“La Albufera has saved lives, in Saler there has not been a single puddle.” The biologist with years of experience in the Albufera Natural Park, Javier Jiménez Romo, has expressed himself in these terms about the importance of this ecosystem, not only as a green lung and biodiversity niche, but also as a buffer in case of episodes of heavy rains.
However, in the face of a phenomenon as extreme as last October 29, it also becomes the deposit of all the waste that the ravine dragged on its destructive path through the Poyo ravine from Chiva to the same lake. A situation that worries experts and environmentalists due to the state of deterioration in which it has been left.
As Jiménez explains, “the first thing is the human drama, that people can recover their lives little by little, but then a detailed analysis will have to be done because the amount of waste that has arrived has been terrible, a mixture of vegetation , with plastics, dangerous waste and sludge that will be difficult to remove.”
The biologist comments that “the waterspout has collected everything that has destroyed homes, factories, industrial warehouses and vehicles in its path and all of this has ended up in the rice fields, in the Albufera or in the sea; If we were already worried about the situation of the lake before DANA, now it is brutal.”
Regarding the possible contamination of water or sediments, he affirms that there will be time to study the impacts when the human drama is resolved, but that it is sensed that they are of alarming dimensions: “The main thing and what is most worrying are plastics and packaging. with medications and dangerous waste, due to their dispersion and complexity to remove them. “It will be time to plan a complete reset, a specific recovery and action plan for the entire natural park.”
According to Jiménez, “we need the Albufera because it has saved lives, just as we need the rivers and ravines because everything is part of a system and we are all part of that system” and he adds: “The denial of climate change is an aberration and inaction in the face of Climate change is a very serious problem. If we recognize it, we must take real measures to adapt. We had been told decades ago that an event like this could occur, experts have already said that the Mediterranean is in the eye of the hurricane.”
Eva Tudela is an expert and representative of Acció Ecologista-Agró, the entity that manages the Tancat de la Pipa, and comments on her first impression after visiting the Catarroja port area: “At the moment the ditches that are very full are emptying into rice fields. and some also in the Albufera. At first, that would be ideal because if they carry oils or any products it is better that they stay in the land of the rice fields that act as a green filter and not go directly to the Albufera. In any case, the ravines are releasing water towards the Albufera, some of which is admittedly very contaminated in the affected area of Paiporta, Sedaví and Alfafar. That’s why what you find in the northern part of the lake is a sea of reeds mixed with plastics, because the organic waste will dissolve, but the plastic will not.”
According to Tudela, the most complicated thing is going to be removing the waste that cannot be seen at first glance, “such as oil stains from a car, or coolant stains, that are floating around the Albufera, because the amount is overwhelming, if nothing is done The Albufera is going to become a liquid garbage dump for urban waste, especially plastic and its companions.”
For his part, Ignacio Moncho, technician at the Assut Foundation, describes the situation in the Natural Park as “catastrophic, a disaster,” despite the fact that there is still no official assessment and assures that calculating the consequences is “complicated,” but nevertheless , assures that it is recoverable: “It is a reversible system, with a great capacity for resilience, it will take time but it will have to be done. The main problem will be solid waste, plastics, metals, metals and everything that the water has carried, sediments are easier to remove using dredgers.”
#Javier #Jiménez #biologist #Albufera #saved #lives #denial #climate #change #aberration
