Avocado plantations claimed to consume 500 litres of water per second
Credit: Alexis Foto Guevara, Shutterstock
Ecologist group complains that expansion of avocado plantations on dry land ‘steals water’ from 40,000 residents.
The Ecology association, Verdemar-Ecologistas en Acción, campaigning in the Campo de Gibraltar area, made a statement on Sunday August 4 saying that plantations of avocados were robbing local communities of a massive amount of water, affecting 40,000 inhabitants and leaving rivers without ecological flow. The group also accused the Andalusian government of remaining passive on an issue they claim local residents feel ‘unprecedented outrage about at the avocado magnates behind the issue.
The problem the group are highlighting is focused on the Guadiaro River basin and its tributaries, originating in the Serranía de Ronda, and which flows through the Málaga and Cádiz provinces. This is not the first time environmental groups have complained about what they see as a plundering of water in the area. Last year they also took issue with what they claim to be ‘illegal irrigation’ and the almost 400 hectares of native trees cleared along the Guadiaro River.
They say that the increase in avocado cultivation has led to an additional demand of nearly 500 litres per second causing a significant decrease the flow rate of rivers and as well the the local water table.
Representatives from Verdemar-Ecologistas en Acción have promised to lobby the European Parliament into investigating the situation.
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