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Plantation dedicated to the cultivation of strawberries in Lucena del Puerto (Huelva).
United We Can has transferred to the European Comission the intention of the Andalusian Government to expand the hectares authorized irrigation at surroundings of Doñana, a project that, at the moment, is in the form of a bill promoted by the PP, Cs and Vox, but which has already sparked strong political controversy and harsh assessments by conservation groups, due to its effects on the future of the National Park, where water reserves are already at the limit. In a letter presented to the European Commission, United We Can request the position of the EU Government on the matter and if, in its opinion, that increase in legal irrigated hectares may affect the protected area of Doñana. It also asks for an assessment of whether that bill could contravene the provisions of a ruling by the Tribunal Superior de Justicia Europeo (TSJE) which, as UP recalls, obliges the competent administrations (Government of Spain and Andalusian Government) to take the necessary measures to prevent illegal extraction of water that is causing a depletion of aquifer reserves. In reality, a large part of those irrigated hectares (1,460) that are intended to be expanded are already using water from those wells and what the Andalusian Government now intends is to legalize their situation. A similar process was undertaken by the previous socialist government and concluded with the delimitation of a volume of authorized hectares, in what is known as the Strawberry Plan, because it is to the red fruits that these cultivated lands are dedicated. Farmers who were left out of that regulation claim alleged “historic rights” for their crops and demand from the Board an upward revision of the volume of authorized hectares, which is the process that had been initiated through this bill. United We Can recall, however, that the TSJUE has already resolved a complaint against Spain for the deterioration of the natural area of Doñana, case C-559/191, declaring that in said space, due to illegal extraction of water, several provisions of the water framework directive and the habitats directive had been breached. In its sentence, the TSJE urges the Spanish administrations to take measures “as soon as possible” to put an end to these breaches. Since then little progress has been made in closing the illegal wells, but tensions with farmers of the area are continuous and the irrigators have political support at the local level. In fact, the position of United We Can contrasts with that of the Andalusian PSOE, which is not opposed to an expansion of the authorized hectares, although it is opposed to the Board addressing the matter unilaterally and without prior negotiations against all affected parties. For the parties promoting the bill, however, it is about to offerlegal security to a situation that already exists in fact and it is emphasized that the water that will be used for irrigation comes from reservoirs and not from the aquifers in the area. The cultivation of red fruits is one of the main agricultural activities in the region.
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