2023-05-12 02:14:46
Greenpeace considers that the measures to alleviate the effects of the drought approved this Thursday by the Council of Ministers are as “necessary” as they are “insufficient and short-sighted”, because although they will allow alleviating the impacts of this momentarily, they do not prepare Spain for ” the serious water problems that it will have to face in the future” as a result of climate change.
The person in charge of water at Greenpeace, Julio Barea, has criticized the shock plan announced this Thursday by the Government for providing aid to agriculture without changing the agricultural model in the long term.
Thus, he warns that the main affected are, precisely, traditional and family agriculture, the most necessary to maintain and that it will become “unfeasible” due to the lack of water and the “bet of the administrations for the agricultural macro-industries”. In fact, he recalls that the agricultural sector consumes about 80 percent of the water.
On the other hand, regarding investments in hydraulic works, the spokesman for the NGO denounces that “it continues to perpetuate a model of industrial agriculture” and “unsustainable” and considers that modernizing irrigation “is not the solution” because they give the “false perception of that there is more water” which causes an increase in the irrigated area, in the density of plants as well as a change towards other crops that require more water, by stimulating double or triple harvests and eliminating natural returns to the environment.
Increases total water consumption
In the organization’s opinion, this annuls the presumed advantages of modernizing irrigation systems to save water and, on the contrary, increases total water consumption. Instead, Greenpeace qualifies as “important” that the plan invest in water purification and reuse and in restoring water ecosystems, heavily punished by poor management.
Specifically, the NGO proposes a plan to reduce the area of intensive and industrial irrigation; do not allow highly demanding water projects; intensify control of the illegal use of water by closing illegal wells; stop and reduce intensive farming; establish a road map for a transition towards agroecology and protection perimeters in water catchment areas. In addition, it proposes promoting saving and reuse measures, increasing the budget allocated to forest management; prioritize plant-based food and reduce the consumption of products of animal origin in public canteens.
“Droughts must be managed previously. Now all that remains is to lament and manage the scarcity, once again. The Council of Ministers has proposed measures that will not have effects in the medium-long and term. Spain cannot continue basing its water management on a unlimited supply, based on false solutions. Public policies must be aimed at saving, preventing pollution and improving purification systems”, he added.
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