New era of cooperation for Mar Menor
Two governments come together for the common good
THE POLITICALLY opposed regional and national governments have set up a committee so they can work together with town halls to protect and restore the Mar Menor.
Minister for the ecological transition Teresa Ribera and Murcia regional president Fernando López Miras were joined by the mayors of Murcia, Cartagena, Torre-Pacheco, Mazarrón, San Javier, San Pedro del Pinatar, La Unión, Los Alcázares, Fuente Álamo de Murcia and Alhama de Murcia.
The minister admitted that the committee is principally of ‘symbolic’ value but insisted it would ‘show their willingness to work together to resolve problems’.
Sr López Miras claimed this inter-administrative committee will ‘ensure a better future for the ecosystem’, which has seen mass die-offs due to oxygen depletion caused by fertilisers.
He assured they would ‘work together based on dialogue’, following years of acting at loggerheads, and ‘start a new era based on understanding’, using ‘a shared route map, which is a guarantee to speed up the recovery of the Mar Menor’.
For the initially agreed fouryear period, the committee will meet at least once a year or when requested by its members, and can deploy work groups to cooperate with measures being carried out by any of the administrations involved.
These include the plan of priority actions for the Mar Menor, approved in November 2021 with a budget of €484 million.
Sra Ribera highlighted plans including a declaration of environmental interest for the lagoon and 10 tactics to tackle pollution where it originates using nature-based solutions and science.
Meanwhile Murcia has invested over €60M over the last four years in water treatment and flood prevention infrastructure and removed 34,000 tonnes of biomass in the last two years.
And more than 9,000 hectares of illegally irrigated farmland have been disconnected in the area, added the minister.