PINAR DEL REY: THREE VIEWS

Over 500 residents of the Campo de Gibraltar and Gibraltar took to the streets of San Roque on Sunday to march in the defence of the Pinar del Rey. The 200-year-old woodland covering over 360 hectares is under threat from government proposals to run part of the future A-7 dual carriageway through the southern corner of the area’s vital green lung.

The demonstration was staged by Verdemar – Ecologistas en Acción who from the start have led the opposition to the road. For the first time all the political groups at San Roque town hall backed the protest which was strictly non-political so that it could be supported by all.

The environmental impact report (DIA) produced by the Ministry of the Environment has proposed that the motorway would be carried over the southern corner on a viaduct over 300 metres long with just one support point. It would also have acoustic panels and plants surrounding it to lessen its environmental impact.

However both the ecologists and residents want the road to be kept away from the woodland. Verdemar admits the problem is a difficult one but suggests the road should go further to the south so as to avoid the valuable water resources of La Alhaja. Ahead of the protest the Ministry of Public Works promised it would study the situation but whether that was in the hope of stalling the demonstration or is a genuine effort to find a solution only time will tell.

Local activist Ángela Aguilera addressed the crowd declaring it was important that they fought to save the Pinar for their children and future generations. She accepted that some improvements to the infrastructure were necessary but added that they should not be carried out at a cost to the Pinar or by destroying the environment – “This is not progress.”

Now for three views on the Pinar del Rey:

Mary Finlay – British resident:

“As a resident of this beautiful area El Pinar, I commend Angeles the activist for her grip on the situation and can only say that it is a fight we must all support, even if we are not regular visitors. Complacency will only lead to central government riding roughshod over us - again - because this area has been used and abused for decades. This road must not go through the Pinar- even the edge- because it demonstrates their complete indifference to the inhabitants and their right to a natural park, clean air and a place which for so many is the only way of escaping high rise living - imagine the uproar in Madrid should the Dehesa de La Villa be threatened in this way. The natural consequence to this would be more urbanisation along the route, not necessarily residential either- more industrial parks, all crowding and putting more pressure on an environment that is heavy with toxic industries and lacking controls on effluents and emissions and all in the name of employment for the Campo de Gibraltar. How much more does this area have to accommodate?”

Lyana Armstrong-Emery – spokesperson Friends of the Earth, Gibraltar

“As you know there was another demonstration held in San Roque yesterday to which members of Friends of the Earth attended. Pinar del Rey has been enjoyed by Gibraltarian families for many years. It is a place of great beauty and tranquillity in the midst of the ever increasing surrounding industrialised and populated areas. It would be a great shame that in this time of economic recession were more people are finally realising the importance of going back to basics and enjoying what nature has already given us that we now destroy it. Friends of the Earth, Gibraltar are seriously concerned about the erosion of yet another green area. We support other environmental groups as well as the residents from the surrounding area in their campaign to stop the motorway being built through it. There appears to be a constant development programme that lacks respect for our environment and its people and we need to stand firm against it.”

Fabian Picardo – Gibraltar Opposition GSLP MP

“I will not get involved in telling our neighbours what they should or should not do in terms of urban or rural planning; but certainly any steps which deprive families of a natural environment and the area of a ‘green lung’ such as ‘El Pinar are clearly negative and to be resisted.”

So what’s your view?

THE AIR THAT YOU BREATHE

On Sunday May 24 there will be a major demonstration in San Roque against the planned A-7 Algeciras to San Roque dual carriage that will cut through the Pinar del Rey. It will start at noon outside of the church in the calle San Felipe then make its way to the Alameda.

The Pinar del Rey is a 200 year old precious woodland that was first planted by the Spanish Navy. It covers 338 supposedly protected hectares that are home to flora and fauna and valuable water aquifers. The proposal is to build a flyover across a section of the Pinar del Rey to carry the motorway that will be used by heavy vehicles travelling to Algeciras port and the industrial zones of the bay.

Not only is the Pinar del Rey an important environmental zone it is also used as a leisure area by many thousands of people from the Campo de Gibraltar and Gibraltar itself especially during the spring and autumn months.

However even for those who have never visited the Pinar and live in the area it plays a major role in their lives. The woodland is a vital green lung in the heavily industrialized bay area – a zone that has amongst the highest number of cancer and breathing related deaths in Spain. Destroy the Pinar and you destroy the quality of the very air that you breathe.

Although the protest is organized by Verdemar – Ecologistas en Acción it is fully supported by the new Partido Popular administration at San Roque town hall but will be a strictly non-political event that can be and should be supported by all who live in the Campo de Gibraltar, Gibraltar and beyond who are deeply concerned about our environment.

So if you care about the air that you breathe the answer is simple – ¡Pinar Si – Autovía No!

PINAR SI, AUTOVÍA NO

If there are demonstrations on people’s minds today they will be for May 1 when people will take to the streets to voice their fears over job losses and the threat of unemployment.

So here’s a date for your diary – May 24.

On that day the people of San Roque and the wider Campo de Gibraltar –indeed Gibraltar itself – will be taking to the streets to demand that the new A7 dual carriageway does not cut through or come near the Pinar del Rey.

The Pinar del Rey is a 200-year-old woodland, a protected zone in San Roque that is home to a rich mix of flora and fauna plus valuable water aquifers. More important still it is the green lung for the entire Campo de Gibraltar area which houses heavy polluting industries that carry a high mortality rate from cancer and breathing illnesses in their polluting wake.

Now the government in Madrid has swept aside environmental fears and has approved plans to bring the motorway carrying heavy goods traffic for the port and industrial zones right through the corner of the woodland. A green zone that is used by thousands of people from the Campo de Gibraltar and Gibraltar to relax at weekends especially in the spring and autumn months.

Verdemar - Ecologists en Acción along with many residents of the area have been fighting these proposals ever since they were made public. Sadly the former socialist-led administration at San Roque town hall sat on its hands but the new Partido Popular controlled administration has joined the campaign to stop the road.

Now I am too long in the tooth to believe that the politicians were and are doing other than suits their agenda. The socialist town hall did not want to cross the PSOE government’s plan and the Partido Popular is only too happy to put a spoke in the government’s heavy lorries wheels. Whatever! What is important is that now there is a united front of town hall and people against the road plans.

So on Sunday May 24 a politically independent protest will be held in San Roque against the dual carriageway which everybody can support. It will leave from the main church and make its way to the Alameda at noon. If you live in the Campo de Gibraltar it’s vital that you add your support - because not only is the Pinar at risk – so too is your future health and that of your children and their children too!

STICKING IT TO SAN ROQUE TOWN HALL

On Saturday Ecologistas en Acción – Verdemar took its campaign to save the Pinar del Rey to San Roque town hall’s door – literally. Around 30 members of the environmental organisation in Cádiz posted stickers demanding ‘Pinar Si – Autovia No’ on the imposing wooden door.

Verdemar says it intends to fight on against the proposed road scheme that would endanger the 200 year old woodland, which is a vital green lung for the Campo de Gibraltar region and is home to important water aquifers. The ecologists stress that the road is not needed by the residents. It vows to take every legal action possible to stop the spending of public funds on a project aimed solely to meet the needs of heavy industry.

The environmentalists are convinced that socialist senator José Carracao and San Roque town hall are carrying out a campaign to stifle public protest ahead of a decision being made in Madrid to go-ahead with the road project. They also fear that in its wake land that is now protected will be opened up for development and the valuable environment of the Pinar del Rey will be destroyed.

Whilst Verdemar has vowed to demonstrate and take legal action to stop the road it has also called on all the political parties in the Campo de Gibraltar to state publically their policy on the road scheme.

Indeed this is not just an issue for environmentalists. The Pinar del Rey is vital for all of us who live in the Campo de Gibraltar. It is the weekend leisure ground for thousands of families in the Campo de Gibraltar and Gibraltar itself. Verdemar speaks for us all – but do our elected representatives?

PINAR DEL REY: SAVE OUR GREEN LUNG

As I wrote this week’s news I came across two items on the 200-year-old Pinar del Rey in San Roque. On one hand the government in Madrid wants to drive a motorway through the 338 hectare protected green zone and then the regional government in Sevilla intends to include it as a Puerta Verde for the enjoyment of local people. Sadly the two ideas do not sit happily together.

For its part the environmental group Verdemar says its protests will continue over the plans to build a new stretch of the A-7 through the heavily wooded zone of the Pinar del Rey, an ecological gem with valuable water aquifers.

The main purpose of the road is to improve access to the port in Algeciras and the bay zone. Whilst Verdemar recognizes that the port is of major economic importance to the region it argues it cannot be seen in isolation. Its existence has to be balanced with the wider needs of the Campo de Gibraltar and its residents and these are not best served by the destruction of the environment.

If the road goes ahead then the noise from the traffic will be heard throughout the higher parts of the Pinar woodland. In addition fumes from the vehicles will damage the environment and trees in that zone. Furthermore the pillars needed to support the road will cause irreversible harm to the aquifer of the Fuente de la Alhaja.

Hence Verdemar is calling for the project to be dropped and says it will mount protests till that objective is achieved. I for one will support them in this action and I know many other residents both in the Campo de Gibraltar and Gibraltar itself feel the same way. I suspect the officials at San Roque’s tourist office must be tearing their hair out as this most beautiful and unspoilt part of the municipality faces destruction.

So it is ironic that at the same time as the Pinar faces the threat of the new A-7 the regional government’s Cádiz environment delegation is proposing it should be included in a new green corridor, the Puerta Verde of San Roque.

It would cover an area of 10.7 kilometres running from the Puerta Verde of La Línea, the Molino de Fuego to the Pinar del Rey. The idea is it should be a leisure zone for local people at weekends and during the holiday periods.

The project comes in two phases and the delegation wants the nearly 700,000 euros scheme to be operational in 2010 and would include a footbridge over the present A-7.

The objective of this praise worthy scheme is to create a car free zone, where the environment and scenic beauty is preserved and that would act as a break on urban development. Indeed the very things that the A-7 motorway through the Pinar del Rey would destroy because it is also feared that in its wake would come construction projects as the protected wood is opened up.

It is important that the people of the Campo de Gibraltar stand up to protect the Pinar del Rey. In an area where black lungs and cancer deaths are all too frequent thanks to the heavy industry it is vital that this green lung is preserved. If the Pinar dies – then so too does a part of us, literally!