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Objective. To characterize the risk factors leading to Neonatal Sepsis (NS) in neonates admitted to the "Dr. Benigno Sanchez" hospital in Quillacollo, Bolivia, during the 2023 management period. Methods. Analytical observational study, subtype cohort, prospective longitudinal. The population consisted of 175 patients, obtaining a sample of 109. Results.The proportion of early sepsis cases was 72%, representing more than double the cases oflate sepsis. The age of patients with sepsis was 3 days (IQR: 2 to 8 days) and appears to be related to the type of sepsis, with lower values for early sepsis cases, P50 = 2 days (IQR: 2 to 3 days). Hospitalization for patients with sepsis was less than a week for 83% of cases and between one and two weeks for 13% of cases (p > 0.05). Conclusions. Most cases do notpresent an identifable risk factor (56%). When present, the most frequent are alterations in gestational age (GA) and premature rupture of membranes (PROM), with 20% and 13%, respectively. 98% of patients showed improvement upon discharge (n = 107). All cases of late sepsis resulted in improvement, and in the case of late sepsis, one case of voluntary discharge is recorded., Objetivo. Caracterizar los factores de riesgo causantes de SN en neonatos internados en el hospital “Dr. Benigno Sanchez” de Quillacollo, Bolivia, durante la gestión 2023. Métodos. Estudio observacional de tipo analítico, subtipo cohorte, longitudinal prospectivo. La población estuvo compuesta por 175 pacientes, obteniendo una muestra de 109. Resultados. La proporción de casos de sepsis temprana fue del 72 %, representando más del doble de los casos de sepsis tardía. La edad de los pacientes con sepsis fue de 3 días (IQR: 2 a 8 días) y parece estar relacionada con el tipo de sepsis, con valores inferiores para los casos de sepsis temprana, P50 = 2 días (IQR: 2 a 3 días). La hospitalización para pacientes con sepsis fue menor a una semana para el 83 % de los casos y entre una y dos semanas para 13 % de los casos (p > 0,05). Conclusiones. La mayoría de los casos no presenta un factor de riesgo identifcable (56 %). Cuando está presente, la más frecuente es la alteración de la edad gestacional (EG) y la rotura prematura de membranas (RPM), con un 20 % y un 13 %, respectivamente. El 98 % de los pacientes resultaron con mejora al alta (n = 107). Todos los casos de sepsis tardía resultaron en mejora y en el caso de sepsis tardía, se registra un caso de alta voluntaria.

En 1929 el crac de la Bolsa de Nueva York abría el inicio de una crisis internacional que cambió por completo el sistema económico vigente hasta entonces. Las repercusiones económicas se sintieron de manera diferente en cada país, al igual que las políticas y medidas gubernativas llevadas a cabo para controlar la recesión. Los países objeto de estudio son España e Italia, elegidos por sus situaciones políticas y económicas al inicio del siglo XX. Por lo tanto, el motivo y el interés de la realización del trabajo se fusionan con el objetivo, que es la explicación y comparación del impacto de la crisis y las políticas económicas aplicadas. Para ello, en primer lugar, se intenta contextualizar el periodo precedente al estallido de la crisis y la formación de EEUU como potencia mundial, para entender las causas que la provocaron. Seguidamente, se explica el crac de 1929 y sus consecuencias. En la segunda parte del trabajo, se justifica la elección de los países estudiados y se contextualizan ambos, haciendo un breve repaso por los principios del siglo XX, y incidiendo a continuación con los periodos clave: la II República para el caso de España, y el periodo fascista de Benito Mussolini para Italia. El repaso histórico irá acompañado de datos estadísticos para afianzar la investigación. Finalmente, para concluir, se exponen las conclusiones a las que se han llegado en base al objetivo.

La tesis aborda, principalmente, el 'Derecho a la Felicidad' como garante de la eficacia de las políticas públicas vinculadas con la gestión del agua. En cuanto al objeto de la investigación, ha sido indagar en la posibilidad de utilizar el compromiso filosófico nacido en el constitucionalismo moderno para que se pueda exigir al Estado el cumplimiento del derecho humano esencial del acceso fisonómico al agua potable, respetando, con ello, el principio de la dignidad humana. El caso de estudio escogido es Brasil, país que incumple efectivamente con las políticas públicas existentes, negando así a gran parte de la población el derecho a simplemente ser feliz, pues se entiende que la falta de un recurso natural esencial para la supervivencia humana, como es el agua, genera infelicidad. El trabajo está dividido en 5 (cinco) capítulos, el 1º (primero) trata las cuestiones relacionadas con la formulación moderna de los derechos humanos, promoviendo una incursión en su historicidad, en los conceptos filosóficos formativos y en la transición de los derechos subjetivos en su consolidación internacional con la Declaración Universal de los Derechos Humanos de 1948. También, explora el Estado como ordenamiento de la sociedad, así como la Constitución como conjunto de normas que organiza a este Estado, sin dejar de verificar la situación global, en vista de la transnacionalización del tema. El capítulo 2º (segundo) se ocupa del análisis del 'derecho a la felicidad' como objetivo central de la vida humana. Para ello, al igual que anteriormente, se ha partido del análisis de su surgimiento en la historia y de su comprensión multidisciplinar, ya que varias ramas de la ciencia estudian la 'felicidad'. El capítulo 3º (tercero) señala la importancia del agua potable, especialmente porque es un bien natural vital, y su necesidad debe ser reconocida como un derecho más que fundamental, un derecho esencial para la propia existencia humana. Busca en los principios y en la historicidad de

The disposal of desalination brine, which contains a higher concentration of salts, is treated as waste and discharged into the environment. In this brine, several elements, when processing and extraction were possible, could be susceptible to exploitation and valorisation. Among all the ions existing in desalination brine, and whose industrial use is possible, sodium (Na), magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca) and boron (B) are found at high concentrations; there are also other elements, not as abundant as previous, but highly demanded in the current industry, such as lithium (Li), rubidium (Rb), strontium (Sr) or gallium (Ga). These elements, as well as other alkaline metals, have taken on considerable prominence today due to their technological applications. Analysing the prices and quotations of these elements in the international markets for raw materials, it is possible to determine the economic potential of this mining activity of desalination plants in Spain. The economic value of the extracted elements also incorporates other additional advantages, which focus on the elimination, or reduction, of brine discharges, the savings in transportation and transaction costs of raw materials, in addition to the considerable reduction in environmental impacts caused by traditional mining.

The current pressure on water bodies is a structural problem that may compromise the satisfaction of future water demand and the good status of the natural environment. Activities such as wastewater reuse or desalination provide an additional source of water resources to meet demand without the need to increase natural water abstractions. In addition, reuse also contributes to improving water quality by limiting abstractions and reducing discharges. However, reuse has not been widespread as a source of supply in resource-rich contexts. In resource-abundant areas, the high cost of reusing water is a strong disincentive to its use, which puts the focus on reducing pollution through discharge without assessing the potential of reuse as an additional source of resources. The use of reclaimed water has a great margin for development that should be exploited in the coming years to obtain a guarantee of supply and an improvement in the environmental quality of water in the current context of increasing scarcity. However, the financial and environmental situation of reuse requires the involvement of the public sector. In this work, two instruments with the potential to facilitate the development of reuse have been studied. The first of these is photovoltaic self-consumption, in order to reduce the cost of energy consumption of wastewater treatment plants, given that this is their main financial operating cost. This possibility, however, has shown little capacity to reduce these costs since, except in the case of the floating photovoltaic installation, the cost of electricity from self-consumption is higher or similar to the market price. If we consider the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions derived from self-consumption, this alternative is much more competitive. The situation is, once again, of an activity that presents financial losses and environmental benefits derived from the current excess of emissions. The responsibility lies with the public sector in the same way

Energy consumption is one of the main costs faced by households, both financially and environmentally. This article analyses the energy consumption of Spanish households and the cost of installing solar panels in order to determine the potential of this form of energy production on a household level. The results show that households with a larger number of members have a higher total consumption but a lower consumption per person. The composition of the household is therefore a key determinant of the potential savings from solar panels. This alternative is financially viable, as the unit price paid for energy in these households is between €0.28 and €0.29 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), while the average cost per kWh obtained from the panels is between €0.15 and €0.21. However, the current public subsidies for the installation of solar panels in Spain are inaccessible to 68% of the country’s households, and there are difficulties in the distribution of energy in neighbouring communities. In other words, although in financial terms home PV self-consumption is a financially viable option, the inability to obtaining subsidies makes the initial investment a major barrier for many households.

Energy consumption is one of the principal components of the operative costs incurred by providers of water services, both financial and environmental. Fortunately, in recent years solar panel technology has improved substantially, and photovoltaic self-consumption has become a tool that can reduce the costs of water reuse and other water services. Regions with a scarcity of water resources make a considerable use of non-conventional sources, consuming a significant amount of energy, which has a high financial and environmental cost and compromises the sustainability of the water supply. This research analyses the possibility of replacing part of this energy with self-consumption through photovoltaic panels based on data obtained for the Region of Valencia in order to analyse the impact of energy substitution on energy costs. Performing a Cost–Benefit Analysis, self-consumption projects require an electricity market price of between 0.14 and 0.18 EUR/kWh, so in financial terms it is not a particularly attractive alternative. However, the avoided greenhouse gas emissions have a high value, and including them in the calculations, the price needed to be in feasible amounts of 0.04–0.10 EUR/kWh for a small installation and 0.02–0.08 EUR/kWh for a large one. In other words, photovoltaic self-consumption is still today an alternative with financial difficulties, but the associated environmental benefit justifies public intervention as it is a beneficial energy alternative in a context of high greenhouse gas emissions.

Despite the recent improvements, there is still a problem of access to WASH services. This problem access is linked to poverty and inequality, which in turn cause difficulties in accessing water, thus creating a vicious cycle. This article analyses this vicious cycle using data from international organisations related to these issues. These data show how the lack of water access leads to limitations for households, which are deprived of employment or/and education due to the difficulty in obtaining water. This opportunity cost is the main mechanism through which the feedback between lack of access to water and economic poverty occurs. Not being able to obtain employment or/and education makes it impossible to get out of a precarious situation, which prevents the wider society to benefit from any economic gain, which in turn slows down the achievement of the goal of guaranteeing access to water for all. The responsibility lies with national and international institutions, which should not only focus on obtaining the necessary financial resources for infrastructure improvements, but also on having adequate governance to ensure water sustainability and equity.

The Tagus-Segura water transfer has generated significant value in the region that receives its water resources. Despite this value, some agents seek the cancellation of this important infrastructure, arguing economic, environmental, social, and political problems. With the aim of providing information on the efficiency of the Tagus-Segura aqueduct as a water resource management measure, especially in terms of the importance of water and the tariffs paid by the users of the aqueduct, this paper presents valuable information to analyse how to improve the functioning of the infrastructure. Thus, the southeast of Spain obtains a high return on the water received from the water transfer while covering all the financial costs derived from it. However, in 2017 a modification was introduced in the tariff that forced water users to cover the construction and fixed costs of the infrastructure as if the total amount of water agreed upon had been received, when in reality a lower amount had been received. This problem was not solved by the proposed tariffs for 2021, and it is therefore essential for the efficient operation of water transfer to modify these tariffs so that they are fair and reduce existing problems, thus avoiding the cancellation of an infrastructure that has not yet been amortised and which provides many benefits to the receiving region.

The Tagus-Segura water transfer is a large infrastructure that allows the distribution of a large amount of water resources, which is associated with a significant energy cost. Therefore, energy improvements are a fundamental tool to reduce one of the main financial costs of the infrastructure, as well as the emission of greenhouse gases. For this reason, the feasibility of self-consumption through photovoltaic solar panels has been analysed, which requires a significant initial investment, but can be recovered over the lifetime of the panels due to the savings obtained yearly. The incorporation into the article of a sensitivity analysis of the price of energy and the amount of energy produced makes the analysis robust, as it can be seen that, although there is vulnerability with respect to variations in these variables, the risk of losses is low.

La Demarcación Hidrográfica del Segura sufre un problema estructural de escasez de agua. Ante esta situación, en la cuenca del Segura se utilizan recursos provenientes del Tajo a través del Trasvase Tajo-Segura, aguas regeneradas y aguas desaladas con el objetivo de garantizar el suministro de agua a sus usuarios a pesar de la escasez y la presión sobre las masas de agua. No obstante, estas tres fuentes de recursos llevan asociado un importante consumo energético que se traduce en contaminación y en mayores precios del agua, especialmente si tenemos en cuenta los recientes incrementos del precio de la energía. Este tema es de importancia por sí mismo, pues compromete la sostenibilidad financiera, ambiental y social de las fuentes de recursos no convencionales, pero lo es todavía más ante las previsiones de reducción de las aguas trasvasadas mediante el Acueducto Tajo-Segura. Esta infraestructura provee a la cuenca del Segura de agua tanto para abastecimientos como para riego y, en caso de reducción de las aguas trasvasadas, deberán buscar fuentes de recursos adicionales. Dado el limitado alcance de la reutilización de aguas, la principal alternativa al trasvase es la desalación de aguas, la cual presenta un consumo energético muy elevado, incrementándose así el precio para sus usuarios, además de la contaminación adicional generada.

Como bien sabemos, diversos países y áreas geográficas están sufriendo problemas de escasez hídrica. La tensión sobre el agua se produce cuando la demanda de recursos hídricos es cercana o incluso superior a los recursos disponibles. Pero ¿es esta una realidad estática o dinámica? Es dinámica. La demanda de agua y los recursos disponibles cambian en el tiempo. El crecimiento demográfico es la principal variable a la hora de explicar el aumento del consumo hídrico. A corto y medio plazo existen diversas opciones de ingeniería que posibilitan el aumento de los recursos disponibles. De otro lado, mediante políticas adecuadas de gestión se puede optimizar el consumo. Pese a lo anterior, la tensión que se va a generar con el crecimiento demográfico precisará de un avance técnico que posibilite una mayor eficiencia en las tecnologías aplicadas al agua. El reto existe, pero cabe mencionar que esta realidad no es nueva, desde la Revolución Industrial hasta la actualidad la población mundial viene creciendo a un ritmo muy marcado. España, Israel o Singapur son algunos ejemplos de cómo se han puesto en práctica las soluciones disponibles para gestionar la escasez hídrica.

El trasvase Tajo-Segura es una gran infraestructura que permite la distribución de una elevada cantidad de recursos hídricos. Esto lleva asociado un coste energético significativo, pero incluso así es una mejor alternativa para sus usuarios que la reutilización de aguas residuales, cuyo potencial es limitado, o la desalación de aguas, que muestra un coste energético muy superior. Por tanto, las mejoras energéticas son una herramienta fundamental para reducir uno de los principales costes financieros de la infraestructura, así como la emisión de gases de efecto invernadero. Para esto se ha analizado la viabilidad del autoconsumo mediante paneles solares fotovoltaicos, lo que requiere de una importante inversión inicial, pero que es posible recuperar a lo largo de la vida útil de los paneles debido a que los costes unitarios del autoconsumo son inferiores a los precios de la energía. La incorporación al análisis de la pérdida de producción de los paneles durante su vida útil y de una estimación de los precios actuales del suministro energético muestran el elevado potencial de esta alternativa, ya que podemos añadir el ahorro financiero a los beneficios ambientales.

Water pricing is one of the fundamental tools for water resources management. However, the current tariff structure in Spain has associated problems in relation to the composition of households. This paper analyses the current tariffs of Spain's Valencia region and studies the effect of alternative tariff structures. The results show an imbalance irrespective of the tariff applied even when the number of household members is considered, as the relationship between the number of household members and water consumption is not linear. Therefore, the problem is not the tariff structure per se but not including the composition of the household in the tariff.

This research examines the differences in the price for water supply for the Spanish households according to the type of household and the region of residence, which is of great relevance in terms of equity. The analysis covers the entire Spanish territory with the aim of establishing comparisons between regions, determining the current situation of the various household types and highlighting some considerations on the water policy financing. The evidence obtained shows how the invoice has an unequal impact on the various types of household, as well as that there are large differences between territories. Nevertheless, it is worth noting that the differences are greater as household income decreases, thus affecting households with tighter budgets or more members. For this reason, modifying the water price policy with the objective of inducing equality and efficiency, in addition to pursuing cost recovery, would be convenient.

El trasvase Tajo-Segura ha generado un importante valor en la región receptora de sus recursos hídricos. Desgraciadamente, y a pesar de dicho valor, existen agentes que persiguen la cancelación de esta importante infraestructura argumentando problemas económicos, ambientales, sociales y políticos. Con el objetivo de aportar información acerca de la eficiencia del trasvase Tajo-Segura como medida de gestión de los recursos hídricos, especialmente en cuanto a la importancia del agua y las tarifas soportadas por los usuarios del acueducto, este trabajo presenta información valiosa para analizar cómo mejorar el funcionamiento de la infraestructura. Así, el sureste español obtiene una gran rentabilidad del agua recibida del trasvase mientras cubre la totalidad de los costes financieros que de este se derivan. No obstante, en 2017 se introdujo una modificación en la tarifa que obliga a los usuarios de las aguas a cubrir los costes de obra, así como los costes fijos de la infraestructura, como si se trasvasara la cantidad de agua total acordada, cuando en realidad se recibe una cantidad inferior. Este problema no se soluciona con las tarifas planteadas para 2021, por lo que es importante analizar esta cuestión y mejorar el funcionamiento del acueducto con el objetivo de mantener los beneficios que genera, pues su cancelación supondría un gran impacto negativo en la región receptora.

Las sequías, así como los periodos de escasez que se sufren habitualmente en España, suponen un gran problema con consecuencias ambientales, económicas y sociales. En respuesta a esta problemática, se cuenta con diversos instrumentos económicos capaces de inducir eficiencia en la gestión de los recursos hídricos. Algunos, como la tarificación del agua, que supone una importante generación de recursos financieros, la reutilización de aguas residuales, la desalinización o los trasvases son herramientas que se tienen en cuenta a menudo, aunque eso no implica que su desarrollo haya sido el adecuado. No obstante, otras como la gestión de la demanda con el objetivo de ahorrar agua, los mercados del agua o la introducción de una cobertura de sequía en el seguro agrícola no son herramientas que se utilicen de manera frecuente. En el caso del seguro, ni siquiera se contempla actualmente la posibilidad de introducir ese tipo de cobertura. No obstante, los mercados del agua están mejor definidos y se han utilizado en situaciones de necesidad, pero su uso no se ha extendido más allá, de modo que es una herramienta infrautilizada en la práctica a pesar de su potencial.

La situación actual de escasez de recursos hídricos, además de las previsiones futuras de disminución de recursos disponibles, obliga a actuar con el fin de maximizar la eficiencia en la gestión. Existen diversos instrumentos económicos que permiten abordar esta problemática, pero estos presentan un consumo energético importante que limita su capacidad de actuación. Así, actividades como la reutilización de aguas residuales, la utilización de aguas desalinizadas o los trasvases permiten generar o distribuir recursos hídricos, pero su elevado coste energético supone un problema a la hora de determinar su viabilidad o rentabilidad. Por este motivo, este trabajo presenta el autoconsumo energético mediante paneles fotovoltaicos como alternativa para el suministro de energía. Las continuas mejoras de esta tecnología la han convertido no sólo en una alternativa más limpia que las tradicionales, sino que actualmente puede ser rentable económicamente en determinadas situaciones. Por tanto, los paneles solares se establecen como una alternativa que presenta beneficios ambientales y económicos, suavizando nuestro impacto ambiental y liberando recursos económicos que se pueden invertir en otras necesidades.

Pollution from wastewater discharges requires the treatment of all wastewater to maintain water bodies in good condition, as well as the possibility of reusing this water. Thus, wastewater treatment is an activity that has developed significantly in the Region of Valencia and has significant costs, including energy, which represents the main economic cost and an important environmental cost. In this way, efficiency and adequate financing of this activity are essential to minimise our environmental impact. However, the main funding tool currently does not allow us to address this issue, so we have a wastewater treatment with a high environmental cost in the form of greenhouse gas emissions. This tool is part of the revenues of water services, so it is not entirely independent, but it also seeks to prevent households from paying too high a total price. This leads to a situation where changes are needed to improve the financing of the different water services, as the financial resources obtained are insufficient and do not allow the current environmental problems to be solved. The analysis shows the importance of an appropriate tariff structure, as well as the need to include aspects such as water pollution and energy costs in the wastewater treatment tariff.

There is an extensive bibliography that analyses the structure of a desalination project from the perspective of chemical engineering, but there is another “engineering” that has been much less studied, which is just as decisive for the plant to be able to operate. The aim of this work is to analyse the economic and legal factors that condition the proper operation of a project and, to this end, we will place special emphasis on the usual agents and contractual agreements. We intend to arrive at a general model of operation that we will construct from the study of three particular cases: Algeria, Tunisia and Egypt. These three countries represent different ways of structuring a project, with the involvement of the public sector being the main element that varies between them.

This paper seeks to explain the internationalization process of Sadyt from 1995 (date of foundation) to the present day. This company, belonging to the Sacyr de Vallehermoso group, began its international expansion in markets such as Algeria, Tunisia, and Australia. Carrying out this case study focused on one of the companies is justified by its substantial improvement in the global ranking of desalination companies. The history of this case of business success is relevant because ten of the twenty companies that lead the global desalination market are Spanish and this fact is completely unknown outside of the sector. We will analyze in detail the main elements of the company such as its customers, strategies, suppliers, and the theories that explain the internationalization of Sadyt.

Las inundaciones son un fenómeno natural que puede causar grandes daños, por lo que la mitigación de estos consigue gran relevancia. Además, estos daños pueden ser muy variados y existen diversos factores que inciden sobre la resistencia al impacto de este tipo de fenómenos. Los daños dependen de aspectos como la profundidad del agua, la velocidad que lleva, la duración del fenómeno o la composición del agua, entre otros, pero factores como tener en cuenta el riesgo de inundación a la hora de edificar o disponer de sistemas de alerta temprana que permitan una buena preparación son también relevantes. Como es habitual, las medidas destinadas a reducir los daños potenciales de una inundación presentan un coste económico que debe financiarse. No obstante, estas medidas no se imputan a un usuario concreto a través de una tarifa, de modo que su financiación es menos clara. Analizando los niveles de recuperación de costes de los organismos de cuenca españoles, se puede observar una falta de financiación que podría incidir sobre la ejecución de nuevas medidas de mitigación de daños, tan necesarias en determinados lugares del país.

This paper has arisen from a reflection of the current reality in terms of the postulations about what is known as the Malthusian economy. Since the Industrial Revolution to the present day, despite there having been a high increase in world population, technology has played a fundamental role in the increase in the level of wealth per capita. However, the continued growth of the population and the future forecasts indicate that technology with have the responsibility of continually being the key piece of economic growth. This paper seeks to analyse the future scenarios in order to better understand the conditioning factors of the sustainability of our population growth. If technology were not able to maintain production growth rates higher than the population growth rates, we would return to the scenario described by Malthus.

La presente investigación examina la situación actual de la depuración de aguas residuales en la Comunidad Valenciana de España con el objetivo de obtener información relevante para mejorar la gestión de las plantas y estudiar la viabilidad de la implantación de tratamiento terciario en lugares donde no se disponga de él. Los resultados obtenidos mediante técnicas de agrupación muestran la importancia del tamaño de la planta sobre los costes, pues en el análisis se puede observar el menor coste unitario soportado por las plantas de mayor tamaño debido a la presencia de economías de escala. Además, los rendimientos de eliminación de agentes contaminantes, el aprovechamiento de la capacidad instalada y la presencia de tratamiento terciario se muestran relevantes de cara a explicar las diferencias existentes entre plantas, de modo que los resultados obtenidos son de gran interés para el diseño y la gestión de las plantas de depuración. Por último, este estudio supone un incentivo para la obtención de información, pues muestra el gran margen de mejora existente en la realización de esta actividad., This research examines the current situation of wastewater treatment in the Region of Valencia of Spain with the objective of obtaining relevant information to improve plant management and study the feasibility of implementing tertiary treatment in places where it is not available. The results obtained through grouping techniques show the importance of plant size over costs, since the analysis shows the lower unit cost borne by larger plants due to the presence of economies of scale. In addition, the removal performance of pollutants, the use of installed capacity and the presence of tertiary treatment are relevant in order to explain the differences between plants, so that the results obtained are of great interest for the design and purification plant management. Finally, this study is an incentive for obtaining accurate information, as it shows the great margin for improvement in the performance of this activity.

This research examines the water tariff applied to Spanish households with the aim of determining the adequacy of the river-basin approach established by the water framework directive (WFD). The analysis pays particular attention to Spain's interregional differences in water prices, as well as determining the most influential factors in household water consumption. The results achieved through minimum ordinary squares and 2-stage least squares show the great influence of relevant factors such as the composition of the household, as the most populated households are penalized by the structure of the rate. In addition, there is evidence of inefficiency of the approach derived from the existence of regional differences, since the prices are higher in those regions where resources are reduced, a fact related to the higher cost of service. Thus, taking into account the excessive attention to the cost of the service, the results obtained allow to propose a change in the rate with the aim of balancing prices between regions taking into account factors such as the structure of the household or income.

This research seeks to determine and analyze the reaction to an increase in the water invoice with the aim of introducing improvements in wastewater treatments. To this end, the purification situation is analyzed and the price elasticities of demand are obtained through Ordinary Minimum Squares. The results show that there are several small noncompliant treatment plants, as well as a complex interaction among consumption, price, and income. In many cases, the results offer small or significant differences without a clear pattern. However, it highlights the number of household members as it is strongly related to consumption and price and not considering it in the elaboration or modification of the water tariff would lead to inefficiencies. A reduction in revenue has also been found due to the strong consumer reaction, so it is necessary to assess in more depth what kind of price change would be most appropriate, as well as whether such measures would be best suited to address the problem.

The need for water resources currently demands the development of measures to improve the management of these resources and increase their availability. However, these measures have an environmental impact that must be considered when carrying them out. The Water Framework Directive establishes that the economic and environmental costs of the activities carried out must be recovered, because this is necessary to ensure the sustainability of these activities and the continuity in the use of natural resources. The purification and reuse of wastewater is an activity within the framework of the circular economy that intends to reduce the environmental impact of contaminated water discharges and to increase the available resources. The problem is that this activity, being part of the production process, is linked to an environmental impact due to the use of chemical components, the construction of the facilities and, especially, the intensive energy consumption of the purification stations, since part of the energy comes from non-renewable sources. This environmental impact must be internalized in the cost structures through additional measures to mitigate it, so the objective of this paper is to determine the state of such internalization. Analyzing the costs of purification stations, the annual report of the EPSAR (Public Entity for Wastewater Sanitation of the Valencian Community) and the reports of the Hydrographic Confederations of Júcar and Segura, we can determine that there is no internalization in the stations, it is low in the EPSAR but increasing with time and for the Confederations the situation is complicated, as they cannot even recover their financial costs and the creation of several additional measures has been suspended. Finally, it has been found that there are economies of scale in terms of energy consumption of this activity, as well as significant potential energy savings during the purification process.

The shortage of water resources and the complex institutional framework in Spain have originated several different organizations responsible for devising water policy measures that have to share the funding. With this distribution of functions, each organization is responsible for some tasks and with funding to perform them. However, taking into account that in Spain the full financing of all aspects of water policy is not achieved, it is understandable that the Hydrographic Confederations are not capable of recovering the costs of their activities. We must add that the distribution of financial resources may not be the most appropriate, which would leave the Hydrographic Confederations in a complicated situation, this paper intends to examine the current financial situation of these organizations. The results of the analysis show that there is a lack of recovery of financial costs in the main activities, which would be offset by a transfer of external funds to the water policy, since this must necessarily be financed. This also implies that, if the environmental costs are added to the financial costs, the result is a very low cost recovery. In addition, there are activity plans that are not being carried out due to the lack of financing, so it seems appropriate to suggest an increase in prices or water pricing to compensate for this lack of funding.

Los recursos hídricos son un asunto de gran importancia en España por su escasez, lo que implica la necesidad de llevar a cabo medidas adicionales a las actuales para mejorar la gestión realizada y aumentar los recursos disponibles. Estas medidas tienen un coste económico que hay que afrontar, además de un coste ambiental que hay que mitigar lo máximo posible. La política de precios del agua y la tarifación sobre esta deben ser capaces de financiar tanto las medidas para incrementar los recursos disponibles como las medidas adicionales para mitigar el impacto ambiental. En el caso de la depuración y reutilización de aguas, el canon de saneamiento es un tributo encargado de esta tarea, pero no es capaz de realizarla por completo, por lo que el objetivo de esta comunicación consiste en analizar la situación del canon en la Comunidad Valenciana y compararlo con el existente en otras regiones. El análisis muestra que la insuficiencia del canon de saneamiento como financiador de la depuración y reutilización de aguas se extiende por toda España, pero no así en otros países de la Unión Europea, donde dicho tributo alcanza un valor mucho más elevado.

Existe una extensa bibliografía que analiza los sistemas de gestión integrada de los recursos hídricos, este tipo de análisis se centra en optimizar el abastecimiento de la demanda de agua con los recursos disponibles. Sin embargo, a largo plazo, el crecimiento de la población es el origen de la continua desestabilización de los sistemas anteriormente descritos. Además, los incrementos de población no sólo generan aumentos en la demanda de agua, sino que lo hacen en otros recursos como la energía y alimentos. Si bien podría parecer que el resto de recursos deben analizarse separadamente, lo cierto es que existe una interdependencia entre recursos tales como el agua, la energía y los alimentos. El crecimiento demográfico mundial no parece que vaya a ser ilimitado, las estimaciones apuntan a un estancamiento en los once mil millones de habitantes. El progreso técnico es la única herramienta posible para evitar un colapso en mercados como el del agua.

Palestine, like other countries of the Middle East Region, suffers from many momentous challenges that make Palestinians’ life difficult. One of the most significant problems that face Palestinian is the exacerbating of the water crisis, which has huge effects on the economy, especially in the agriculture sector. Water scarcity happened due to many factors, but Israeli occupation is the main responsible for this crisis by controlling water supplies and depriving millions of Palestinians of the minimum level of water recommended by the principles of the International human rights conventions and peace treaties. This study aims to demonstrate the water situation in Palestine and finds out major challenges that face the country. Also, this paper evaluates the affects of water crisis on agriculture sector.

The aim of this study is to determine whether the high level of technological innovation detected in Spain’s industrial districts is, as the theory states, an intrinsic characteristic of these districts that was present in all stages of their evolution. To that end, and using figures on the number of patents filed, the trajectory of innovation is analysed for the 1878-1935 period for ten of the main industrial districts in Spain that had already become industrial districts in the early 20th century. The result supports the thesis that the capacity to innovate is an essential characteristic of industrial districts and clusters, but also shows that there were large differences between them in their propensity to innovate, linked to differences in human capital, sectoral specialisation and proximity to environments with a higher level of technological knowledge, among other factors., Nuestro trabajo intenta comprobar si la elevada innovación tecnológica que se ha detectado en los distritos industriales españoles es, como afirma la teoría, una característica intrínseca de los distritos, presente en todas las fases de su evolución. Para ello, con los datos del registro de patentes, se analiza la trayectoria innovadora durante el periodo 1878-1935 de diez de los principales distritos industriales españoles que ya estaban configurados como tales a principios del siglo xx. El resultado respalda la tesis de que la capacidad de innovación es una característica esencial de los distritos y clústeres industriales, pero también demuestra que existieron grandes diferencias entre ellos en la propensión a innovar, vinculadas, entre otros factores, a la distinta dotación de capital humano, la especialización sectorial y la proximidad a entornos con mayor nivel de conocimiento tecnológico.