2023-04-28 18:23:07
At this time of year, the lagoons of Doñana National Park should be waterlogged. Most of them, however, are dry, and some, now covered with vegetation, have no doubt disappeared for good. Pink flamingos still dip their beaks in the marsh adjacent to the village of El Rocio, but this winter barely 90,000 migratory birds have been counted, compared to an average of 470,000, in this exceptional wetland located at the southern tip of Spain, at the crossroads of migratory routes to Europe and Africa. “We had never seen Doñana in such a state in April, emphasizes Felipe Fuentelsaz, local spokesperson for the WWF association. The unique ecosystem that serves as a habitat for migrating birds is disappearing. »
The Doñana reserve is dying little by little under the effect of a prolonged drought, aggravated by the overexploitation of groundwater for the intensive production of strawberries. Northwest of Doñana, under large expanses of white plastic, the greenhouses under which they grow stretch as far as the eye can see. Legally, 8,000 hectares are intended for the production of strawberries and red fruits around Doñana. According to the WWF, there are also between 1,500 and 2,000 hectares watered by hundreds of illegal wells which, despite administrative fines, draw from the overexploited aquifer of the national park, this exceptional wetland classified as a World Heritage Site by Unesco since 1994. However, in 2020, the aquifer on which the rivers and lagoons of Doñana depend was recognized « a danger » by the Spanish government.
However, to solve the problem of farms using illegal wells, the regional government of Andalusia had a surprising idea: to legalize their access to water. The bill registered on April 12 in the Andalusian Parliament by the Popular Party (PP, right), in power in the region, and supported by the far-right Vox party, intends “righting an injustice” by giving water rights to strawberry and berry growers excluded from the 2014 irrigation plan – but who have continued to water their crops illegally for the past ten years. In total, the text submitted to the Andalusian Parliament could add 800 hectares to the 8,000 hectares of legally irrigated red fruit cultivation around the national park, according to the regional government.
“Until now, the farmers concerned drew illegally from groundwater, without metering or monitoring. Some have been convicted for crimes against the environment. They would be regularized and granted amnesty, which does not seem fair to us”sums up Manuel Delgado, spokesperson for the Puerta de Doñana farmers’ association, which brings together “legal” strawberry producers. d’Almonte.
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