- “It is the best solution for everyone, the only one that guarantees the future of the environment, of the people, of the region,” said the Vice President of the Government on the agreement reached.
The Vice President of the Government and Minister for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Teresa Ribera, has signed this morning in Seville, with the 14 municipalities in the area of influence of Doñana – Almonte, Hinojos, Aznalcázar, Bollullos Par del Condado, Bonares, Isla Mayor, Lucena del Puerto, Moguer, Palos del Frontera, Pilas, La Puebla de Río, Rociana, Sanlúcar de Barrameda and Villamanrique Condesa, Isla Mayor, Lucena del Puerto, Moguer, Palos de la Frontera, Pilas, La Puebla del Río, Rociana, Sanlúcar de Barrameda and Villamanrique de la Condesa – the distribution of 70 million of line 10 of the Framework of Actions for the Sustainable Territorial Development of the National Park.
“This is the beginning of a complex adventure that will have to continue to be worked on over the coming months and years, but it is the path that we must promote. It is the best solution for everyone, the only one that guarantees the future of the environment, of the people, of the region. Very different actors have been involved, the schedules have been tight, but one thing is certain: on the basis of the will to work together, of the need and the commitment to join efforts, on the basis not only of the best knowledge, but also of transparency, of accountability, of the way of listening, is how we can win this battle against the deterioration that we want to stop”, said the vice-president after having signed the agreement with the mayors and mayorsesses.
This agreement originated in November 2022, when the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) presented the Framework of Actions for Doñana aimed at reversing the environmental degradation of this emblematic area and recovering its ecological functioning. These short and long-term measures were complemented in November 2023 with the Framework of Actions for the Sustainable Territorial Development of the Area of Influence of the Doñana Natural Area. The latter is focused primarily on the social and economic dimensions of sustainability, as a necessary and indivisible complement to the environmental pillar.
In her speech, the Vice President of the Government reviewed the work carried out to date. In the first Framework, the following actions are noteworthy: closure of 1012 wells by the Guadalquivir Hydrographic Confederation; increased control and inspection work, which has led to the reduction of almost half of the illegal irrigation in the areas of greatest pressure on the Park and the ecological and biodiversity restoration of the Finca de los Mimbrales, as well as the geomorphological restoration of the Arroyo del Partido, recovering 100% of its floodplain and making progress in the cleanup and environmental restoration of the riverbed. Also, the sewerage and wastewater treatment actions for the urban centers in the Doñana area, with the construction of the Lucena del Pueblo WWTP having begun, and those of the towns of Matalascañas, Sanlúcar de Barrameda and Burguillos, among others, being in the process of being drafted.
In addition, the minister outlined the steps taken in relation to scientific knowledge, both at the environmental and sociological levels. Of note are the collaboration agreements signed with the University of Seville, the University of Pablo de Olavide, the Spanish Geological and Mining Institute (IGME) and the Doñana Biological Station to deepen knowledge of hydro-ecological processes and to facilitate the monitoring and modeling of the basin.
Regarding the second Framework of Actions, endowed with 350 million and with the direct intervention of nine ministries of the Spanish Government, Ribera highlighted the work carried out in the development of the lines dedicated to the agri-food, livestock and forestry sector; to industry; to training and improvement of employability; to the improvement of the living conditions of seasonal workers and to the line focused on supporting the initiatives of local entities. For all this, MITECO has held constant meetings with all the agents involved, especially with the municipalities.
Starting next quarter, the following calls for proposals, actions and agreements will be launched and implemented:
- Call for grants for best practice projects in the agricultural, livestock and forestry fields.
- Call for aid for agricultural diversification.
- Call for innovation and industrial diversification projects in collaboration with CDTI.
- Actions for the social and labor inclusion of foreign seasonal agricultural workers and other vulnerable groups, in collaboration with the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration.
- Actions to improve the living conditions of seasonal agricultural workers, in collaboration with the Ministry of Housing and the Urban Agenda.
- Agreement with CSIC for scientific monitoring and development of indicators.
We are also disseminating those calls for proposals in which the municipalities in the Doñana area of influence can play a leading role, as has been done with the World Heritage grants and with the call for proposals for Empleaverde of the Biodiversity Foundation, which is part of the MITECO and whose headquarters in Seville hosted the signing of the agreement today.
“Doñana is an ecosystem that deserves the greatest attention, but Doñana is also its people, its villages. It deserves the recovery of activities and economic prosperity compatible with its good state of conservation. In this great program of actions in which the Government of Spain commits more than 700 million, we have wanted to begin respecting the principles of guarantee. To be clear about the objectives, to be always attentive to the concerns, to ensure the greatest consensus, the maximum involvement of the institutions, based, obviously, on the best knowledge, but above all generating an activity that can survive over time”, explained the Vice President Teresa Ribera in her attention to the media.
