1. Maintenance / restoration of environmental flows entails caps to water abstraction and regulation

2. Fragmentation/ flow regulation in rivers Source: UNEP

3. What are the methodological key points of your proposal? 1Estimation of the minimum environmental flow in each river section over time, which is required to maintain or restore healthy aquatic ecosystems (normative definition, e.g. good ecological status). 2Establishment of a cap on water abstraction (actual flow - minimum environmental flow --- seasonal). 3Inventory of the current rights for water abstraction for different kind of users. 4Diagnosis of each river section / Planning water release

4. New rights to water abstraction still possible A prelation of uses must be specified Lifeline supply for domestic demand (e.g. piso de digindad: 30l/person/day) Limit on the individual demands for other uses. System for water release (e.g. reallocation of abstraction rights over time or substitution of water abstracted from the ecosystem for regenerated water). Former rights to water abstraction may be withdrawn.

5. 3) Do you target extraction or consumption? Mandatory limit on the extraction allowance. In this case, extraction is meant in terms of the natural regimes of the ecosystem. Thus, it also affects non- consumptive uses that regulate the water flow. Water abstraction (direct from river flows and indirect from groundwater in alluvial aquifers) in relation to a targeted flow regime. For the purpose of this proposal, the terms ‘environmental flows’, ‘minimum flows’, ‘in- stream flows requirement’ will be use indistinctively although they are not totally equivalent. Extraction – oriented to agricultural and livestock water use; industrial and mining; recreational; Extraction/Regulation - hydropower / recreational. 1) How would you define “resource cap”? 2) What are the resources you focus on?

6. At what level (regional, national, international) is the proposal applicable? At the river basin level (regional). The allocation of abstraction allowances must be coordinated by the river basin authority. At what level (regional, national, international) is the proposal applicable? Abstracted water (cubic meters) / regulated flow (cubic meters/second)

7. What are the strengths and weaknesses of your proposal in terms of its contribution to improve environmental, social and economic justice? (please comment on each of them) Environmental justice – Environmental flows are essential for the maintenance of aquatic ecosystems - The establishment of a cap to water abstraction along the different river sections is a requirement for planning water uses in consistence with the survival of the water ecosystems. Social justice – increased water quality and ecosystem services provision for the society as a whole; reduced water availability for some users (e.g. irrigation) Economic justice – Negative effect in hydropower production and commercial agriculture. Positive economic benefits of environmental flows maintenance/restoration has been estimated in the US and Mexico based on contingent valuation of ecosystem services. What are the strengths and weaknesses of your proposal in terms of its contribution to improve environmental, social and economic justice? (please comment on each of them)