Ecological Modernisation and the Scalar Level of Contradictions in Southern European Water Politics: The Case of the Odelouca Dam in Portugal

The author reconstructs the history of the implementation of the Odelouca Dam in the Algarve in a Natura 2000 area, viewing it in the context of Southern European coastal development. He looks at the dynamics leading up to the construction of the dam, and illustrates the persistence of the hydraulic paradigm in Portugal and the way it has been moulded by shifting European policymaking paradigms—namely, ecological modernisation (EM). Political aspects of EM are discussed because they seem to play an important role in legitimising the construction of the dam at a European level. The author assesses the policy measures and the policy outcome of the policy package associated with the Odelouca Dam and discusses whether EM in this case can be considered to have reached the stage of ecological structural policy. At the systemic level, the analysis shows deliberate, symbolic, and unintended policy contradictions. Assessment of EM policies requires careful attention to the scale of assessment, as partial EM runs the risk of contributing to aggravating overall resource pressure, as the case study illustrates. The Portuguese National Water Authority is the dominant actor in the implementation of the dam. The European Union's Regional Funding facilitated its construction, and European environmental policy provided checks and balances that were exploited by environmental NGOs. Nevertheless, the key to success of the EM—to turn around resource-use patterns in the long run—lies with national actors. In the case of the Algarve, they seem to have failed.