The southern Spanish region of Andalucía is poised to defy Brussels and the country’s central government with a reform that would allow an increase in the use of water for irrigation near a world-famous natural park which is already suffering a severe drought.
The parliament of Andalucía has given the green light to the debate and likely approval of an emergency law that would expand the amount of land surrounding Doñana park that can be exploited for water by farmers. The law was presented by the region’s president Juanma Moreno of the conservative Popular Party (PP) and it has the support of the far-right Vox.
Doñana park, which covers more than 500 square kilometres and is located in the southwestern province of Huelva, is known for its diverse flora and fauna, including Iberian lynx and flamingos. Environmentalists have become concerned, however, that low rainfall and existing pressures on the area’s underground water reserves from farming and urban demand are already threatening its biodiversity.
“From his little corner and with his stuck-up arrogance, [Mr Moreno] is doing immense damage to the local people of Huelva, to Andalucía and to Spain,” said the Minister of Environmental Transition, Teresa Ribera.
Socialist prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, accused the Andalucía government of disregarding climate change science in seeking to push through the reform, which has been given urgent status. “You don’t touch Doñana,” he said.
The central government has said it will take the matter to the Spanish Constitutional Court. Meanwhile, European institutions have been watching the situation with concern. In 2021, a ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union found that Spain had failed to protect the area from illegal water extraction.
In late March, Florika Fink Hooijer, who leads the European Commission’s Directorate General for the Environment, warned that she would take the case back to the same court if the local government proceeded with its plan, potentially leading to sanctions for Spain.
The Andalucía government so far appears unwilling to change its mind and insists that its planned reform will not affect underwater reserves. It has also accused the central administration of giving Brussels a distorted version of the situation.
“We are going to explain things to them truthfully so that they don’t believe the lies that [Madrid] is telling them,” Mr Moreno said.
Environmental organisations have said that about 1,000 illegal wells have been set up around Doñana and claim the planned change will legalise many of them.
In a report, the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) said that over the last decade, 59 per cent of Doñana’s large lagoons have been empty. Attacking what it called “the childish rhetoric” of the Andalucía government, it described the park’s situation as “critical”.
