The drought in Andalusia is already having an impact on the regional economy because of the effects on agriculture, in particular the drop of one percentage point in Andalusian GDP, according to the president of the autonomous government
The Spanish region of Andalusia, on the border with the Alentejo and the Algarve, is experiencing an “extreme situation” of drought, said the president of the autonomous government on Thursday, calling for European aid and insisting on the transfer of water from Portugal.
“We are in an extreme situation. It’s not about being alarmed, it’s about being realistic,” said Juan Manuel Moreno (aka Juanma Moreno), speaking to the Drought Experts Commission set up by the regional government (Junta de Andalucía).
Water storage in some areas of Andalusia is below 15% of capacity, after months of rain shortages, and 500,000 people in the region already have limited supplies, and if rainfall levels don’t change, there will be restrictions on human consumption in major cities (such as Seville or Malaga) before the start of summer, said Juanma Moreno.
Andalusia is also already preparing all the ports in the region to “in case of extreme need” transport water by ship from other points (which it did not specify), introduce it into the supply network and thus guarantee the supply to the entire population, he added.
The president of the Junta de Andalucía recalled that the region, as well as being one of Spain’s and Europe’s biggest tourist destinations in the summer, with coastal towns tripling in population, is also the country’s “biggest agricultural powerhouse” and “produces food for 500 million people” in various countries.
According to him, the drought in Andalusia is already having an impact on the regional economy because of the effects on agriculture, in particular the drop of one percentage point in Andalusia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Juanma Moreno announced the approval of a regional decree on January 29 with 50 million euros in direct aid for farmers and a further 150 million for structural works related to water management, stressing several times that the drought experienced by the autonomous community cannot be solved simply with measures for an immediate response to the current emergency, but is a structural problem.
It was in this context that he called for European funds to be channeled to the region specifically for works related to water management infrastructures and for the central government of Spain to be more involved, advocating more transfers and transfers between Spanish rivers, but also that transfers “between countries” be studied, namely from Portugal.
Acknowledging that “all of this is complicated” and “requires the consensus of the Spanish government”, currently led by the Socialists, Juanma Moreno, who is from the Popular Party (PP, right), said that it is necessary to “put all possible formulas on the table”.
This is not the first time that Andalusian leaders have talked about the possibility of asking Portugal for water, which would depend on contacts between the governments of the two countries.
Last December, Juanma Moreno even said that the regional government was closing in on a project to bring water from Portugal.
At the time, Lusa contacted the Portuguese Ministry of the Environment and Climate Action about this project, and a source from the press office replied that “relations with Spain must follow what is defined by the Albufeira Convention” (which regulates the management of rivers shared between the two countries).
“We have not been informed by the APA [Portuguese Environment Agency] of any proposal from Spain,” he added.
The Spanish government, through the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge, also said in December that because of the fall of the Portuguese government there would only be meetings under the Albufeira Convention after the national elections and the formation of the new executive in Portugal, in response to questions from Lusa about contacts between Madrid and Lisbon related to Andalusia’s claims.
In addition to Andalusia, Catalonia (another Mediterranean region) is also facing a drought that the regional authorities say is of unprecedented proportions due to the lack of rain for 36 consecutive months.
Water reserves in the Catalan river basins managed by the regional government, which cover the metropolitan area of Barcelona, Spain’s second largest city, are at 16.5% of capacity, according to figures released this week, and the autonomous executive estimates that they will fall below 16% by the end of this month, which will lead to the declaration of an “emergency situation”, with increased restrictions on consumption.
On November 21, Barcelona and 200 other municipalities in the Catalonia region entered a “pre-emergency” situation because of the drought, with restrictions on water consumption affecting six million people.