Historical Irrigation System at l'Horta de València (Spain)

The Historical Irrigation System at l'Horta de València is a FAO Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Site including a section of the Albufera Natural Park, (Wetland of International Importance under the RAMSAR convention). L’Horta is a Cultural Landscape which surrounds the city of València and spreads over the neighbouring municipalities. This agricultural area provides a myriad of ecosystem services to the city of València, which go well beyond food provision, and are considered as key ingredients of the city climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction strategies.

L’Horta faces major challenges associated to several climatic and non-climatic hazards, such as heat waves, droughts, agricultural abandonment and urban and infrastructure expansion, which need to be addressed in order to guarantee that those ecosystem services continue providing benefits to the citizens of València. It is a very large and complex areas (including a multi-stakeholder governance system), making potential impacts from climate change and non-climatic hazards difficult to address from a comprehensive approach. Urban and port expansion or agricultural abandonment are also relevant for the area.