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Murcia, Valencia and AndalucÃa join forces to combat drought
The three regions of southern Spain are demanding EU aid to save the Mediterranean forest
The regions of Murcia, Valencia and Andalucía have teamed up to tackle the devastating drought that has been decimating southern Spain for the last two years. These three southern communities have formed a technical working group to deal with the lasting effects of the water shortage and combat the phytosanitary pests that are multiplying as a result.
The drought has caused significant damage to the forests of the Region of Murcia, Andalucía and Valencia, with between and 3% and 6.5% of their trees already lost. The accumulation of tens of thousands of hectares of dead trees and dry scrub has led to a desperate situation, and now the regions are uniting and seeking EU aid to combat the drought.
The Minister for the Environment, Universities, Research and Mar Menor, Juan María Vázquez, together with the Minister for Sustainability and Environment of the Junta de Andalucía, Catalina García, and the Minister for the Environment, Infrastructure and Territory of the Generalitat Valenciana, Vicente Martínez, held their first meeting this Monday October 28 at the Forest Coordination Centre, Carretera de El Valle, where they announced that they have already knocked on the doors of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the European Commission to seek financial funding.
The regions have also promised to promote research programs aimed at preparing the Mediterranean forest for the effects of climate change.
Following the initial meeting, representatives pointed out that both the Spanish Government and the highest European institution have the tools and powers to reallocate economic funds, and one possibility is to use this much-needed money to increase staff for forest management or improve interventions in the health of forests.
The Minister of the Environment from Murcia stressed that there is now "a budgetary effort" on the part of these territories to fight against the drought. "This is something that will not be a matter of months, but of years. We must carry out adaptive forest management that will last forever," he warned.
At the moment, the three autonomous communities are scrambling to find money in their own budgets to implement emergency measures. The Region of Murcia, where 6.5% of the natural tree mass has parched due to the lack of rainfall, currently has 400 personnel on the ground carrying out tasks that Brussels could cover.
Likewise, the Valencian Community has lost 17,000 hectares of forestry land to the drought, while a staggering 25,000 hectares of trees are dead in Andalucía.
"The drought knows no borders between the communities, we must work together to attack the problem," stressed Martínez.
Image: Pixabay
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