JÚCAR RIVER BASIN (SPAIN)
Socioeconomic Development
Population
In 2009, the total population of the JRBD basin was about 5,200,000 inhabitants, 119 inhabitants per km2. The estimated seasonal equivalent population is very significant and is around 5,565,000 inhabitants. In the following table the distribution in the provinces is shown:
Table: Provincial distribution of the population in the territory of the IRBD (CHJ).
| Province | Permanent Population |
Total population (including seasonal equivalent) |
| Albacete | 290,138 | 295,792 |
| Alicante | 1,488,346 | 1,663,941 |
| Castellón | 597,176 | 683,885 |
| Cuenca | 133,528 | 140,067 |
| Tarragona | 23,985 | 25,583 |
| Teruel | 53,628 | 57,646 |
| Valencia | 2,575,362 | 2,698,086 |
| Total CHJ | 5,162,163 | 5,565,000 |
Economic Activities
The service sector including tourism produces the highest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the JRBD, followed by the industrial sector. The agricultural sector has the lowest economic importance in terms of GDP although this sector occupies basically more than the half of the territory in the JRBD with a surface of 350,000ha being irrigated.
The following figure shows the main cultivation in the irrigation fields of JRBD. The most irrigated crops were citric fruits, followed by cereals and wheat, and maize and sorghum with the lowest proportion.
Regarding the industrial activity the most significant sectors are the ones of textile, manufacturing, leather, tobacco and food industry. The most industrial activity is located in the exploitation systems of Turia, Júcar and Vinalopó-Alcantí.
The hydroelectric park which is located in the watercourse of the rivers Mijares, Turia and Júcar has an installed capacity of 8% of the total national electricity production and has 113 units of hydroelectric power production. The total installed capacity is about 1,417 MW. In the last decade power production has doubled since wind and thermal (here in particular biomass and cogeneration) power systems have been extended.
References and further reading:
Andreu et al. (2009) Decision Support System for Drought Planning and Management in the Jucar River Basin, Spain.
Andreu et al. (2013) Drought Planning and Management in the Júcar River Basin, Spain, in: Schwabe et al., Drought in Arid and Semi-Arid Regions, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg, Germany.
Confederación Hidrográfica del Júcar, www.chj.es Júcar River Basin Agency: Jucar Pilot River Basin – Spain.
Momblanch A., Andreu J., Paredes-Arquiola J., Solera A., Pedro-Monzonís M. (2014) Adapting water accounting for integrated water resource management. The Júcar Water Resource System (Spain), Journal of Hydrology, 519: 3369-3385.
Paredes-Arquiola J., Andreu-Álvarez J., Martín-Monerris M., Solera A. (2010) Water quantity and quality models applied to the Jucar River Basin, Spain, Water Resource Management, 24: 2759-2779.
Pedro-Monzonís M., Ferrer J., Solera A., Estrela T., Paredes-Arquiola J. (2015) Key issues for determining the exploitable water resources in a Mediterranean river basin, Science of the Total Environment, 503-504: 319-28.
