The Administration of the Hydrographic Region of Alentejo requested from various companies and specialists the constitution of the data base in order to support negotiations with Spain over future water extractions on the main course of the river Guadiana.
Nemus’ study included the comprehensive framework of the claim between Portugal and Spain according to the conventions over sharing borderline and transboundary rivers, the presentation of prospective scenarios of the consumptive pressures on Guadiana’s hydrographic basin for both countries, the assessment of water’s uses and availability, the quality status of the main bodies of water and the analysis of potential ecosystem changes resulting from the different water flow scenarios.
Assessing the level of use of water resources of the hydrographic basin of the river Guadiana, measured according to the retaining capacity in relation to the natural regime, the study enabled emphasizing certain aspects which are important to safeguard in the negotiation process.