Brussels, Belgium, March 5, 2002 -- Environmental non-governmental organizations (NGOs) including WWF, BirdLife International and the European Environmental Bureau (EEB) said they welcomed the clear position taken by the European Parliament against unsustainable water management schemes across Europe.
European Parliamentarians meeting in Brussels on Feb. 28 adopted a tough Resolution on the "European Union's Sustainable Development Strategy", which will be sent to Heads of State and Government at the Barcelona Summit (15-16 March).
The Resolution contains a clear expression of concern about "the precedent set by proposals for the development of unsustainable water management schemes across Europe" such as water transfers, and calls on the Commission to "not provide any EU funding for such water transfer projects."
MEPs stopped short of issuing an outright condemnation of the Spanish Hydrological Plan law of 20 June 2001 by removing a specific reference to it that had been voted at last weeks' Parliamentary Committee on the Environment, despite its clear EU dimension and NGOs concerns over it. Nonetheless, NGOs hope that the Parliament's Resolution will send a clear signal to decision-makers in Madrid and in the rest of the EU that this type of water management scheme is viewed as unsustainable by many across Europe.
The Spanish Hydrological Plan is a "water transfer" law, including as many as 863 water infrastructure works and other developments including dams and reservoirs - on top of the piping for the transfers. NGOs believe that the plan could lead to the destruction of many areas requiring protection under EU nature conservation, such as the Ebro Delta.
They estimate that as many as 86 Special Protection Areas and 82 Sites of Community Interest, as designated under the Wild Birds and Habitats Directives are under threat from the infrastructure development required by the plan.
Moreover, they state that the plan will contravene the principles of sustainable water management by substantially increasing water demand in Spain and clearly violating the legal provisions of the EU Water Framework Directive.
Worse still, say NGOs, the plans are likely to be part-financed by the European taxpayer. It is understood that the Spanish authorities are looking for a seven billion Euro cash injection for the scheme from the EU's cohesion and structural funds.
Eva Royo Gelabert from WWF commented: "Although the European Parliament's Resolution does not make a specific reference to the Spanish Hydrological Plan, MEPs have today taken a very clear and responsible stance against unsustainable water management schemes in Europe. We hope that other EU Institutions will now follow suit. The services of the European Commission, by comparison, have had several multi-stakeholder complaints against the Spanish Hydrological Plan for months on their table, but we still don't know what is the European Commission official reaction to it."
Miguel Naveso, BirdLife International, said: "MEPs have recognized the contradictory nature of the current situation in Spain: the EU is seeking to protect precious natural heritage on one hand, yet plans are being made to use EU funds to finance environmentally-damaging infrastructure on the other. The Commission should respond to the European Parliament's demand and refuse to fund unsustainable water projects with European Union taxpayers' money."
"After this clear statement from the European Parliament against EU support for unsustainable water transfer projects, like the Spanish Hydrological Plan, it is now up to the Commission to take a position on this issue before the Johannesburg Summit.", says Stefan Scheuer of the EEB. "The EU's credibility on sustainable development must not be jeopardized and environmental protection laws must not be undermined by financing the wrong projects."
