Preservation of the Hydraulic Heritage in Landscapes under Permanent Water Stress: New Approach to Utility and Sustainability Criteria

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to examine the legal sources that allow the organization of the space in areas of water scarcity and affected by weather variations in the Mediterranean basin, offering a comparative and comprehensive analysis of the legal criteria widespread under influence for the eastern part of the Mediterranean. The study approaches the subject from a legal historical perspective, reference to the rules applied in different environments and divisive uses from the legal vestiges preserved as memorial sites, legal sources and customs. A map of sources governed by criteria of the usefulness, sustainability and general consensus. These are all factors key for the coordinated approach in the establishment of a network of hydraulic structures and gadgets in the urban and rural landscape. This lecture makes its own thoughtful contribution to an important ongoing debate to the water protection and management safeguarding hydraulic heritage. In conclusion, the analysis considers specific current situations, policies and institutions that provide solutions to daily problems in public and private spaces combining modernization that are considered such proposals for the future of water management.