Interplay of State and Local Concern in the Management of Natural Resources: Hydraulics and Forestry in Spain (1855–1936)

Abstract

The modem tradition in the management of nature in Spain is shaped by different policies for economic and social restoration included in a vast plural reformist movement known as Regeneracionismo. The aim of the restoration of wealth was felt to require the correction of the “defects” of the geographical configuration of the country, and particularly the imbalances in its climatic and hydraulic régimes which derive from its orography. The objective put forward was then to make a national hydraulic artery system in order to increase irrigated areas and redistribute water. Hydraulic policy was to find additional and essential support in hydrological-forestry action.