With a prudent expression and a forceful background, Eloy Revilla, biologist, director of the Doñana Biological Station (CSIC), represents the voice of scientists, who describe the situation of the Doñana natural space as “criticalâ€.
In his opinion, the proposed law of the PP and Vox to “order” illegal irrigation in the surroundings of the national park (processed by the Andalusian Parliament) contradicts the ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union of Luxembourg (CJEU), which condemned Spain and demands that it protect Doñana and its aquifer.
What is the situation of Doñana now?
There is a combination of factors. We have an exploitation of the aquifer that is not sustainable. More water is extracted than the recharge of the aquifer and, on the other hand, there is a decrease in rainfall that means that the temporary Mediterranean lagoons, which depend on the aquifer, are disappearing from Doñana.
In theory, that’s normal for it to happen, right?
Normally they are dry only in summer and in exceptionally dry years. But in recent years what we are seeing is that not even in normal years are they full. That is the main problem. When more than 4 or 5 years go by without filling with water, the typical plant communities of these environments disappear, which are those that are cataloged as priority protection areas by the EU, and are replaced by terrestrial vegetation. And the permanent pools are drying up now, too.
What impact is being seen?
It is seen in many species that depend on these ecosystems. Amphibians lose their habitats; The fact that the large cork oaks of Doñana, centuries-old trees, are drying up, indicates the exceptionality of the situation…
To what extent does the over-extraction of water in the Doñana environment or climate change and reduced rainfall influence desiccation?
They go hand in hand. The demand for water has been increasing and the availability has been decreasing. Those lines have clearly been crossed long ago. We have to adjust demand to availability, because we are not only going to lose Doñana, but its ecosystems are also dying and we are also going to have problems in agriculture and supplying the region. Water is being used at a rate that is not compatible with the survival of the Doñana aquifer.
How do you assess compliance with the CJEU ruling of June 2021?
The sentence tells us that protected habitats are being lost and that we are obliged to protect them by European directives. Until we show as a State that we are doing enough to maintain and even recover what has been lost in these ecosystems, the EU will not be calm. The emergency measures include rapidly reducing the consumption of water from the aquifer. We cannot extract more than what is recharged nor the same as what is recharged: we must extract less to recover it.
What do you think of the PP and Vox bill in the Andalusian Parliament?
One of the things it does is modify the Forest Law to allow the transformation of land that has been forest land into agricultural land. Another is to classify as irrigated land that has been exploited until 2014 {when the so-called Strawberry Pact between institutions planned to legalize only the wells until 2004]. But we do not know what land they are or in what conditions or who would be affected. I have not seen any technical report that makes an assessment of how many people and what area or how many companies are affected
It is proposed to speed up the transfer from the Odiel, Tinto and Piedras rivers to Doñana. It is legitimized that whoever makes improper use of water would go unpunished, right?
It is not known who is affected and in what way this transfer. But the possibility opens up for those who have been exploiting the aquifer illegally to have irrigation rights even if they do not have a water concession. This generates a great administrative problem, since it is the responsibility of the Guadalquivir Confederation. And the Confederation has just approved a plan where it is established that there cannot be new irrigated areas, due to lack of water availability. The conflict is served. Another effect is that whoever has been competing unfairly will benefit from the legal ones, who have had to comply with a series of regulations.
But this is a problem that has been growing for years.
Yes, it does not come from now, it is due to poor governance of the territory that is causing a lot of damage to us, to Doñana and to legal farmers. Those disorderly demands for water demonstrate it; that irrigated crops are being created, which often do not have permits to use the water or the soil; that is sometimes being cultivated on public land. It is very easy for someone to start a crop, with or without permits; You know they won’t do anything to you. And, furthermore, they may legalize it at some point, as is being considered now. It is something that we are only going to be able to solve by sitting down all those responsible with powers at the same table and starting to act jointly.
The president of the Junta, Juanma Moreno, says that his plan (based on using water from the transfer) does not affect Doñana, and that the areas where strawberries are grown are 30 kilometers from the natural space.
The aquifer does not care if the extraction of water is legal or illegal. There are extraction zones on the edge of the National Park and many are legal as well. The Doñana aquifer is very large and regional, and the lowest part is the discharge zone in the lagoons. Therefore, any extraction of water that is done, even if it is 30 kilometers from the heart of the National Park, has an effect on it.
There is talk of making a transfer of water from the Odiel, Tinto and Piedras rivers, what should this water be used for?
This water must be used to replace underground flows that now go to supply localities and crops, so that the water from the Doñana aquifer would be replaced by surface water. It is what is being talked about. And that supposes the closing of wells, which is positive for Doñana. That is what we are obliged to do by the ruling of the European Court of Justice: close the maximum number of wells, both legal and illegal. Logically, the illegal ones should not exist and the legal ones must be replaced by surface water.
Without a more rational agriculture or with crops that consume less water, it does not seem that this has a solution. And each administration invokes powers but they do not come together in teamwork.
That is why it is so important that they agree. You have to plan together. You cannot do agricultural planning on irrigation without knowing what resources there are, and you cannot plan the uses of water without knowing what agricultural planning is going to be. Each one has to speak and act within their competencies, but those competencies affect the competencies of another.
But it’s not what we see
This is what is happening now with the Junta de AndalucÃa, which is talking about its powers, but that affects the powers of another. If we do not agree, and we are going to speak in the plural, because this affects many administrations and for many years… The responsibility is shared; And it affects practically everyone. The important thing is to say: ‘we have come this far’, we are going to solve the problem. It is a complex problem, it does not have a black or white solution.
Hard work…
There is a lack of technical reports to know what to do and how. It is useless to legalize a series of crops without knowing how many there are or how they are, or how they are going to be irrigated; nor is it useless to make maximalist approaches. Previous technical work is required, which is complex; the administrations must be coordinated and this also affects the municipalities involved
Yeah?
We must take into account the municipalities involved, some of which have enormous debts due to the fines that are systematically ‘falling’ for the polls (wells), the illegal extractions of water. It must be taken into account that the fines have to be paid by the owners of the land. And if the crops are on municipal land, occupied or ceded, the fines are for the council, and they accumulate.
The European Commission reiterates its calls for Spain to comply with the CJEU ruling of June 2021.
The role of the EU is fundamental; It is like the big brother who tries to bring order to the mess in the application of European regulations. It is very clear but in the territory there has not been a political will to apply it. And so the problem becomes more complicated, and worsens; and as we progress, it becomes more and more difficult to solve. And the longer it takes, the worse the consequences will be and the more difficult the solution.
What are the measures that should be applied as a priority?
The first thing is to reduce the consumption of the aquifer, right now. It is necessary to establish a clear measurement of how much water is extracted from the aquifer and lower that consumption; reduce it in Matalascañas; It is necessary to prevent illegal extraction of water from the aquifer, and water must be brought in as soon as possible [from the Tinto-Odiel-Piedras transfer] so that legal users can irrigate as long as there is surface water.
Anything else?
Define what is the available resource to know how much to irrigate and how. The region needs an economic and social conversion; that is clear, because depending only on an activity as seasonal, as intense and as impressive as the cultivation of red fruits has these risks.
