ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book reviews some of the issues that have emerged regarding water policy and management in the country. It opens with two contributions on the Water Framework Directive (WFD), a European Union (EU) standard that conditions and delimits the performance of water policy and water management in EU member states. Spanish Government Water Director, Marta Moren-Abat, provides an institutional view on the issue, emphasizing how this environmental standard targets resource quality more than quantity and in which the influence of the proposal's initiators Central and Northern European countries figures prominently. The book concludes with a chapter by Miguel A. Garca-Rubio and Jorge Guardiola. The authors provide an updated overview of the evolution of water desalination in Spain. The book analyzes Spain's water sector characterized by strong growth subject to continuous change in the country.
