Environmental entities have demanded this Wednesday that the Government of the Generalitat of Catalonia carry out the "urgent" expansion of the Special Protection Area for Birds (SPA) of the Llobregat delta.
In a press conference in front of the headquarters of the Climate Action department, representatives of a total of 38 organizations have requested this Wednesday the execution of the plan that envisaged expanding the SPA with 1,437 new hectares (ha), adding them to the 935 already currently protected , reaching a total of 2,372 hectares.
The environmental entities have delivered a manifesto in which they ask the Minister of Climate Action, Food and Rural Agenda, David Mascort, to approve the expansion that the same department already presented a year and a half ago but that has not been executed.
On behalf of the entities, the representative of the Center for Ecology and Alternative Projects (CEPA), Josep Lluís Moner, has denounced that this delay in the execution of protection measures is "unjustifiable" and has attributed it to "speculative pressures."
Among the entities that subscribe to this manifesto, in addition to CEPA, are the League for the Defense of Natural Heritage, Greenpeace, Ecologistas En Acción, Aigua és Vida and Zeroport, among others.
These social and environmental entities justify the need to expand the SPA to improve the state of the delta aquifer, consolidate sustainable local agriculture and promote science and environmental education.
Also to comply with the European bird protection directive, since in 2021 the European Commission opened an infringement file against Spain for the situation of the Llobregat delta and required it to improve the preservation of these natural spaces, as well as increase the protected area.
During these months, the expansion of the SPA has generated rejection from some Baix Llobregat town councils, from some farmers, from the agricultural sector employers' association and from other social agents. A motion to stop it was approved in the Parliament of Catalonia.
The environmentalists have warned in the manifesto that there are pressure groups with "speculative" interests that seek the "insatiable growth" of the Port and Airport of El Prat, industrial estates or agro-industrial projects.
Precisely, the expansion of the airport would be affected if the expansion of the SPA were finally carried out, because new areas would be protected, including the Ricarda lagoon, the area in which Aena proposed extending the airport facility.
