GESTIÓN INTEGRADA DEL TERRITORIO EN LA CUENCA DEL RÍO MIJARES

The Mijares River basin faces significant environmental threats, including a 56% reduction in summer storms since 1950 and high risks of desertification and forest fires. To address these, the document proposes five targeted adaptation measures: recovering extensive grazing in the headwaters, creating mosaic landscapes, restoring traditional orchards in the upper and middle reaches, maintaining rain-fed crops in the middle reach, and diversifying citrus plantations with sustainable woody crops in the lower reach. Implementation is hindered by fragmented private land ownership (minifundios), rugged terrain, and the loss of traditional knowledge. The brief advocates for a participatory, integrated territorial approach involving payments for ecosystem services and the integration of women and youth into rural employment.

• The Mijares River basin is characterized by two primary environmental challenges: the weakening of the hydrological cycle and the degradation of ecosystems, which may lead to desertification.
• Historical land-use changes, including coastal urbanization and the draining of coastal wetlands, have contributed to a 56% decrease in summer storms in the basin's headwaters since 1950, increasing the risk of drought and desertification.
• In the headwaters and upper course, the recovery of professional extensive grazing is proposed to control erosion, reduce forest fire risks, and promote a socio-ecological transition, provided that neo-rural shepherds are supported and abandoned infrastructure is restored.
• For the upper course, the document recommends transitioning from dense, continuous forests to a 'mosaic landscape' through active thinning and the gradual succession of pine by native species like oak, which could support the local economy via biomass pellets.
• The restoration of traditional orchards in the upper and middle reaches is considered the least viable of the five proposed measures due to high costs, rugged terrain, and the loss of traditional dry-stone construction knowledge.
• In the middle course, the brief proposes maintaining and recovering rain-fed crops, specifically native olive trees in the upper-middle section and carob trees in the lower-middle section, to combat rural depopulation.
• In the lower course, the document suggests diversifying intensive citrus plantations with sustainable woody crops and local horticultural crops to reduce water demand and mitigate the economic impact of falling citrus prices.
• The primary barriers to implementing these adaptation measures across the basin include the prevalence of small private landholdings (minifundios) with unknown ownership, rugged geography, and low initial economic viability.

APA

Ruiz, I., Ruano, A., Pompeu, J., & Sanz, M. J. (2022). GESTIÓN INTEGRADA DEL TERRITORIO EN LA CUENCA DEL RÍO MIJARES. Basque Centre for Climate Change. https://www.bc3research.org/h6T8Uy8Nm4gFs0O/20221027033157934077748.pdf

Chicago

Ruiz, Itxaso, Antonio Ruano, João Pompeu, and María J. Sanz. GESTIÓN INTEGRADA DEL TERRITORIO EN LA CUENCA DEL RÍO MIJARES. Basque Centre for Climate Change, 2022. https://www.bc3research.org/h6T8Uy8Nm4gFs0O/20221027033157934077748.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Ruiz |first1=Itxaso |last2=Ruano |first2=Antonio |last3=Pompeu |first3=João |last4=Sanz |first4=María J. |title=GESTIÓN INTEGRADA DEL TERRITORIO EN LA CUENCA DEL RÍO MIJARES |publisher=Basque Centre for Climate Change |date=September 2022 |url=https://www.bc3research.org/h6T8Uy8Nm4gFs0O/20221027033157934077748.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ruiz2022gestin, author = {Ruiz, Itxaso and Ruano, Antonio and Pompeu, João and Sanz, María J.}, title = {{GESTIÓN INTEGRADA DEL TERRITORIO EN LA CUENCA DEL RÍO MIJARES}}, institution = {Basque Centre for Climate Change}, year = {2022}, month = sep, url = {https://www.bc3research.org/h6T8Uy8Nm4gFs0O/20221027033157934077748.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }