La Almoraima & Los Alcornocales Natural Park in Danger. (1 Viewer)

[Birdman7]

The Spanish Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Environment. Arias Cañete has said that it is interested in selling off once again the Almoraima publicly-owned estate in Castellar, Cadiz, in order to develop it by building a five‐star hotel, two golf courses and an airfield. The initial sale price is 300 million euroes.

Almoraima has been described as the ‘finest estate in Spain’. It covers some 14 109 hectares and includes 90% of the Los Alcornocales Natural Park, one of Andalusia’s largest biosphere reserves whose environmental, economic and cultural value is incalculable. The park was expropriated from the Rumasa company in 1983 and is now a key source of local income which is in no need of development. The fact that it is used for activities as diverse as mushroom picking, cork growing, eco-tourism, controlled hunting and the role it plays in safeguarding water resources and its rich biodiversity, among other things, give an idea of its importance and value of the area. Developing it, as the ministry plans, would in fact do untold damage.

There are proposals to increase the use made of the estate without jeopardising the benefits it provides for society. Various political and social organisations have expressed interest in using part of the estate to set up a flagship project to involve unemployed people in organic farming. This would generate jobs and tax revenue without damaging the environment and thus undermining the benefits it offers to society while keeping it in public hands.

On March 20 2013 the Andalusian regional government passed a resolution calling on the central government to retain control over the estate in order to block any plans for its commercial exploitation but central government is refusing. The Andalusian regional government has expressed their disappointment that central government is willing to get rid of an area of such great national heritage. The war of words & legalities are currently ongoing.

Spanish Government's Environment ministry plans must surely be inconsistent with EU directives which provide for the protection of areas such as the Los Alcornocales park.

Please help fight against the Spanish Environment Ministry’s greed by signing this petition http://www.change.org/es/peticiones...biente-no-a-la-venta-de-la-finca-la-almoraima

 

[Jon Turner]

As if they need any more Golf Courses. This would be an ecological nightmare.

 

[Barred Wobbler]

Madness.

As if Andalucia needs more golf-courses.

They can't sell the houses on the ones they have already - they can't even find the money to finish building many of them.

And as far as airfields go, it's not so far from Jerez, Seville or even Gib (although I can see why they aren't keen on the latter).

You'd have thought they'd be steering clear of airfields after the Ciudad Real farce.

The wheel must have come off the wheelbarrow they were using to carry the money in a few years ago.

 

[Sangahyando]

Good points.
Spain doesn't need any more airfields, if at all, there needs to be more public transport between them.
As for golf courses, that's just a retarded idea in a climate like that. Why would every bloody hotel need a golf course, anyway? Can't they think of other methods to entertain their customers?

 

[eddy the eagle]

I cannot express my feelings on this a public website as they might offend someone with the language I would have to use.This is in my back yard.The problem is that without a golf course a hotel here would not be financially viable.There is already a modern hotel in Castellar always half empty,and another at the medieaval fortress at the top of the hill.I agree with barred wobbler that houses at the moment are the last thing this area needs and as for an airport Gibraltar can only manage six flights a day so that's not viable without Government finace.
I have already signed the petition and I urge others to do likewise.We have already lost La Janda to heavy agricultural use instead of selling the crown jewels the Spanish Government should be buying places like La Janda reverting them to their former glory for the benefit of the public at large.The only people this type of development would benefit are overseas companies and their shareholders.There are other ways of creating employment in the area that would not be as devastating as these plans.Please sign the protest and save this beautiful unspoilt areaRegards ..Eddy

 

[Birdman7]

La Almoraima & Garoña nuclear plant

I think the best thing we can do for now is raise awareness of the petition however best we can via social media / word of mouth.

I honestly don't understand the flagrant disrespect for the environment the current Spanish PP government is showing. In another example here http://tinyurl.com/qcam7la they are planning to draft a royal decree allowing the reopening of the Garoña nuclear plant in Burgos. In that case, according to the Basque Eguzki environmental group, there are cracks in the barrel, problems in the piping of the cooling circuit and other defects, and in serious need for a refurbishment.

Scary!

 

[John Cantelo]

I raised this issue a while back (http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=268709&highlight=Alcornocales) and was disappointed by the lack of response. So thank you for updating us all on this threat and pointing us to a new petition on the matter. I was taken round this estate - which already has an excellent hotel - some years ago. It was absolutely superb with many birds and, in particular, deer.

 

[Birdman7]

Gibraltar airport

Madness.

As if Andalucia needs more golf-courses.

They can't sell the houses on the ones they have already - they can't even find the money to finish building many of them.

And as far as airfields go, it's not so far from Jerez, Seville or even Gib (although I can see why they aren't keen on the latter).

You'd have thought they'd be steering clear of airfields after the Ciudad Real farce.

The wheel must have come off the wheelbarrow they were using to carry the money in a few years ago.

The current spanish PP Government wouldn't even consider using Gibraltar airport as this would conflict their current disinformation campaign against Gibraltar, used as a smoke-screen divert attention from their numerous corruptions scandals, and without trying to make this sound too political, allow me to share some info on recent news with regards the Gibraltar airport.

Since 1987 Spain successfully excluded Gibraltar from European wide de-regulation initiatives, preventing direct links from Gibraltar to the rest of the European Union (except the United Kingdom), on the grounds that no regulation that somehow recognizes the sovereignty of the United Kingdom over the Gibraltar may be implemented without a previous agreement on the airport.

In 2006 the Cordoba Agreement was an agreement between the PSOE Governments of Spain, United Kingdom and Gibraltar to establish a Tripartite forum for co-operation on Gibraltar which included joint use of the airport and the construction of a new terminal on the Spanish side of the ithmus. In this agreement, Spain agreed that it would cease to seek the suspension of Gibraltar Airport from any EU Aviation measure not yet adopted.

Since coming into power current spanish PP government has since refused to build the terminal on the Spanish side of the ithmus, therefore, reneging on the obligations and commitments it entered into as part of the agreements arrived at in Cordoba in 2006. By seeking to benefit from those parts of the Cordoba Agreement which suit it and not comply with certain other obligations, the Spanish Government would in effect be “cherry picking” from an agreement to which Spain had agreed in its entirety.

Only god knows the true extent of what benefit certain politicians & other businessmen would receive if this sale of land and development goes ahead!

 

[Birdman7]

Almoraima petition

I raised this issue a while back (http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=268709&highlight=Alcornocales) and was disappointed by the lack of response. So thank you for updating us all on this threat and pointing us to a new petition on the matter. I was taken round this estate - which already has an excellent hotel - some years ago. It was absolutely superb with many birds and, in particular, deer.

Hi John,

the link on your original post seems different to the one I had, so I signed both, Everyone please sign both petitions here

https://www.change.org/es/peticione...dium=facebook&utm_source=share_petition#share

http://www.change.org/es/peticiones...biente-no-a-la-venta-de-la-finca-la-almoraima

 

[John Cantelo]

An update on protests etc can be found here www.facebook.com/pages/Almoraima-Pública/195629723954479?fref=ts - from whence the rather good poster (below) can be found.

 

[Barred Wobbler]

Excellent poster John. Thanks for my first laugh on a very dull and rainy morning.