Ebro water transfer

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The Ebro water transfer is a project to divert parts of the water from the Ebro River in northern Spain in order to irrigate the arid south of Spain. The project met with great resistance from many activists and population groups.

Geographical location

Colored: The region around the Ebro and its tributaries. Cities far in the south of Spain should be supplied with its water.

The Ebro runs in north-east Spain. The water of the Ebros comes from the mountains of the Sierra de Hijar and flows from there through the Aragonese capital Zaragoza . The water should be brought to the tourist regions around Valencia , Murcia and Almería in order to be able to better supply the arid regions of the country.

The plan

With the help of a canal system, 1.1 trillion liters per year should be channeled south from the Ebro. The cost of the project should be around 20 billion euros. Proponents of the plan argue that this is acceptable in relation to the annual flow of 17.3 trillion liters. The main recipients of the water transfer should be the regions in the south and east of the country, especially Valencia, Murcia and Almería.

implementation

In 2000 the Spanish government presented the national water plan . This stated that the Ebro water transfer had to be implemented by 2008. Environmental activists and citizens of Aragon, who see the river as an important part of their homeland, responded with protests. In 2002, Spain submitted documents to the EU to present the project to the European Parliament and put it to a vote. The EU did not support the project as it was at the time, as it violated environmental regulations and EU structural fund regulations.

In 2004 Spain's socialists, who were the strongest party in Spain at the time, stopped the water plan decided by the conservatives. Instead, the socialists want to solve the problems by desalination of seawater .

A drought in Spain in 2008 forced Barcelona to import water from Marseille by tanker , so that calls for a new water plan arose. As a result, thousands of people took to the streets in Aragon and Barcelona against such a plan. The implementation of the billion dollar project is not in sight due to difficulties with the EU, the tense financial situation in the country and massive protests among the population.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ebro description, pictures and sights on the river . In: Travel to Spain . July 1, 2015 ( Reisen-nach-spanien.com [accessed June 4, 2017]).
  2. ↑ Spain's water problem: The new "Ebro battle" . ( tagesspiegel.de [accessed June 4, 2017]).
  3. ^ Written inquiry - The Ebro water transfer project in Catalonia, Spain - P-2850/2002. Retrieved June 4, 2017 .
  4. ↑ Reiner Wandler: Spain stops water transfer . In: the daily newspaper . ( taz.de [accessed June 4, 2017]).
  5. ↑ Gaele Rousseau: Iberian rivers. Retrieved June 4, 2017 .