Ecologistas en Acción processed 334 matters in court in 2023
Ecologistas en Acción processed 334 matters in court in 2023- The different federations and local groups of Ecologists in Action have taken a total of 334 cases to court for the protection of the environment, a figure higher than that of 2022 (306 cases), 2021 (286 cases) or 2020 (244 cases).
- Of all these matters that have been pending in courts during 2023, 245 belong to the contentious administrative jurisdiction, 86 to the criminal jurisdiction, for crimes against the environment or territorial planning, and three to the civil jurisdiction.
The Legal Area of Ecologists in Action, made up of dozens of lawyers who in the different territories collaborate with the different federations and local groups of the environmental organization, addresses a growing topic of enormously varied issues that includes practically all environmental aspects. Among them, for example, licenses or urban plans, livestock trails or public roads, waste facilities, authorizations for quarries, macro farms, mining, large energy plants, transport infrastructure, management of protected spaces, crimes against wildlife and poaching, industrial and wastewater treatment plant discharges and urban prevarication, among many other issues.
The year of water
This year, in which the problem of drought derived from the climate crisis is causing multiple social problems, it is particularly important to establish adequate planning of water resources and ensure strict compliance with water regulations. Ecologistas en Acción considers that, many times, not even the administration adopts the appropriate planning measures according to the European and Spanish framework legislation. On the other hand, there are multiple illegal uses and extractions of water by companies and individuals, mainly in the agricultural field, which must be prosecuted in court.
For this reason, Ecologistas en Acción has had to appeal to the courts the hydrological plans of Tinto, Odiel and Piedras, as well as those of the Tajo, Guadalquivir or Júcar. It has also presented appeals against irrigation conversion projects in Trigueros (Huelva), irrigation expansion for berries in Aroche (Huelva), water concessions for the Las Cruces mine in Seville or water concessions in Avila or Maragatería. (Lion). He has also challenged the Murcia flood decree.
In the criminal sphere, Ecologistas en Acción is involved in multiple proceedings for illegal extraction or use of water. Among them, for illegal use of water for a golf course in Ciudad Real, for illegal wells in Sanlúcar la Mayor (Seville), for illegal extraction of water in the area of La Manchuela in Motilla del Palancar (Cuenca), for illegal collection of water in the Turrilla river or in Caravaca de la Cruz, both in Murcia, or due to contamination of the Utxesa reservoir in Lérida or the Jarama river in Madrid. Likewise, the environmental organization is involved in the process for ecological crime that is being followed in the Courts of Murcia for the pollution of the Mar Menor.
