The twelve localities of the 'Agreement of Municipalities for Doñana' have formalized this Tuesday the signing of this proposal for the distribution of funds in the Framework of Actions for the sustainable territorial development of the area of influence of the Doñana Natural Space. The signatories assure that their "priority" is to "support and protect" the natural space. Regarding the absences of Almonte and Hinojos, they have guaranteed that "an attempt has been made until the last moment" to get them added.
The event took place in the town hall of La Puebla del Río and was attended by the mayors of the twelve signatory municipalities (Aznalcázar, Bollullos Par del Condado, Bonares, Isla Mayor, Lucena del Puerto, Moguer, Palos de la Frontera, Pilas , La Puebla del Río, Rociana, Sanlúcar de Barrameda and Villamanrique de la Condesa).
In this sense, the mayor of La Puebla del Río (Seville), Lola Prósper, who presided over the event, pointed out that "Doñana, we are all, both those of us who have the privilege of having such wonderful heritage in our land, and the rest of you who provide the protective environment to these natural jewels", so "we are all necessary for the conservation of this space". Likewise, she has stressed that with this agreement, the municipalities have the "firm commitment to support and protect Doñana" and that the proposal "is born from consensus, from the spirit of raising awareness in the region."
"This agreement aims to promote the sustainability and environmental protection of the Doñana region, as well as promote a balanced diversification of our economy. Taking care of Doñana is everyone's business and this agreement is a demonstration that it is our firm intention to take care of Doñana as a priority, but to do it in a responsible and balanced way, in which we also take care of the socioeconomic reality of our towns," said the first mayor, Prósper.
For his part, the mayor of Pilas (Seville), José Leocadio Ortega, explained that each municipality is "aware" that each one "contributes its uniqueness along with its particular problems to the area of Doñana", so "far from opting for attitudes and statements that are disqualifying and even lacking in legitimate aspirations, each city council has taken steps to reach this agreement".
"We have been aware from the first moment that we could not repeat the mistakes of previous financing and transformation projects that did not in any way address the problems of the environment and the importance of the activity of all municipalities. It is necessary to work on raising awareness of "all the inhabitants of the environment, in the importance of biodiversity and that the municipalities feel involved in the problem addressed, as well as in the solutions proposed that will affect the economies of all the municipalities located."
In this sense, the mayor of Pilas has indicated that the establishment of "a minimum amount per municipality of between two and three million euros was essential to be able to address transformative measures." "30 years have passed since the European framework was destined to form the area of Doñana and since then it has been shown that ignoring the municipality surrounding the National Park was one of the mistakes that now cannot be repeated," he stressed. .
Likewise, the mayor of Bonares (Huelva), Juan Antonio García, has pointed out that this signature is an example that "when you want you can reach consensus and agreements", since he has guaranteed that the 12 municipalities "we have dialogued until the exhaustiveness to seek that necessary consensus that is needed to carry out projects as important as this one, which serves two fundamental things.
Likewise, he explained that it is a "fair agreement", since "criteria have been taken into account such as the territory, the population and the economic diversification or productive system of each of the municipalities we are in." "There is a great disparity in population, territory and production system, but we have been able to reach an agreement of which we are all very proud and I want to thank all of us who make up this agreement that we are going to sign," he added.
On the other hand, the mayor of Sanlúcar de Barrameda (Cádiz), Carmen Álvarez, has recognized that the agreement "has not been easy" because "each of us prioritizes the interests of our municipalities", but "with a criterion that combines population, level of unemployment, per capita index, of territory in the national park and in the natural park, has been the wave that has changed to put this agreement of the different municipalities on the table".
"This agreement was born under a climate of consensus and spirit of raising awareness of the region and from the spirit and willingness of the mayors to continue working continuously in this direction and purpose that the Ministry has had," he commented.
Of the total of 350 million euros contributed by Miteco, those belonging to line 10 of the plan will now be distributed, a subsidy of 70 million euros that will be distributed among the local entities of the Doñana Biosphere Reserve and that from the Government It was decided that the municipalities themselves would agree on this distribution.
Thus, twelve of the fourteen municipalities that make up the area around Doñana have agreed on the criteria to carry out the distribution by localities based on the number of inhabitants and the area, but establishing both a minimum and a maximum. Thus, it has been agreed that Almonte will receive eight million euros; Aznalcázar, Hinojos, La Puebla del Río and Sanlúcar de Barrameda receive 5.9 million euros each; and Moguer, 5.6 million.
On the other hand, 4.1 million euros have been allocated to Bollullos Par del Condado, Bonares, Isla Mayor, Lucena del Puerto, Palos de la Frontera, Pilas, Rociana del Condado and Villamarrique de la Condesa.
This proposal will be submitted to the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge so that it can be taken into consideration and studied, since the signatories have expressed their desire for the Almonte and Hinojos to join.
Hinojos and Almonte (Huelva), two of the municipalities in the area of influence of Doñana, have signed the proposal that they will submit to the Ministry for the Ecological Transition (Miteco) so that there is a "fair" distribution, based on objective criteria, of the funds collected in the Agreement signed by the Board and central Government. The proposal agreed upon this Tuesday stands apart from the agreement reached by the other 12 municipalities in the area whose signature also took place this Tuesday.
The signing took place in the Pinares de Hinojos, on the emblematic “Las Pardillas” road, in the heart of a protected area, to which both municipalities contribute 64% of its surface, and featured Mayor Hinojera, Joaquina del Valle Ortega, and from Almonte, Francisco Bella.
They have exposed the "strictly objective" criteria, which they understand as "fair", for the distribution of the 70 million collected within the framework of actions for Doñana. An issue that has generated a lot of controversy in recent weeks, since as the councilors have explained of Almonte and Hinojos, "several secret meetings have been held, behind the backs of the municipalities of Doñana. "We have not been invited or informed about the conclusions and results thereof."
Faced with this panorama, Hinojos and Almonte have decided to remain firm, since both municipalities already suffer the impact on the protection of their territories by the categories of National Park, Natural Park and Potad; to which is added the history that supports them regarding the conservation and preservation of their territories. The mayor of Hinojos has stressed that "the majority is just a number, if there are no arguments it is of no use, and in this case the majority is the periphery of Doñana." She has also stressed that “the very text of the framework of actions establishes as its purpose the implementation of a territorial project, the territory with the most and greatest protection recognitions in the world. Without a doubt, the inalienable objective of this framework is the sustainable development of Doñana. "All that is Hinojos; the people who for more than 600 years have cared for, pampered and respected their territory, conserving it so that the Doñana we know can exist today. Hinojos is pure and simple Doñana,” she said.
The mayor of Almonte explained that “when the time comes, the ministry will receive two proposals; and will have to be the one to decide whether to continue betting on a sustainable development model or opt for a different model, which what it has done so far has been to exhaust Doñana's resources."
Both councilors consider that the objective criteria to be taken into account for the distribution of funds destined to local entities are: belonging to the Doñana Natural Space itself, the population, its customs and, of course, the history of the socioeconomic development that comes. suffering responsibly.
