Badajoz has had a problem for a long time. An invasive plant, known as the Mexican water lily, native to the coast of the Gulf of Mexico and included in the Spanish Catalog of Invasive Exotic Species, has invaded the waters of the Guadiana River and the blue mantle that previously separated the two banks of the largest city. of Extremadura, has currently been covered by a green stain. The Guadiana dresses in green, a green patch several kilometers long. And it is not a minor problem, to the point that some time ago a citizen association was created with a name that says it all: Save the Guadiana.
It is not a minor problem nor is it a recent issue. As explained by the Save the Guadiana association, the presence of water lilies was detected for the first time in 1980 and each year it expands between 5 to 6 hectares to the 35-40 kilometers it currently occupies. “Its elimination is going to be a very complicated task,” says the president of the association Juan Fernando Delgado, who explains that it is a plant that takes root in the river bed and the mud below, which makes its removal more difficult. eradication. Given this problem, which increases year after year, on October 15, a meeting between several public institutions will be held in the Government delegation in Badajoz to try to jointly address the actions to eliminate the plant from the river and sign a protocol. Representatives of the Guadiana Hydrographic Confederation (CHG), which has jurisdiction over the waters, the Extremadura Government and the Badajoz City Council will attend this meeting. And, later, for October 19, the Save the Guadiana association has called a demonstration to demand solutions to the environmental disaster that Badajoz is experiencing. “The city deserves a clean and healthy river, not dead as it is right now,” they say from the platform. Its president emphasizes that the protest march is apolitical, it is a day for citizens to demand a way out of the water lily.
It is not the first environmental problem that the Guadiana River has suffered as it passes through the province of Badajoz. Until a few years ago it had another invasive plant, the camalote, a vegetable against which different administrations coordinated to remove it from the riverbed. Actions that have been successful and mean that this plant is practically not seen today in the area of Mérida and Medellín, in the province of Badajoz, where it was most intensely present. “The difference between the camalote and the Mexican water lily is that the latter takes root in the river bed and the mud, making it more difficult to eliminate,” Juan Fernando Delgado tells EL PAIS, who also says that the invasive plant is It benefits from the fertilizers and nitrates used by the surrounding farms.
To seek a consensus so that the administrations can coordinate, the Government delegation in Extremadura sent a letter to the Government of Extremadura and the City Council of Badajoz to seek joint solutions. The Delegation considers that it is fundamental and urgent to sign this protocol between the Guadiana Hydrographic Confederation and the other two administrations to carry out the necessary actions to eliminate the invasive plant, actions that involve obtaining European funds, already requested by the CHG. The Government Delegation recalls that they are waiting for the Environmental Impact Statement (DIA) to arrive in the near future that allows the dredging of the river, a report that they estimate will be positive. He assures that the protocol would not imply an investment for either the Government of Extremadura or the Badajoz City Council. The Save the Guadiana association quantifies that the investment to eliminate the water lily will be in the range of 25 to 35 million euros.
The protocol presented by the delegation emphasizes that the three administrations have powers in this matter, since the State is responsible for the control of invasive exotic species or the conservation and protection of water as a resource, and the Autonomous Community is responsible for the conservation of biodiversity. wildlife and nature in its territory, and to the City Council the maintenance of the channels that run through urban areas.
The Extremadura Government has announced that they will attend the meeting on October 15 with a positive attitude. The general director of Sustainability, Germán Puebla, recalled that the sheet of water is the responsibility of the Guadiana Hydrographic Confederation. “From the regional administration there is always dialogue and even more so when it comes to a problem of the city and the region, about which we are especially concerned and interested in its resolution,” said this regional official.
The Extremaduran government recalls that they already met with municipal officials last March to plan this action. And the Badajoz City Council has also confirmed their attendance at the meeting. The mayor of the city, Ignacio Gragera, added that the City Council also wants to know based on which norm the City Council can collaborate to solve the problem. “We are the first interested in solving the current situation that the Guadiana is experiencing and in collaborating in the fight against the invasive plant, but always within municipal powers,” reported the mayor.
Gragera reproached the Government delegation for the fact that the protocol that they are asked to sign does not refer to the regulations that attribute municipal powers reflected in the text. Furthermore, he understands that it is important to explain to the public that the slowness in resolving the problem has not been the City Council’s fault. The mayor recalled that the council already offered in a meeting in August 2021 to look for shared solutions once the Environmental Impact Statement endorsing the dredging of the river was known, which has not yet arrived. He has also requested that precise data be transferred about the action to be carried out and how this action will affect the city.
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