[The reporters of the World Wide Times in Teyo, Spain, whose news stories are scanning] “if they take our water from the Thaho River, everything here will become desert”. Abelaned, farm owner with 300 hectares of farm in Murcia, Spain: “What we want to live without water?” In recent years, Spain has experienced severe droughts and many disputes over water resources, and the European basket is facing serious threats.

Spain’s daily newspaper Almería reported on 6 days that the Government had begun a political debate on the “war on water theft”. Spain, the largest producer of fruit and vegetables in the European Union, has brought important water resources to the local population from the Tajo river east to west through the inland areas of Spain, with the introduction of river water from the central to the Levant area in the south-east, making the region the largest agricultural production base in Europe, with a labour force of 100,000 and an annual production value of up to 3 billion euros. However, due to the drought, the water volume of the river has now declined by 12 per cent, and it is expected that it will decline by 2050 and that three quarters of Spain are at risk of desertification. During the summer of the drought, some of the rivers of the Tajo River were even completely cut off, and could be crossed in foot.

The Government therefore hopes to reduce the amount of water transfers by one third in order to raise the water level in the Tajo River, but it is opposed by the Levant area. Local farmers Juan stated that if the Tajo River was not watered, the European market would disappear in winter with white, vegetables, West and Hamwa.

The data show that the reduction in water supply may result in local forced abandonment of more than 12,000 hectares of arable land, with annual economic losses of €137 million and the disappearance of 15,000 jobs. At the same time, the Government has proposed programmes for desalination to meet local agricultural water needs, but the cost of this programme is too high to three to four times the price of water from the Tajo River, to a very different extent from gasoline and to consume large amounts of energy to the detriment of the environment.

Later this month, Spain will take up local elections and the issue of water will be the subject of hot spots, and the political parties that were supposed to have left behind will be “united” in order to form an alliance for the preservation of water interests in the region.

According to environmentalists, Spain should rethink the country’s agricultural model. Greenpeace data show that more than eight fresh water in Spain is currently used for agricultural irrigation, a situation that is unsustainable. It was also suggested by environmentalists that Spain should significantly reduce the supply of land for high-intensity agriculture in order to avoid disasters.

[The reporters of the World Wide Times in Teyo, Spain, whose news stories are scanning] “if they take our water from the Thaho River, everything here will become desert”. Abelaned, farm owner with 300 hectares of farm in Murcia, Spain: “What we want to live without water?” In recent years, Spain has experienced severe droughts and many disputes over water resources, and the European basket is facing serious threats.

Spain’s daily newspaper Almería reported on 6 days that the Government had begun a political debate on the “war on water theft”. Spain, the largest producer of fruit and vegetables in the European Union, has brought important water resources to the local population from the Tajo river east to west through the inland areas of Spain, with the introduction of river water from the central to the Levant area in the south-east, making the region the largest agricultural production base in Europe, with a labour force of 100,000 and an annual production value of up to 3 billion euros. However, due to the drought, the water volume of the river has now declined by 12 per cent, and it is expected that it will decline by 2050 and that three quarters of Spain are at risk of desertification. During the summer of the drought, some of the rivers of the Tajo River were even completely cut off, and could be crossed in foot.

The Government therefore hopes to reduce the amount of water transfers by one third in order to raise the water level in the Tajo River, but it is opposed by the Levant area. Local farmers Juan stated that if the Tajo River was not watered, the European market would disappear in winter with white, vegetables, West and Hamwa.

The data show that the reduction in water supply may result in local forced abandonment of more than 12,000 hectares of arable land, with annual economic losses of €137 million and the disappearance of 15,000 jobs. At the same time, the Government has proposed programmes for desalination to meet local agricultural water needs, but the cost of this programme is too high to three to four times the price of water from the Tajo River, to a very different extent from gasoline and to consume large amounts of energy to the detriment of the environment.

Later this month, Spain will take up local elections and the issue of water will be the subject of hot spots, and the political parties that were supposed to have left behind will be “united” in order to form an alliance for the preservation of water interests in the region.

According to environmentalists, Spain should rethink the country’s agricultural model. Greenpeace data show that more than eight fresh water in Spain is currently used for agricultural irrigation, a situation that is unsustainable. It was also suggested by environmentalists that Spain should significantly reduce the supply of land for high-intensity agriculture in order to avoid disasters.