Itoiz

1994/06/01 Estonba Mintxero, Mikel Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Hidrologia

What else is needed for institutions to stop infrastructure work?

This is the question we ask those who remain interested and concerned about everything related to the Itoiz reservoir.

The last impetus I lacked when writing this opinion piece was the attitude shown by the IUCN organization, which brings together most environmental groups from around the world in recent days, against the Itoiz reservoir.

In addition to the serious and scientific research carried out by SEO, the ornithological station of Doñana, its 14 biologists and ICONA, we must add the opinions of all the environmental groups of Greenpeace, CODA and Euskal Herria against the construction of the reservoir.

However, it is enough to approach this wonderful environment to detect the enormous environmental impact of the construction of the reservoir. This beautiful pre-Pyrenean Navarrese territory has conserved important native forests, due to its character of transition between the Euro-Siberian and the Mediterranean region, characterized by its great diversity of life.

In addition, the scarce human incidence in the region has allowed to maintain the abundant fauna that also houses the bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus), many of the animal species present in the area have decreased considerably in recent years.

If we add to all this a wonderful landscape beauty supported by the Osa, Iñarbe and Txintxurrenea cencerros, the doubt that the need for the reservoir is sufficient to destroy all this biological wealth is revived.

The worst thing is that it is not clear the use that will be given to the water of the reservoir. The arguments used so far are not serious:

• To say that it will be used for the water supply of the Region of Pamplona makes no sense, since this region already has enough water.
• We have also heard that it will be used to irrigate the lands of the Bardenas, but on the one hand it is not certain that the Navarrese canal that would lead the water from Itoiz to the Bardenas is being built, and on the other hand, it does not seem that the creation of new farms coincides with what the European Union has said. In addition, the transformation of the Bardenas into irrigated lands would beat this unique desert steppe we have in Euskal Herria.
• Finally, the most consistent argument is the use of reservoir water to control the flow of the Ebro river, but is it reasonable to control the waters of the Ebro to destroy this environment? Is it not going to happen what happened in Riaño, that is, that we do not know what to do with the water stored after making the reservoir?

We are facing one of the biggest ecological attacks we have had in recent years and the reasons that have led to justify this infrastructure are not clear.

What else is needed to stop this massacre?