Has The 'Tragedy Of The Commons' Scenario Finally Reached Almeria?

Fresh drinking water is one of our most scarce and valuable resources, yet we
carelessly waste it everyday! In the wake of the recent lack of water supply in,
among others, the Limaria, Arboleas, Los Llanos regions of South East Spain, I
wondered if this is not an example of Garrett Hardin’s parable ‘Tragedy of the
Commons’ written in 1968. His parable asks you to imagine an ancient common
pasture on which all herdsmen grazed their animals. It could work for centuries
because tribal wars, poaching, and disease of both man and animal kept populations
below the maximum carrying capacity of the land.

Imagine then the following scenario whereby one of the herdsmen takes it upon
himself to add more animals to the grazing land. Seeing this, his neighbour
decides to do the same and so does his neighbour and so on. Overgrazing would
occur and the animals would die through lack of grass to eat and the human
population would decline with the shortage of fresh meat.

Here in our part of Almeria, water, as in many other parts of Southern Spain, is a
resource that rarely commands the reverence it deserves. We live in a water scarce
region and yet we happily wash our cars, fill our swimming pools and flush the
toilet every time we visit the smallest room. It is not just ex-pats that are
complacent but the Spanish are becoming that way too. Prior to the construction
boom locals would happily wash down the pathway outside their house in full
knowledge that there would be water all year round. (Hardin’s parable part one)
They still do, but the water has now run out. (Hardin’s parable part two)

The influx of mass construction in the area has fuelled the problem of water
supply. With hundreds, if not thousands of new houses under construction in a 40km
radius of Albox, who knows how many times we will be without water in the
forthcoming years. It is after all a finite not an infinite resource. Once it is
gone it is gone until the rains come. Gregor Meerganz von Medeazza in 2004
commented ‘In Almeria alone, about 100,000 holiday homes and 10 golf courses -
each using as much water as a town of 10,000 people - have received planning
permission on the basis that water would arrive to satisfy their needs.’ The
supply of water is through desalination plants and piped water from the North of
Spain. However, this does not include the inland regions such as the Albox area
where property is predominantly for residential rather than tourist accommodation.

The current situation in construction, if it continues, will replicate Hardin’s

parable, if indeed it has not already done so. More animals (construction) results
in a greater demand for grass (water). The demand starts at the construction stage
and continues on beyond completion and could eventually result in people leaving
the area due to lack of water supply.

I wonder how many people are truly aware of how finite the water resources are in
this area. I can envisage the day soon whereby local councils will demand the
cutting off of the water supply for a period of time each day. As I write this we
are into our fifth day without water who knows how long before it flows again.
Perhaps we should all sit back and think about how we use this precious resource.
Maybe we should all fit guttering to our houses and have a water barrel to collect
the water and use it for watering gardens. When backwashing your pool, pipe the
water into water barrels and after a few days when the sediment has settled to the
bottom return it to the pool or use it for the garden. All new houses should
incorporate a system that utilises waste water from showers, baths, washing
machines and dishwashers to flush toilets. Or have a special 1000litre tank put in
underground to store the ‘grey’ water so that it can be used on the garden. Every
toilet should be a duel flush, anything to help conserve our most precious
resource.

Conceivably, if we all do something to conserve water Hardin’s parable would not

be a tragedy rather a success story of humanity resolving an issue before it
becomes a tragedy.

These concepts are applicable to every nation in the world. Fresh water is a
finite commodity and far more should be undertaken by construction companies to
ensure that grey water is reused in some way.