Outrage after Spain’s Andalusia moves to legalize more farms near threatened wetlands

OVIEDO, Spain

Andalusia’s conservative majority voted to continue with a controversial plan to increase irrigation near the drought-stricken Donana wetlands after a tense parliamentary session Wednesday in Seville.

The plan to legalize more than 1,500 hectares (3,706 acres) of illegal farmland has been condemned at the local, national and European levels, as the national park teeters is on the brink of environmental collapse due to a combination of unstainable human activity and drought.

But the WWF environmental group said the main reason Donana -- a UNESCO World Heritage Center -- has been nearly sucked dry of water is the uncontrolled growth of intensive agriculture in the area.

Beyond what has been approved, there are an estimated 1,000 illegal wells tapping into the increasingly scarce water supply. Farms in the province of Huelva produce fruits like strawberries for export and could receive a type of amnesty if the government’s plan takes effect.

The regional debate Wednesday was attended by farmers and other groups passionate about the issue. One politician dumped sand from Donana on the regional president’s seat to protest the state of the wetlands.

Spain’s Environmental Minister Teresa Ribera, meanwhile, accused Andalusia’s government of acting “with arrogance”, “in bad faith” and against Spanish and EU law.

She accused the government of selling false promises to farmers for political gain.

“There’s no water … and it doesn’t make sense to promise something that doesn’t exist,” she said, vowing to use whatever law was available to stop the plan.

The European Commission sent a letter in March to Spain’s government warning that there would be sanctions if the plan to legalize the farmland went through.

In 2021, the EU already condemned Spain for failing to control water use near Donana. But that sentence did not come with fines.

Public scientists in the region presented a report Monday that warned the ecosystem was at a “critical point” and urged the regional government to back off its plan.

Donana is considered one of Europe's most important natural areas and is home to five threatened bird species. It is one of the largest heronries in the Mediterranean region and is the wintering site for more than 500,000 waterfowl, according to UNESCO.

In September, its biggest lagoon had completely dried up.

Dry conditions at the park have also been aggravated by an ongoing drought in Spain that has lasted for more than one year.