Water supply from Sierra del Rincón Biosphere Reserve to the Community of Madrid (Spain): An ecosystem services approach.

Abstract

Zorrilla-Miras, P., Suárez, M., González-Garcia, A., Sancho Gómez, C., Bea, M. 2020. Water supply from Sierra del Rincón Biosphere Reserve to the Community of Madrid (Spain): An ecosystem services approach. Ecosistemas 29(1):1938. https://doi.org/10.7818/ECOS.1938

Water supply from Sierra del Rincón Biosphere Reserve to the Community of Madrid: An ecosystem services approach. Frequently, the people who benefit from the services (or contributions) that ecosystems provide to society are not those who reside in the territory that provides such services. Population of these rural areas that provide ecosystem services to large cities are sometimes limited in their economic development options, which contributes to rural depopulation. An example of this situation is given in the Sierra del Rincón Biosphere Reserve, located at the northern end of the Community of Madrid. The objective of this study is to evaluate biophysically and economically (in monetary terms) the water supply service of the Sierra del Rincón Biosphere Reserve. We have used the InVEST model and a market-based method (from the domestic water use rate). The results indicate that, although the area of the RBSR is only a 2% of the Community of Madrid, it provides 5% of the water consumed, with an approximate contribution of 93 hm³ per year, which would have an economic value of 28 million euros. The methodology followed has limitations that are presented with the aim to perform future studies with greater precision.