Water is the greatest natural and cultural asset of the Sierra de las Nieves World Biosphere Reserve and is closely linked to its identity. Water is life, and water from springs, streams, rivers, and brooks has been widely used for millennia. This has been facilitated by the limestone nature of much of the Reserve’s soil, which has allowed for the natural storage of water.
These waters spring from the earth through fountains and springs—upwelling points—that form spectacular landscapes, dizzying ravines, and river ecosystems teeming with life… but they also—channeled through kilometers of irrigation ditches and, in some cases, aqueducts—nourish vegetable gardens and irrigation ponds, urban fountains and washing places, provide motive power to water mills, fulling mills, and hydroelectric plants, and supply the old pottery and tile kilns… shaping “water landscapes” that are part of the unique character of this region.
Mancomunidad 
