Although there is no exact figure, MEMOlab calculates that only in Granada and Almería are around 550 irrigation communities with more than 90,000 land owners, and they move the water across 15,000 miles of ditches. Therefore, in 2014, MEMOlab started a scheme for recovering and maintaining the ditches in Granada.
Those historical gutters have many benefits for the ecosystem which are not recognised. “They are natural corridors and blue and green infrastructure. Those are examples of ancient nature-based solutions”. It supports biodiversity as a drinking place for animals and expands humidity for plants. Furthermore, it works as a firewall in an area that suffers tens of wildfires each summer.
Climate change affects us all, but mainly those who work with nature. However, the main risk for the ditches in Granada is the land use, “mostly because of the intensive agriculture,” Civantos complains. He names the over-exploitation of the underground aquifers as the main reason for draughting small rivers and natural springs. “We are drying the humidity in the soil and killing them of thirst. Moreover, we poison it with fertilisers and chemicals”.