From crusading to save a disappearing lagoon by guaranteeing one’s legal rights to building treehouses to reintroduce bat populations, environmental activists in Spain are doing what it takes to protect local waterways from pollution and biodiversity loss.
Europe’s largest saltwater lagoon, the Mar Menor in Spain, is slowly being polluted by pollution from intensive agriculture and livestock, old mining and tourism infrastructure, and overdevelopment. However, the irony is that on paper it is protected by many environmental laws.
Five years ago, lawyer, professor and local activist Teresa Vicente became convinced that the only way to effectively protect the Mar Menor was to ensure its legal status as a person.
He led a historic campaign supported by thousands of protesters that led to the passage of his proposed People’s Law (a provision allowing citizens to propose legislation to Parliament). In September 2022, the Spanish Senate adopted it. It was the first time in Europe that an ecosystem had the right to protect its species and habitats and protect itself from harmful activities.
“The smell of rotting plants has intensified”
In the Spanish province of Murcia, we met Teresa and environmental lawyer Eduardo Salazar Ortuño at the Mar Menor lagoon. The smell of rotting vegetation grew stronger as we reached the shores of the lagoon as they drove us to an area near the Rambla del Albujon. Straight ahead was a great expanse of pale waters. Eduardo explained to us that this color is due to the destruction of all underwater plant life.
Teresa grew up near the lagoon and now finds it almost unbearable to see.
“I want to cry every time I come here. At the same time, a strong spirit comes within me to fight, to prove that Mar Menor is right,” he told L’Observatoire de l’Europe.
“Everyone is Mar Menor – because we are nature”
He claims that the lagoon is now legally a legal entity.
“Mar Menor is a living being, a human being. This is a defensible topic. But in itself, in this case, it means that we are all Mar Menor, because we are nature. »
In April 2024, Theresa won the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize for her work, often described as the “Green Nobel”.
Eduardo said three legal cases are pending in court with Mar Menor’s new legal status.
“The rights of the Mar Menor (now) face the rights of the owners around the Mar Menor. When we appeal to the court, one of our rights is placed before another right. It’s not an object that doesn’t want to get dirty, no, it’s a person that doesn’t want to get dirty. »
Companies dumping salt water into the lagoon were fined
Although the pollution of the lagoon continues, positive changes have been observed. Earlier this year, companies that dumped salty water from desalination plants into the lagoon were fined more than two million euros, and the Spanish government increased its budget to clean up the effects of the pollution.
Teresa’s campaign began after the ecological collapse of 2019, when fish, shellfish and underwater plant life were virtually wiped out due to severe eutrophication.
Eutrophication occurs when green algae grow unchecked, fed on excess nitrates from fertilizers. They block light, inhibit plant growth and oxygen production. In August 2021, five tons of dead fish were washed ashore.
Eduardo Salazar Ortuño explains: “The collapse, you can imagine that there were a lot of fish on the shore here, they wanted to have oxygen to breathe. And before the fish, 80% of the flora disappeared! 80%! »
Ramón Pagán, another environmentalist and president of the local residents’ association, said he fears it could happen again this year, as recent heavy rains have washed large amounts of nitrates into the lagoon.
He took us to the once bustling town of Los Nietos on the edge of the lagoon. Tourists no longer go there because the beach is brown and muddy, and the air smells of rotting plants. Many houses are empty and several restaurants are closed.
Returning the bats to Blanca
80 kilometers to the northwest, the town of Blanca is located on the banks of the Segura River. Local environmentalists are trying a different strategy to protect the waterways: They want to bring back the bats that once lived here.
Bats play an important role in ecosystems because they control insect populations, pollinate plants, and disperse seeds. The bats once lived in caves along the cliffs near the river, but their population disappeared when rockslides destroyed the caves about 20 years ago.
Neftalí Escribano, the European ambassador of the climate pact, organized a workshop in June to make wooden bat boxes to hang on trees near rivers to attract bats to Blanca.
Be water wise
The European Observatory and the European Commission are joining forces to promote the #WaterWiseEU European Water Wise campaign. Our Water Matters series and EU campaign aims to raise awareness of the growing pressure on Europe’s water systems and the need for sustainable water management. Water Matters will look at a variety of water-related issues, emphasizing the importance of protecting nature and ecosystems, which are an integral part of the water cycle. Through engaging content, the European Observatory and the European Commission hope to inspire individuals and communities to be #WaterWiseEU.