Afonso do Ó, consultant in water and food at the environmental organization WWF Portugal, addressed the subject of the National Water Day, which is observed on Wednesday, in an interview with Lusa.
According to him, « the demand for water cannot grow infinitely, otherwise farmers themselves will be penalized. »
Emphasizing that water scarcity is not the same as drought, but rather the difference between supply and demand, Gonçalo do Ó stated that there is not much to be done regarding supply: Portugal practically has no more places to build dams and is among the countries with the most dams per kilometer of river worldwide.
He added that it is necessary to work on demand, limiting it when there is scarcity. For example, allowing more irrigation in the Algarve is « almost criminal. »
Holding a doctorate in Environment and Natural Resources and a post-doctorate in Drought Management in International Basins from the Universities of Algarve and Seville, and working in water management and climate disasters in the Mediterranean, Afonso do Ó noted that droughts have always occurred in the southern region.
He recalled that the 1875 drought was so severe that the king ordered the railway to Faro to provide employment to people who were starving.
He also stated that climate change has worsened the situation, making it necessary to be « more preventive. »
The consultant regretted that the option has been to invest in irrigation, which is heavily subsidized, and in intensive agriculture mainly aimed at exportation.
« On one side, this agricultural sector, and then the other, those who don’t have water to bathe, » he says, lamenting that there is no limit to this growth in terms of legislation.
Even the Alqueva water cannot reach everywhere, as the administration itself has already warned, he added.
Afonso do Ó acknowledged that irrigation is more efficient today, but warned that this does not prevent water scarcity issues if the irrigation area continues to expand.
This year, the Government presented a water management strategy called « Água que Une » (« Water that Unites »), but Afonso do Ó considered it essentially an investment plan in « infrastructures to regularize places that no longer have much capacity to be regularized. »
« The Bravura dam, in the western Algarve, is almost always empty because it was built on a small stream. The same risk exists » in other locations.
« The strategy is not a solution. It unites nothing, and even many academics disagree, » he said, adding that the measures are isolated.
However, he also acknowledged that within the scope of « Água que Une, » investments are being made in reducing water losses in the Algarve, which he commended. « We can’t ask people to turn off the tap when distribution networks lose 40 or 50% of the water. »
When Lusa asked what the best strategy for water management would be, Afonso do Ó pointed to the three R policy applied to waste: reduce, reuse, and recycle.
« Water is a finite resource, and we have to reduce consumption in every way. And reuse whenever possible. Rainwater should not go into the drains when it is almost pure water, » he said, lamenting that this water is not used, both in the cities and in the fields, and highlighting the need to recycle and use wastewater.
What Afonso do Ó considers truly important « is to lose the fear of imposing limits on water consumption expansion, » because more usage cannot be guaranteed in places where water is already limited.
The UN marks World Water Day on March 22, and in Portugal, since 1983, the National Water Day is celebrated on October 1.
The date marks the beginning of the hydrological year, which starts on October 1 and ends on September 30. It signifies the time of the year when water reserves reach their lowest point and the new rainy season begins.