Benidorm hosts the 3rd Conference on Meteorology, Tourism and Media, focusing on water resources planning

Torrejó building will host the 3rd "Meteorology, Tourism, and the Media" Conference today and tomorrow, where prominent speakers will address issues related to water resource planning, gas emissions from space, and changes in atmospheric circulation, among other topics.

The first presentation was given by the director of the Climatology Laboratory at the University of Alicante, Jorge Olcina, who analysed water resource planning in the context of climate change. Olcina concluded that in the short term, "we will need desalination" and stated that in the current context, "I see large water transfers as complicated." Therefore, he advocated "making transfers within the same basins" and urged awareness that "we must become less dependent on rainfall and seek other water resources for the coming decades." In this regard, he noted that "there are tools to reduce dependence."

The program continued with a presentation by Luis Guanter, Professor of Physics at the University of Valencia (UPV), entitled "Visualisation of Super-Emissions from Space." This was followed by a roundtable discussion on "Where Does Water Fall from the Sky Go?", featuring Arnaitz Fernández, physicist and meteorologist at EiTB; José Ramón González de Zárate, Councillor for the Water Cycle in Benidorm; Julio Zaragoza, agricultural engineer; Ciriaco Clemente, manager of Hidraqua in the Marina Alta and Baixa regions; and Nacho Espinós, geographer and partner at AVANET. The day concluded with a visit to the Dinapsis centre.

Tomorrow, Saturday, the first presentation will be given by Ángel Rivera, physicist and meteorologist, and will focus on the change in atmospheric circulations in the context of climate change and the case of the Dana storm on October 29. This will be followed by a roundtable discussion on "Disinformation 2.0." From laughter to stupor, and a speech by the Director General of Tourism of the Generalitat (Catalan Government), Israel Martínez. The afternoon will conclude with another roundtable on 'Degrowth: Is it possible?'.

The Mayor of Benidorm, Toni Pérez, welcomed the speakers and attendees after Jorge Olcina's inaugural lecture and praised the Benidorm model, stating that "13 Benidorms would free the entire Spanish Mediterranean from buildings." At this point, the Mayor highlighted that with a municipal area of ​​38 km2, "we have 63% green land." Other data that exemplify the sustainability of the model are that 73% of trips are pedestrian and that the city has over 96% effectiveness in water management. Furthermore, 34% of water use is reclaimed. "And we don't use more because they don't let us," he added.

Pérez also emphasised that the city already has stormwater, wastewater, drinking water, and reclaimed water networks on public roads. "And we've made this transition because we've always made a virtue out of necessity," he stated. He also emphasised that the process for a desalination plant has already begun and asserted that the path forward is to "work, invest, be disruptive, and move forward." "We had to supply ourselves with ships due to a severe drought, and 50 years later, we are a world leader in water management," he concluded.