The assessment of the human dimensions of wildlife reintroduction projects is essential for their success. To date, few longitudinal studies (if any) have compared attitudes and perceived impacts before and after human‐assisted large predator reintroduction. In this study, we evaluated public (n = 1582) and hunters' (n = 773) support and perceived benefits and concerns before and after the reintroduction of the Iberian lynx ( Lynx pardinus ) (2007–2008 and 2015–2016, respectively) in southern Spain through a telephone survey. Most respondents supported lynx reintroduction, although support was slightly lower among hunters. Furthermore, support remained very high some years after lynx release. Our findings also revealed that perceptions toward the majority of benefits and concerns did not change after lynx reintroduction, and that those supporting reintroduction perceived more benefits, while opponents were more concerned. This suggests that efforts should focus on those opponents to reintroduction to ensure recognition of the benefits associated with predator restoration, including new tourism opportunists and predator's ecological values. Our research also points at the need of studying more in depth the views of those who oppose to predator reintroduction and of decision‐makers (e.g., landowners or game managers) when poaching is still a risk for restored populations even if the social context is favorable, as in our case‐study.

In a context of climate change and more severe and frequent droughts, in order to achieve efficient and sustainable results, water-governance models must take into consideration different alternative management measures and the degree of social approval of each alternative. In this context, the present work analyzes public perceptions concerning water management- and climate change-related issues, especially in relation to the degree of social approval attained by six water management measures in Andalusia (southern Spain). These issues were included in the Ecobarómetro between 2004 and 2013, a period which was marked by the 2005–2008 drought. This analysis aims to increase our understanding of the state of public opinion in Andalusia on the basis that such knowledge is a necessary tool for political decision-making processes. The results and the conclusions have significant implications for water policy makers.

To date, most studies on the role of women in water management have focused on local communities in developing countries, within which women are more vulnerable to hydrological risk. This study emphasizes the need to investigate the preferences of women in industrialized nations. The results of a representative opinion survey in Andalusia (Spain) reveal that, when it comes to water management, women tend to think primarily in domestic terms whereas men prioritize the efficiency of irrigation systems. In Andalusia (a region under severe risk of hydrological stress) irrigation has a much greater impact on the efficiency of water use than any other factor. To explain these differences of opinion, this study analyses the gender gap in terms of environmental concern and political knowledge. The results suggest that women’s preferences relate not only to their greater environmental proactiveness in the domestic sphere but also to political-knowledge-related variables.

This article presents results of a qualitative study on the opinions and attitudes of stakeholders of the areas affected by the moratorium on European eel (Anguilla anguilla) fishing (declared in 2010) in the Guadalquivir River marshlands of southern Spain. Results suggest that the stakeholders were sustaining different principles, criterions, and proposals that frequently conflicted because problems with mutual understanding. The usefulness of these results to manage this conflict is also discussed. This research allowed for improving communication, channeling demands of the different stakeholders, and searching for negotiated solutions to reduce the tensions that arose after the moratorium. Results have been shown to be especially relevant in this case where some stakeholders held strong and conflicting positions that made the dialogue almost impossible given that eel fishing was being carried out illegally.

Spain has the most reservoirs in Europe, and is near the top of the list globally. Despite this, national hydrological planning still continues to rely overwhelmingly on this type of infrastructure. This indicates that the traditional hydraulic paradigm is deeply entrenched in Spain. The present work takes the new, hitherto unexplored perspective of public resistance, and seeks to complement other studies by aiming to understand why a hydrological transition, in line with environmental demands, has not taken place in Spain. In order to do this, we analyze data from a representative survey (years 2004–2013) of the residents of one of Spain’s most densely regulated drainage basins, that of the Guadalquivir River. Our results reveal that during a several drought (2005–2008), people’s support for the construction of new reservoirs declined sharply, whilst social resistance to changes in the water management strategy was associated with profiles closest to the agricultural sectorm and characterized by a lack of awareness about water distribution in productive sectors