Contact/s:
Cynthia Giagnocavo
cgiagnocavo@ual.es
Rosa María Heredia Hortigüela
rhh410@ual.es
Using Living Labs to Create Conditions for Scaling Alternative Water Sources in Mediterranean Greenhouse Agriculture
Spain
Spain - Mediterranean (semi-arid climate)
1. Multi-actor water governance
2. Alternative water sources
3. Scaling climate-smart innovation/solution
Thematic Areas
Production System/s
Summary for Practicioners on the Main Finding(s)/Innovative solution(s)
The Almería Agroecology Living Lab (LL) was established to create a collaborative environment where the key actors involved in Almería greenhouse production challenges, including agricultural water management (including farmers, researchers, water companies, irrigation communities, advisors, cooperatives and public authorities…), can jointly address these challenges. Rather than validating a single technology or demonstration farm, the LL focuses on building the conditions required for the wider adoption of climate-smart water solutions.
One of the first outcomes of the LL was the development of a techno-economic assessment of desalinated water. This provided the base that supported discussions among stakeholders, helped identify technical and economic barriers, and facilitated informed decision-making regarding the feasibility of alternative water sources in the region.
As the LL has evolved, its activities have expanded beyond technical assessment towards a more systemic approach. Current work focuses on strengthening collaboration with water companies and public institutions, identifying governance and financial barriers, promoting stakeholder engagement, and developing action plans to support the scaling of alternative water sources. This includes exploring public-private partnerships, enabling conditions and rewarding mechanisms that can facilitate wider adoption.
A key lesson emerging from the LL is that challenges affecting common resources such as water cannot be addressed just by individual actors. Farm-level technical and economic viability is necessary, but not sufficient. Sustainable solutions require coordinated action, trust, knowledge exchange and collaboration across the entire “water-agriculture” ecosystem.
The experience demonstrates that LLs can play a role in preparing the enabling conditions for scaling climate smart solutions by connecting relevant stakeholders, generating shared knowledge and supporting collective decision-making and action.
Summary for Practicioners in Native Language
La escasez de agua es uno de los principales retos a los que se enfrenta la agricultura mediterránea, y abordarla requiere algo más que soluciones tecnológicas. El Laboratorio Viviente de Agroecología de Almería se creó para reunir a agricultores, investigadores, empresas de agua, comunidades de regantes, asesores y autoridades públicas con el fin de explorar conjuntamente la adopción de fuentes de agua alternativas para una agricultura climáticamente inteligente.
Uno de los principales resultados del Living Lab fue una evaluación tecno-económica del agua desalinizada, utilizada para analizar qué debe considerarse antes de plantear su adopción y escalado. La evaluación mostró la importancia de analizar conjuntamente la cantidad de agua disponible, su calidad, el consumo energético, los costes y la infraestructura necesaria. Los resultados proporcionaron una base concreta para discutir la viabilidad de las fuentes alternativas de agua y las condiciones necesarias para su implementación.
La principal lección extraída del Living Lab (LL) es que la adopción satisfactoria de fuentes de agua alternativas no depende únicamente de la viabilidad técnica, sino también de la colaboración entre las partes interesadas, la viabilidad económica, el apoyo institucional y la gobernanza a largo plazo. La viabilidad a nivel de finca es necesaria, sin embargo, cuando se abordan retos que afectan a un recurso común como el agua, la acción individual no es suficiente.