implement structural and strategic changes with regard to water management, these risks will grow. The droughts and episodes of flooding will affect the availability of food and the risk of transmitting water-borne diseases. In our immediate environment, there will be an increased number of personal impacts caused by episodes of flooding.
What needs to be done in order to improve our adaptation and resilience?
We need to comprehensively manage the water cycle, on the assumption that water will become an increasingly scarce resource; and we need to take into account management of the emergencies arising from the inevitable impacts. We need to drastically improve the efficiency of intensive uses of water (agricultural, urban and leisure-related uses) in order to protect the quantity and quality of the water in aquifers and aquatic ecosystems. We also need to implement measures that provide flexibility with regard to the use of water, in order to adapt to new scenarios and adapt our economic activities in line with the new reality of water scarcity. It is essential that we activate effective emergency protocols in order to minimise damage, especially to human lives.
How can we adapt our towns and cities?
With adequate management and planning. We need to take action locally on the assumption that water will become scarcer, and collaborate at the regional and national level on strategies to reduce consumption, improve efficiency and guarantee the water supply.
We also need to improve our urban and territorial planning in order to adapt our towns and cities in line with the main risks, given than over 700,000 people live in areas susceptible to flooding (according to data from the Government of Catalonia). Consequently, we have to rethink our growth model and emergency procedures in order to guarantee our safety and increase people’s awareness of the risk. There also needs to be more coordination between municipalities and supra-municipal bodies in order to tackle the problem in a real and effective way.
«We need to comprehensively manage the cycle of this increasingly scarce resource, and take emergency management into account»
