Aguatiello is a forum of people grouped through Internet, without political link that has been created to protest at the project of National Hydrological Plan (PHN) proposed by the Spanish Government. The main work projected in this plan intends to divert water from the river Ebro to other areas at the East of Spain, as far as 1,000 Km. away, crossing the Iberian Peninsula from North to South.
This project of Hydrological Plan has been extensively rejected not only by environmentalist associations but also by specialised scientists in hydrological planning, appointed by the National Water Council.In the voting of the National Water Council, these experts refused the National Hydrological Plan (PHN) presented by the Spanish Government and they sent writing to the Ministry of Environment where the principles of the PHN were considered obsolete and irrational. They also considered that this PHN is unjustified in terms of environmental or economic factors.
Both in the Department of Aragon and in other territories, the popular opposition to the project is enormous:
- On October the 8th 2000, a great demonstration congregated about 400,000 people in Zaragoza, out of a total population of 1,200,000 people in Aragon, which probably is the world's largest public demonstration in relation to number of inhabitants.
- On November the 11th, 100,000 people from the whole Ebro basin congregated in Zaragoza, around the Ebro River, in a symbolic hug to the river.
- On February the 25th 2001, 300,000 people showed their opposition to this PHN proposal in the streets of Barcelona. This demonstration means that Aragon is not alone in its opposition to this plan..
- Additionally 100,000 official allegations have been presented from people and associations by nominal writings to the Government. Regrettably, the National Water Council proceeded to underrate all of them after a rapid analysis of these 100,000 allegations in just 12 sessions.
At this time, the Council of Ministers of the Spanish Government has approved the project and has sent it to the Parliament in order to be passed to a law. The Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Arias Cañete, revealed the intention of the Government of approving the PHN without listening to any allegation or dialogue, showing a clear lack of democratic mood. His actual words were "the approval will be a mere step, a military parade due to our absolute majority in the Parliament".
Due to the total lack of dialogue of the Spanish Government and its absolute scorn to the justified reasons that are exposed against this project, Aguatiello forum wants to contact to the international public opinion to explain what this project called PHN means, its important environmental damage and the negative consequences that it will bring for the sustainable development of large areas of the Iberian Peninsula, such as the Department of Aragon.
AGUATIELLO DENOUNCES THAT:
1. This National Hydrological Plan violates the European directives about water. The European directives about water are especially rigorous with the diversions of rivers and show special attention, as a general approach, to the need to maintain the autonomy of the basins.
The project of Hydrological National Plan violates the Water European Letter, formally subscribed by Spain, the Habitat directive in its 6th article and the net Nature 2000 as well as the recently approved Water Frame Directive that configures the fluvial basin as performance environment..
2. This National Hydrological Plan supposes a serious environmental damage:
A) The project is an actual menace to at least 82 Places of Common Interest, especially for 18 protected species, as the Iberian lynx and the otter, and 14 environments of the Net Nature 2000.
B) The project contemplates the construction of big reservoirs in the Pyrenees, necessary to store the water to be diverted to other basins. These reservoirs are projected on the few remaining sections of rivers in these areas that are well preserved. These valleys will be flooded and lost forever.
C) The 1,000 Km. of channels required to divert the water from the river Ebro will generate an enormous environmental impact.
D) Ecological and environmental impact in the Delta of the river Ebro and on the Mediterranean platform will be irreversible. The decrease of flows after diverting water means the lack of the minimum ecological flow and it will increase the salinity of the lands and it will reduce phreatic levels, affecting seriously to flora and fauna and producing the total disappearance of the Ebro Delta.
3. 3. This National Hydrological Plan will increase the territorial inequalities.
It will foment the impoverishment and desertion of mountain and inland areas and unleash to an uncontrolled development in the Mediterranean Arch, leading to a two-speed-growth Spain.
A) Diverting water from the river Ebro will suppose an institutionalised despoil of the Central Pyrenees. The Pyrenees in Aragon have been historically damaged by the hydraulic policies: flooded valleys, abandoned towns, emigration, eradicated people forced expropriations, lack of investments and general abandonment by the public administrations. The National Hydrological Plan does not carry out the development plans to achieve satisfaction of the historical debt and it promotes a model based in an obsolete and unfair development with the Pyrenees and its inhabitants.
B) Diverting water from the river Ebro will mortgage the present and the future development of Aragon. The plan will mortgage 1050 Hm3. from the whole basin of the river Ebro, not only in its final section, where is projected the collection of water. It means that this huge volume of water should flow to be diverted without being used even if those contributions were needed upstream in any other point of the basin. This fact does not consider the real flows in periods of drought, and overcoat, without keeping in mind the present and the future needs of Aragon to reach an economic development similar to the development currently enjoyed in the Mediterranean Arch.
C) The National Hydrological Plan will accelerate the uncontrolled growth in the Spanish coast. The diverted flow will be largely used in supplying luxurious mansions, golf courts and amusement parks. So this water will be used to develop the uncontrolled urban growth of more than a million of new housings in the East Coast of Spain. It will also unleash a model of uncontrolled tourist development that is clearly against to the protection of the environment.
D) The PHN will foment the spread of the current agriculture system, which is untenable - based on excessive use of chemicals and fertilizers, leading to diffuse contamination. In addition, in the East of Spain, many farmers work with immigrants in irregular situation and precarious conditions.
4. This National Hydrological Plan is impossible to carry out in the outlined conditions. Only the total lack of rigorous studies or the hiding of them have allowed to defend the chance to carry out the PHN:
A) The project does not keep at all in mind the forecasts about climatic change that predict a decrease in 15 % in rainfall in the Iberian Peninsula for the next few years. This fact supposes that in fact there are no basins (including the Ebro Basin) that will have surplus.
B) Due to the exposed technical conditions 5% of the flow diverted will be lost..
C) The project calculates the average price of the diverted water in 0,31 Euro/m3. but the real cost will be much higher. Making a real analysis of costs by sections the cost would range between 0,78 - 0,90 Euro/m3. in Murcia and Almeria. Apparently, the intention of the government is to get paid about 0,18 euros/m3. from the farmers. This price will not reflect those real costs and therefore it will suppose a hidden dumping to the agricultural production in the South East of Spain.
5. This National Hydrological Plan is against the new culture of water that is based on its rational uses:
A) Instead of developing rational uses of water, the Hydrological Plan will increase the offer in basins that do not have structural deficit, but they are strongly over - exploited. After 15 years of experience of diverting water from the river Tajo to the river Segura, the hydrological deficit in Murcia has increased in 27.000 Hm3.
B) This fact proves that diverting water, instead of satisfying possible necessities, generates larger demands of water and increases the areas that are destroyed to create new irrigable areas that is an strictly forbidden action when it implies the use of diverted water.
C) It will allow and promote the marketing of a public resource like water.
6. The Spanish Government has not considered any of the existing alternative solutions
A) Experts of the University of Zaragoza have presented studies that explain that the real cost of desalation of marine water would be less than the real cost of diverting water.
B) b) In addition to desalation, there are several realistic alternatives to this Hydrological plan, like
- Promoting controlled and rational uses of all water resources
- Promoting water saving
- Controlling the growth of over - exploited basins
- La recuperación de aguas residuales
- Recovering residual waters.
Anyway, a project of this span should only be carried out after rigorous studies that have not been done or have been ignored. Moreover it should be approved according of all the affected parts, not ignoring important area. It is not possible to ignore the opposition to the current project from, among other groups, the Department of Aragon, the whole Ebro Basin and the most of the ecologist groups (Greenpeace, Ecologistas en accion, WWF - Adena...). Furthermore it is not easy to ignore the international scientific community position against this project.
In spite of all environmental damages and territorial injustices that this plan means, and of the enormous amount of money that it implies, 3,800,000 million pesetas (23,000 million Euro), the Spanish government is trying to get for the financing of the work 800,000 million pesetas (4,800 million Euro) from the funds of the European Union (that are paying all the European citizens).
As a result of these facts, the Aguatiello forum requests the European public opinion and its political representatives in the European Parliament to be against this project of National Hydrological Plan of the Spanish Government and to reject the requested funds of 4,800 million Euro.
The Aguatiello forum supports the demonstration summoned by a great number of political, social and union organizations from all the Spanish State that will be on March 11th at 12:00 in Madrid. Anyone who may wish to receive additional information or collaborate with this forum can email to:
