Since the mid 1990s, the status of the wetland areas has improved significantly; most of its original area has now recovered. This process was assisted by the good rains of the years between 1995 and 2000.
All stakeholders are formally represented in the Patronato de las Tablas de Daimiel, and in various government organizations, including the Confederación Hidrográfica del Guadiana. Although farmers and ecological associations agreed that the 1970s situation was unsustainable, and that it was essential to use less water for irrigation, the measures adopted were nonetheless controversial. Farmers were resistant to changes that might negatively affect their incomes. They also believed that the application of the legal measures would lead to a decrease in regional employment. Some ecological associations questioned the value of the adopted measures; others considered the management of the National Park to be inefficient.
The water transfer proved controversial because it involved dropping the level of the Cigüela River, thereby negatively affecting some river vegetation and wetlands areas. Also, the waters of the rivers Tajo and Guadiana are of different qualities, and by bringing the Tajo waters to Guadiana, there is a possibility that indigenous species may come with it, altering the ecosystem; these important topics are still under discussion today.
Two things will be decisive in determining the future sustainability of the new measures: better control of new wells, and compatibility between the economic incentives to save water and the European agriculture policy. The “declaration of overexploited aquifers” allowed some control over underground water pumping that had previously been totally under the control of the farmers. However, new illegal wells are still being introduced. Strengthening of the Confederación Hidrográfica would mean better central control, and would give both police and farmers more information. Farmers need to be educated to the need to act not only in the short term, but to take into account the need for long term sustainability of water availability.
The sustainability of the economic incentives to save water depends on their compatibility with the European agriculture policy. There may be contradictions between EU environmental concerns and the economics of the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP). The Guadiana Basin program, for instance, uses EU money to promote the elimination of some crops such as maize or beet that consume high amounts of water, whereas the CAP provides subsidies for these crops.