EUROPE
EU Commission concern about Doñana natural reserve ‘very high’

Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevicius met with Spain’s third deputy prime minister Teresa Ribera to discuss the situation in the Spanish National Park of Doñana and the controversial proposed law to regularise illegal irrigation systems.

The meeting took place on Tuesday (18 April) late afternoon, in the margins of the European Environment (ENVI) Council in Stockholm on Spain’s request.

The conversation, which lasted almost an hour, was also joined by the Commission’s Director-General for the environment, Florika Fink-Hooijer.

Sources familiar with the meeting told EURACTIV that the Commission reiterated its ‘absolute commitment’ to comply with EU law in the case of Doñana – namely the EU’s Water Framework Directive and Habitats Directive.

According to the sources, Commissioner Sinkevicius also stressed that the level of concern in Brussels about the Andalusian draft law is “very high”.

The National Park of Doñana, in the southern region of Andalucia, is a natural reserve characterised by its wetlands, considered one of the most important biodiversity hotspots in Spain and in Europe – also protected under EU law.

But ahead of regional elections, the site has become the epicentre of a clash between local fruit producers, environmentalists, and national and European authorities after a controversial law by the right and far-right government of Andalucia to regularise illegal irrigation systems in the midst of a severe drought.

“The Commission is concerned about the situation of Doñana and the potential additional risk that this draft law could mean for this very particular and very rich emblematic space in Europe,” Spain’s third deputy prime minister and Minister for the Ecological Transition Teresa Ribera said after the meeting.

Ribera also said that the Commission will “adopt whatever method may be necessary, as they had already explained in the letter was received last month”.

The letter, received on 20 March and signed by the Commission’s Director General for the Environment, reiterated the “restlessness and stupefaction” of the Commission in light of the Andalusian draft law and asked Spain for clarifications.

The Director General also warned that passing this law would breach a resolution by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) for failing to protect Doñana and avoid the deterioration of strictly protected habitats.

In that case, the Commission would bring the case back to the EU’s highest court, asking for financial penalties.

“The Commission is still waiting for the formal response to this letter,” said the Spanish minister, even though the one-month deadline has almost passed.

“The government of Spain will try to draft this response taking into consideration the explanations and the reports being sent by the regional government of Andalucia,” she said.

The Andalusian government is also set to meet with the cabinet of Commissioner Sinkevicius on 3 May to give their explanations on the proposal.

Producers still back the proposal

The move, however, is welcomed by local producers who are suffering the consequences of a severe drought and are eager to regularise their activity.

The natural reserve is surrounded by farming crops that have been growing for decades. Some illegally use water from the aquifer that feeds the wetlands.

It is estimated that there are somewhere between 1,000 and 2,000 illegal wells around Doñana.

The proposed law seeks to regularise between 750 and 1,500 hectares of land using illegal irrigation systems.

The Agrarian Association of Young Farmers (Asaja) in Huelva, the affected region, said that the “main goal” of the draft law is to “do justice and repair the damage caused to hundreds of farming families.”

They add that this proposal “does not imply an expansion of irrigation, but rather the recognition of an error that affects historic lands”.

According to Asaja, producers in the area have recently asked the Spanish government “to comply with its responsibilities and obligations contracted by law […] and, singularly, with the provisions and budgets for the hydrological regeneration of Doñana.”

Source: Euractiv.com

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