1926 – 2026
The Aragon University Institute for Environmental Sciences Research (IUCA) recognizes the trajectory of the Confederación Hidrográfica del Ebro in water management and its contribution to incorporating scientific knowledge into decision-making, a recognition that comes in the midst of CHE’s centenary.
9/06/2026
The Confederación Hidrográfica del Ebro has received the IUCA–Professor Juan Ramón Castillo 2026 Award, granted by the Aragon University Institute for Environmental Sciences Research of the Universidad de Zaragoza. The distinction recognizes CHE’s trajectory in the sustainable management of water resources and its contribution to connecting hydrological planning with applied scientific research.
The Universidad de Zaragoza announced the award on June 8, 2026, and CHE itself communicated the reception of the award on X the following day. The ceremony took place on Tuesday, June 9, 2026, at the Zaragoza Aquarium, within the framework of the 9th IUCA Conference and the 1st RIMA Network Scientific Conference, a scientific meeting dedicated to sharing advances and experiences related to current environmental challenges.
The recognition comes in the year the Confederation celebrates one hundred years of public service in water management. CHE was founded on March 5, 1926, with a vision of integrated management of the Ebro basin, and this basin-wide perspective remains one of the central themes of the Confederación Hidrográfica del Ebro Centenary narrative.
According to information released by Unizar, the jury particularly valued CHE’s evolution towards increasingly integrated and sustainable management models, as well as its long-standing collaboration with IUCA research groups. This link reinforces a central idea of the centenary: water management is also built on science, institutional cooperation, and knowledge of the territory.
Javier San Román Saldaña, Deputy Water Commissioner of CHE and Commissioner of the Centenary, collected the distinction on behalf of the organization. In the message published by the Confederación Hidrográfica del Ebro on X, the institution highlights that the award was presented during the IUCA scientific conferences.
The IUCA–Professor Juan Ramón Castillo Award was created in 2022 to recognize individuals and institutions that share IUCA’s mission: to promote excellence in environmental sciences research, foster environmental protection, and encourage values such as scientific quality, multidisciplinarity, commitment, and responsibility. This edition’s statuette is the work of Teruel sculptor José Ángel López Martín, José Azul.
