The La Viñuela reservoir in La Axarquía (Málaga), which has only reached 15% of its total capacity due to the drought Álex Zea (Europa Press)
The President of the Junta de Andalucía, Juan Manuel Moreno, who 15 days ago reactivated the tax war between municipalities with his announcement of the abolition of the wealth tax, has now raised the flag of the fight against the drought, opening a new front against the Executive of Pedro Sánchez with the apology of investment in public works. Not only is the Andalusian leader demanding more money from the state – up to 1,000 million euros – shortly after giving up his own income through taxes, but he has also pledged that he will match the amount the government puts in with funds from the Andalusian Treasury will double . A requirement that appears to clash with his decision to abolish the water cannon in 2023, in addition to the wealth tax, leaving 140 million in entry to be dedicated specifically to hydraulic infrastructure. Water management experts, environmentalists and irrigation companies consulted by EL PAÍS regret that the investment debate hides the real problem: the poor management of irrigation in the agricultural sector – the largest water consumer in Andalusia – which is a direct competitor to the Junta de Andalusia .
“The irrigation sector is putting significant pressure on all governments [andaluces], and that determines policies that should serve to protect water resources and ecosystems,” says Abel La Calle, professor of international law at the University of Almería and chairman of the board of the New Water Culture Foundation. “The official discourse is ecological, but the Board’s actions do not alleviate water shortages in the demarcations over which it has powers because it dares not regulate irrigation consumption. Savings are not encouraged or attention is drawn to the crop to be developed,” he adds.
If Moreno wanted to describe his previous term of office as a green revolution, he dubbed the second as “water legislation”. With the dying swamps – less than 25% of the backwater level – and disaster forecast in the agricultural sector – which accounts for 11% of the municipality’s GDP and provides 10% of the jobs – the first major initiative related to water was to set up a commission to monitor the drought , a crisis cabinet that meets weekly under the presidency of Moreno himself. So far it has been limited to authorizing emergency works, in line with recent action by the committee, which approved two drought ordinances in 2020 and 2022 to speed up or activate the commissioning of about thirty infrastructures.
It is the 141 million euros allocated to these projects that Moreno used at the conclusion of the PP’s provincial congress in Seville last Sunday to contrast his investment efforts with those of the central government, which totaled just 10 million, and start his own ordeal : “If they can put 500 million euros on the table tomorrow, the Junta de Andalucía will be there with another 500 million; and even if it was 1,000, we’re going to look for the beans, because the board will be here to put another 1,000 million in,” he said.
The central government has completely different calculations: It claims not to have contributed 10 million to combat the drought in Andalusia, but 170 million, plus a further 2000 million in investments for the next five years. The Ministry of Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge approved on March 15 this year 9.65 million for emergency work on the Guadalquivir delimitation – the only one under state jurisdiction, compared to the other three which depend on the delimitation as intra-community waters Board – and another 5.8 million to complete a double project: the connection of the La Colada reservoir and a drinking water station in the Sierra Boyera (Guadalquivir) to supply 80,000 people. This work had been declared an emergency in one of the board’s drought orders, but was halted at 95% of its completion. To these resources of the Ministry headed by Teresa Ribera are added the investments of the Ministry of Agriculture alone to combat the drought amounting to 156 million and the 1,400 million estimated for the hydrographic delineation of the Guadalquivir within the hydrological planning cycle 2022-2027 , which also include others 600 million for intra-community demarcations. “President Moreno is already wasting his time,” contradicted the government delegate in Andalusia, Pedro Fernández, this Monday, who stressed that several of the works included in the first decree of 2020 have still not been carried out.
In any case, the irrigation companies claim that the problem does not lie in the lack of infrastructure, but in the lack of control of the irrigation. “There are works that are necessary, but others will only serve to further overexploit some pools. In the Guadalquivir, which has a structural deficit of 300 cubic hectometres, this deficiency will never be filled no matter how many reservoirs are built, says Ricardo Martín, technician at the Association of Irrigation Communities of Andalusia (CREA). Its president, Eduardo López, considers that the main problem in Andalusia when it comes to water “is not due to a lack of investment, but to climate change affecting harvests”. “The works will not solve it. It is the responsibility of the Board of Directors to put the Andalusian irrigation in order and to stop the promotion of intensive crops in order to favor social crops that create jobs and settle the population on the territory, “says López.
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“An outdated model”
His speech is similar to that of the Social Table for Water – made up of trade unions, environmental organisations, farmers and consumers – which calls for ensuring balanced consumption and redefining the dimension of irrigation with ecological farming and livestock models. “The hydraulic works that the board is asking the state to do are long-term, they mean giving a push forward to preserve an outdated model,” says Luis Berraquero, Greenpeace coordinator in Andalusia. “The water problem is related to the imbalance of its consumption. Andalusia has no water but exports it in the form of fruit and vegetables. Irrigated agriculture has to be scaled back, but for that we have to ring the bell around the cat’s ears,” he stresses.
The board responds to criticism of the irrigation management with the investment mantra. “I wish we had water to feed all irrigation systems, but since water cannot be manufactured, the only solution is to invest to be more efficient, not to waste it, to be able to desalinate and recycle it,” says he spokesman for the Andalusian government, Ramon Fernandez-Pacheco.
“This is a governance issue, but changing inertia costs votes. The board does not care about the environment. That’s my perception,” says Professor Abel La Calle, who also questions Moreno’s abolition of the water cannon. “It is in all the autonomous communities and has a finalistic character, funding small communities so that they can carry out water purification and utility works. It’s an element of solidarity. If it is canceled on the assumption that the market or private initiatives will solve it, it encourages postponing and aggravating a problem that has already cost us a million euro fine from Europe,” he notes, referring to the 12 Million euros fined by the EU’s Court of Justice for failing to comply with European rules on urban waste water treatment. The board justifies the suspension of the water cannon with the “non-execution” that the previous socialist governments of the board made of the funds raised by this sentence.
Water, “hostage” of the Ministry of Agriculture
The decision of the President of the Andalusian government, Juan Manuel Moreno, to include everything related to water policy and water management in the Ministry of Agriculture has surprised ecologists and environmental experts. “It is the last straw that the protection of water is controlled by the sector that is its largest consumer. It is being held hostage by agriculture,” asks Abel La Calle, professor of international law at the University of Almería and chairman of the board of the New Water Culture Foundation. “That gives an idea of how much they trust the new Ministry for Sustainability, Environment and Blue Economy,” says Luis Berraquero, Greenpeace coordinator in Andalusia, ironically.
Berraquero also warns against the construction of golf courses, which the Andalusian government has given priority. “The course was already set in the last legislature with the new property law and the removal of bureaucratic hurdles. What they call “water legislation” is the one that will guarantee the support of their constituents: agribusiness and tourism,” he protests.
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