The central government and the Andalusian Government have begun working this week to reach an agreement that addresses and finds solutions to the problems facing Doñana. For now, after the first meeting held yesterday, in which both institutions confirmed that there is "progress", tomorrow it will be the turn of the farmers and mayors of the eleven affected municipalities of the Northern Crown to be heard.
One week after the announcement of the suspension of the Irrigation Law in Doñana by Juanma Moreno, president of the Andalusian Government, negotiations are still underway and, apparently, are on the right track. It was Teresa Ribera, acting third vice president and minister for the Ecological Transition, who commented today that in this first meeting they addressed “how to promote a territorial and social development plan from which the inhabitants” of the area benefit, since As he has commented, “it is not possible to put more territory under irrigation because there is no water.”
For his part, the spokesperson for the Andalusian Executive and Minister of the Environment, Ramón Fernández-Pacheco, has pointed out that “the Government has understood that the problem – for farmers – exists and that we cannot look the other way”, insisting on that we must fix everything that was done wrong in 2014 (Strawberry Plan) and correct the flaws in the management plan. The solution, he has commented, “cannot be ideological but real.”
However, the first 'frictions' between administrations have already arisen due to what the Board considers excessive exposure by the third vice president in the media. It was after an interview by the minister leaving open the possibility that the Andalusian Government could consider buying land in the area of Doñana that has bothered Juanma Moreno's team, who has assured that he is not going to "radiate" the details of the meetings and has denied that the purchase of the land has entered the current debate.
Pacheco, for his part, has expressed that the County's farmers have been in a situation of "defenselessness" for almost a decade, and has once again defended the idea championed by his team that "we are not going to abandon them." In this sense, the counselor considers that Sánchez's Executive has recognized the existence of the problem, which represents a "180-degree change in attitude" that allows for "progress."
However, a plan must emerge from these negotiations within a month so that the PP-A does not reactivate the final processing of the controversial Irrigation Law, which is just one step away from receiving the green light in Parliament despite to the opposition of the Andalusian left, environmentalists, the central government, the scientific community and the opinion of Europe. “There is no agreement, but the only agreement is that we are going to work to achieve an agreement,” he said.
The “key”, according to the Andalusian spokesperson, for this company to come to fruition is the investment promised by Ribera of 350 million euros in the region, an amount intended to offer alternatives to the citizens of the Doñana area of influence. that must land on specific projects and help the development of the socioeconomic area of the park, which generate employment. But the plan proposed by the central government does not contemplate water concessions or reclassification of land from dry land to irrigated land, but rather has its red lines, a well-defined “framework for action” that is none other than “the legal framework and international obligations, knowing that there is a physical limitation”, that “there is no more water”, so that “it is not possible to recognize irrigation rights in a space in which there was already a complex analysis that culminated in 2014”. “It is not about talking about irrigation where there are no irrigation rights or drinking water, but about progress, the social and economic development of the inhabitants” of these municipalities, Ribera pointed out.
On the other hand, the acting third vice president has confirmed that the Government is not contemplating the purchase of land around the Park, which was going to be legalized, although she does not rule out that the Board may opt for it but with other funds. His department, he explained, “cannot buy land” since “our public resources are destined for environmental or social actions linked to that environmental action” so “it is totally ruled out that the Ministry is going to buy land that has something linked to it.” the recovery of direct water from the Doñana National Park.”
This possibility that Ribera has left in the air has not pleased the Board at all, who considers that the minister is exposing herself excessively in the media.
In the first meeting there was no discussion of "buying land or not" in Doñana, so it is understood that "there is no decision made," responded Fernández-Pacheco, who insisted on the need to "respect the negotiation forums " in a process that is taken "very seriously" and "with the hope that it ends well." "We would be doing a disservice to the agreement if we began to broadcast the conversations," the counselor concluded.
It will be tomorrow when irrigators in the area have the opportunity to participate in this new opportunity that has been offered to solve the current problems in Doñana. “It is good that farmers are the ones who help us identify programs well linked to primary and agricultural activity in the strict sense with other types of crops that are more resistant to the effects of climate change,” commented Ribera. In this sense, he stressed, "it would be necessary to look for what type of activities are viable on that land" to promote those that "generate wealth, that there is an agroindustry behind it, perhaps seeking the recovery of farms that previously existed and that were declining." ”, like pine nuts, he said.
Reaching an agreement on this thorny and entrenched issue seems vital to addressing the needs of Europe's Green Lung. This change of direction by both the central and regional governments was well celebrated by all political parties and environmentalists, who hope that the negotiations will reach a successful conclusion in order to save the oasis of Huelva.
