The present essay intends to analyse the transition to a circular economy for Portugal, with particular interest to the water sector and its relation to spatial planning, with special focus on the drivers and barriers intrinsic to the process. To achieve that objective a set of national plans for circular economy was analysed, combined with direct contact with experts from the fields identified as most relevant. The results obtained indicate that legislation can be both a driver and a barrier, while economic factors, segregation, mentality and technology are the remaining barriers and innovation and spatial planning the drivers. | O presente trabalho propõe-se a analisar a transição para uma economia circular em Portugal, em particular no setor da água e a sua relação com o planeamento do território, com especial foco nas barreiras e nas forças motrizes inerentes ao processo. Para esse objetivo foi realizada a análise a um conjunto de planos nacionais para a economia circular de vários países, para além de uma série de contactos diretos com especialistas nas áreas identificadas como mais relevantes. Os resultados obtidos indicam que a legislação pode ser tanto uma força motriz como uma barreira, enquanto que fatores económicos, a segregação, a mentalidade e a tecnologia são as restantes barreiras e a inovação e o planeamento do território as forças motrizes. | Mestrado em Engenharia do Ambiente

This article presents an «objective-model» of a Spatial Development Observatory of the relationships between water, agricultura and landscape. This is based on the new principles and models on spatial planning coming from the «European Spatial Strategy» (EC, 1999), the principles of the «New Water Culture», and the increasing interest on designing and applying indicator systems as a tool to assess environmental processes. The main contributions related to the stablishment of objectives, criteria and functions of the Observatory, and to the set of indicators provided to describe the key factors according to the relationship between water and territory. The development of new tools like the described one is essential for an effective implementation of the information provided for the decision making process. It is also very usefull to innovate in the gobernance, participation and integration between sectoral planning (hydrologic) and spatial planning

En el sureste de la península ibérica el agua es el principal factor limitante para el poblamiento y las actividades de los grupos humanos, que se las han tenido que ingeniar para aprovechar los escasos recursos disponibles ordenando el territorio de piedemontes como los de la sierra de Carrascoy y del Puerto en el término de Murcia. La mayor parte de los tradicionales sistemas de aprovechamiento han dejado de funcionar en la captación de agua, pero reúnen todo un patrimonio material e inmaterial que debe ponerse en valor como muestra de una cultura del agua en medios semiáridos. | In the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula water is the main limiting factor for the settlement and the activities of human groups, which have had the engineer to leverage scarce resources ordering the territory foothills of the mountains as Carrascoy and the port on the end of Murcia. Most of the traditional use systems have ceased to function in the uptake of water, but brings a whole tangible and intangible heritage to be put in value as a sign of a culture of water in semiarid environments. | peerReviewed