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A new method supported by hydrologic and hydraulic criteria and aiming at the definition of ecological flows downstream dams located semi-arid regions, like those of the South of Portugal, was developed. The hydrologic criteria account for the water scarcity and for the temporal irregularity of the natural hydrologic regime and the hydraulic criteria, for the geometry of the cross sections and of the river reaches. The method is briefly described and the ecological flows achieved for 13 case studies are presented. The method seams to be applicable to regions similar, from a hydrologic point of view, to the one analyzed, namely located around the Mediterranean Sea.