Water System Approach and Natural–Cultural Capital in World Heritage Under Climate Stress: The Royal Alcázar in Seville and the Alhambra in Granada, Spain

Many World Heritage Sites hold universal and exceptional values of a hybrid nature, combining cultural and environmental richness. Yet these complex dimensions are rarely recognised within their designation criteria, making it urgent to update their cultural valuation through the lens of social and environmental sustainability. In this context, water—as both a natural and a cultural asset—emerges as a fundamental element for understanding their natural–cultural capital. This study examines two World Heritage Sites in southern Spain—the Royal Alcázar of Seville and the Alhambra of Granada—which are particularly representative at the European scale due to their severe climatic conditions. The methodology is based on the analysis and mapping of their landscape conditions using historical cartography and Geographic Information Systems, together with a review of water-related attributes and values across their protection and management frameworks. As a result, their water systems are critically assessed within existing protection and management documents, a narrative approach to water as natural-cultural capital is proposed, and this approach is linked to the sites’ principal climate-related vulnerabilities and benefits. Overall, the study contributes to the international debate on biocultural heritage, supporting the need to update the water system approach applied to World Heritage Sites under conditions of climate stress.