In the case of the River Aguas, you can make a difference!

The Association ECOCIDIO DEL RIO AGUAS (NIF: G04879367) was registered in February 2018 with the objective of saving the river Aguas and the aquifer that feeds it.

After years of protests, demonstrations and meetings by various groups, we saw that the only solution for taking protective measures was to take the competent Administration (Junta de Andalucía) to the Courts of Justice. Therefore, the Association was born as a tool to undertake the appropriate legal actions.

This process is already under way with the presentation of a prior request to the lawsuit made months ago. We are preparing the case with a prestigious lawyer and, at the same time, the necessary technical reports that will guarantee our success.

David Dene, an ecological activist has had a question asked in the European Parliament, denounced the European Commission, been “heard” by the EU Petitions Committee, and has received agreement on all counts of the failure of the Government of Andalucia to comply with EU directives.

The Earth and communities around the world are often not heard in their struggles for survival. In most cases there is no one to represent them in face of the powerful companies that harm the environment, displace peoples, and destroy livelihoods.

How can we change that?

Strategies that we have used include David presenting the case at the UN Geneva Forum on four occasions. These presentations have been in the context of his work as an expert on Earth Jurisprudence, (UN initiative “Harmony with Nature”), and in his connections with Rights of Nature, Europe.

He presented the case at the International Tribunal for The Rights of Nature, and with Polly Higgins of End Ecocide, (End Ecocide World Café broadcast), and also at the International Symposium for The Rights of Nature held in Quito, Ecuador, and at a Wild Law conference in Australia.

We have created five documentaries.

We are now recognized Internationally as one of the most important cases of ECOCIDE occurring in Europe

In 2017 we came to the understanding that to obtain “concrete” results we needed to use a Spanish Lawyer and demand that the Junta De Andalucia comply with National Spanish laws of environmental protection and management of water resources.

Through friends at the UN Geneva Forum we were able to contact Cristina Alvarez Baquerizo, a reference in Spanish environmental law and author of the books: “The Rights of Nature” (Los Derechos de la Naturaleza, 1986) and “Environmental law” (Derecho ambiental, 1988).

Cristina agreed to take the case and we issued our first demand.

The Junta de Andalusia officially responded to this demand with a 17-point plan for the recuperation of the aquifer. 

We have contested the plan. We are using law and we are demanding instant action. Months have passed and no concrete measures have been taken. Powerful agro-industry companies have planted millions of super-intensive olive trees. These companies are depleting the aquifer Alto Aguas, which feeds the Rio Aguas.

If concrete measure are not taken in 2019, it is possible that by the end of the year El Rio will no longer flow, thus spelling a slow death of endemic species and all bio diversity supported by this corridor of life, Rio Aguas. In short a total Ecocide is on the horizon.

The association, Ecocide of Rio Aguas,  is prepared to take the case to the Courts of Justice in Spain, requiring the Junta de Andalusia to take action for environmental protection of the Rio Aguas habitat (including two Nature 2,000 zones), and to return the aquifer supplying El Rio Aguas to sustainability..  

We have a team prepared to take the case to the court, and we need your help to support our legal actions!

UNDERSTAND THE CASE:

The Rio Aguas provides life giving water to an ecosystem rich in biodiversity and endemic species. The area is unique in Europe, located in the semi-arid / desert climate of Almeria in South Eastern Spain.

El Rio De Aguas is known as “Europe`s last oasis”.  

Living in the Eco village, “El Rio De Aguas”, for the last 28 years, David Dene is an International Environmental Activist and is acknowledged by the UN initiative “Harmony with Nature”, as an expert on Earth Jurisprudence.

HISTORY

In February 2013 David observed a massive and sudden decline of water levels and alerted the University of Almeria and Almerian Cave Clubs asking if they were observing a similar situation.

In 2014 Jose Maria Calaforra of Almeria University declared on local TV, Canal Sur, that super-intensive olive industry was causing a serious depletion of water to El Ri De Aguas.

Ecologists in Action and Groupo Ecologistas  Mediterraneo issued denuncios to the Junta De Andalucia.

David branded the situation as a clear case of ECOCIDE – presented the case with Polly Higgins and over the years has created International awareness of the situation.

Olive trees are irrigated using underground water reserves from the same aquifer that feeds the river`s spring. In just a few years, the river has decreased from an average of 40 L/s to only 13 L/s, and it is still dropping!

NGO’s, Cultural Associations and Jose Maria Calaforra of the University of Almeria have taken the case to the media, arranged meetings with relevant government bodies, raised a question in the Andalucian Parlaiment, organized demonstrations / marches and helped in the production of documentaries.

However, the water authority, Junta de Andalusia, is not acting to stop the environmental degradation in river Aguas. The problem is that Junta de Andalusia has legally permitted powerful agro-industrial enterprises to abstract large volumes of water. These companies are farming super intensive olive plantation, using large volumes of water to irrigate more than 4 million of olive trees. As one of the driest region in Europe, rainfall is less than 200 mm per year, which is not sufficient to recharge the aquifer and sustain these type of irrigation. The overexploitation of the aquifer is estimated to be more than 400%! These plantations have negatively affected both the Nature and the local people, depopulating entire villages and compromising the water supply of towns. Super intensive olive plantations are entirely mechanized and thus, do not contribute to raise employment rates. Cristina, author of the book “Rights of Nature” and lawyer in the case Rio Aguas, has commented: “I have worked with environmental law since 1982. I choose my cases very careful, and this is an important case. The aquifer is drying because super intensive olive plantation have been continuously authorized. However this business is not necessary for neither society nor the nature. Only a few enterprises are getting rich while the local population and the environment are being damaged.”

The spring of river Aguas has had a constant flow in both dry and wet seasons, which is totally dependent on the aquifer Alto Aguas. River Aguas is locate in a Nature 2000 conservational area of Almeria and is a habitat for vulnerable species, such as the Mediterranean turtle (Mauremys leprosa) and the eagle Perdicera (Aquila fasciata). Water is not limited to boundaries. If the water abstraction of the super intensive olive plantation continues, this habitat will suffer an irreversible damage in the following years. But we still have time! Help us preventing Rio Aguas from an eminent ecocide.

DOCUMENTARIES:

1. From Under Our Feet – July 2015

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJM1Cj8zQ34

2. El último oasis - El escarabajo verde – November 2015

http://www.rtve.es/television/20151124/ultimo-oasis/1261120.shtml

3. Every Drop Counts - November 2016

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1GKniiA-QA

NEWS:

Rights of Nature (2017). Ecocide in Río Aguas: case in Almería. http://therightsofnature.org/ecocide-in-rio-de-aguas-case-in-almeria/

Tercera (2017). El Foro de la ONU en Ginebra reconoce el ecocidio del río Aguas. http://tercerainformacion.es/articulo/actualidad/2017/12/20/el-foro-de-la-onu-en-ginebra-reconoce-el-ecocidio-del-rio-aguas

Ejolt (2014) . Enviromental justice organization, liabilities and trade. Mapping enviromental justice. Ending ecocide in Almeria. December 9th, 2014. http://www.ejolt.org/2014/12/ending-ecocide-almeria/

REPORTS:

Holban, I. (2016). On the edge of survival, a report on Paraje Natural Karst en Yesos de Sorbas. http://www.newenvironmentalist.co.uk/riodeaguas/

Calaforra, J. M., Pulido-Bosch, A., Campoy, P., Cortés, A., Gázquez, F., Guirado, C., Guirado, E.,  Navarro, F. (2015) ¿De dónde viene el agua del manantial de los molinos? Revista El Afa No 32 (Sorbas). https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jose_Calaforra/publication/281176387_De_donde_viene_el_agua_del_Manantial_de_Los_Molinos/links/55d9c0a808aec156b9ac8a92/De-donde-viene-el-agua-del-Manantial-de-Los-Molinos.pdf