Risks into benefits?: The current relevance of traditional flood management practices in Southeastern Spain

Purpose This paper departs from the catastrophic floods that struck Valencia in 2024 to highlight how unplanned urbanization and excessive confidence in conventional hydraulic engineering have exacerbated flood risk in the region. Instead, we advocate for integrating Nature-based Solutions drawn from approaches to flood management by traditional Mediterranean societies, especially in the so-called Boquera irrigation systems developed in Mediterranean societies since the Muslim period and aimed at redirecting floodwaters to agricultural terraces thus reducing erosion, mitigating flood peaks and enriching soils. However, boqueras were abandoned since the mid-20th century, leading to landscape degradation, increased flood risks and loss of hydraulic heritage. Design/methodology/approach The paper represents a synthesis of the work by the authors in the Spanish Southeast, documenting through written materials and fieldwork, the most salient characteristics of Boquera systems. Our approach is historical, but we also review current evidence of how boqueras may have inspired current solutions to flood management, for example in the design of flood parks. Findings The most relevant finding is the strong connection between traditional and current alternative approaches to flood management by using hydrological processes and elements such as runoff, infiltration, storage and evapotranspiration to reduce the risk component of floods and enhance the resource dimension. Table 1 contributes with current examples of flood management using NbS in the study area. Research limitations/implications Due to the historical approach taken by the paper no new, quantifiable materials on floods have been added. Practical implications We suggest possible reference to traditional systems at the local, reginal and national scales of flood management. Originality/value The integration of traditional hydraulic knowledge and practice represented by boquera systems and modern alternatives such as Nature based Solutions is a novel approach in flood planning and management still little known but with an important potential.