More than a dozen environmental entities have demanded that the Generalitat make effective the extension of the protection of the Llobregat delta with new areas for the conservation of birds, as requested by the European Union. The EU made this request in a letter of formal notice to Spain for the insufficient protection of this natural space. These entities have signed a manifesto in which they have requested “urgent approval” of the so-called ZEPA Delta del Llobregat.
As a result of breaches of European directives in the Llobregat delta (derived from the large infrastructures created in the area 20 years ago), the European Commission opened an infringement file against Spain and issued (in February 2021) a letter of location that urges the Generalitat to improve its preservation and increase the protected area in the Special Protection Zone for Birds (ZEPA).
The then Regional Minister Damià Calvet was quick to promise this protection; In the same way, the ERC government has ruled in this sense, but there has not yet been a firm administrative decision in this regard.
The Generalitat proposed an extension of the ZEPA Delta del Llobregat in the summer of 2022 and responded to the request of the European Commission. But no effective steps have been taken to comply with this requirement, say these entities. Among them are Depana, Ecologistes de Catalunya, SEO BirdLife, CEPA, Adenc or ZeroPort.
ZEPAs are designated by the member states of the European Union and are subject to restrictions on the construction of infrastructure, hunting or the use of polluting pesticides.
The signatory entities of the manifesto indicate that “the European Union asks to increase the protected areas and improve their management” and that it has done so both in the aforementioned letter of summons in the Generalitat and “in response to the latest proposal to expand the airport of The Pratâ€. These entities allege that the expansion of the ZEPA guarantees the protection of these spaces against attempts to expand the El Pra airport.
The delta hosts a good number of habitats and species protected by European directives (of Birds or Habitats), such as the caravan (Burhinus oedicnemus), the imperial heron (Ardea purpurea), the skateboarding chorlitejos or (Charadrius alexandrinus), the golden chorlito ( Pluvialis apricaria), or the vulgar earth (Calandrella brachydactyla).
All these birds have suffered sharp declines or are very rare. These entities recall that, in accordance with the directive, “the protection and conservation of protected species in the EU must be guaranteed, both in their breeding, feeding, migration and wintering areas”.
It is “inadmissible that many of these species are threatened both by the risk of urbanization and by the threat of agricultural intensification or infrastructure,” they point out.
The current ZEPA occupies only 25% of the surface of the area delimited as an area of ​​importance for birds (Global Important Bird Area: IBA) of the delta, established with scientific criteria and which has community legal recognition. “The solution to this legislative mess is to expand the ZEPA of the delta according to the deltaic IBA, to avoid the possible million-dollar sanctions that the European Union can impose in case of non-compliance,” they add.
The entities refute the arguments of the agricultural industry sectors that have refused to extend this protection. Remember that in the Iberian Peninsula there are thousands of agricultural hectares protected under the ZEPA umbrella. “The future of agriculture is linked to respect for the natural heritage and sustainability,” they point out. Agro-industry, in addition to being one of the main threats to biodiversity, is also a threat to agriculture, due to the depletion of soil nutrients, water pollution and dependence on agrochemical products. “The ZEPA removes the threats of unsustainable agriculture…” they add.
In the manifesto they also maintain that the waterproofing of the soil blocks the recharge of the aquifer (since it prevents water from infiltrating the subsoil due to the increase in occupied or paved surface). Expanding the ZEPA zone -they maintain- will allow stopping this risk and definitively safeguarding a good number of hectares from waterproofing and favoring an increase in reserves and the quality of stored water, as well as the proper functioning of the deltaic aquifer.
“The expansion of the ZEPA increases the network of protected areas, favors ecological connectivity and reduces the risk of destruction of the few patches of optimal habitat by wildlife that remain in the delta,” the manifesto adds.
Wetlands, they add, are crucial ecosystems to mitigate climate change: They are habitats rich in vegetation and organic soils, which is why they are capable of storing large amounts of carbon through photosynthesis and the decomposition of organic matter.
