This Thursday Orihuela hosted the inauguration of the cycle of conferences “Talk”, in which they will be analyzed, thanks to the promotion of the Business Confederation of the Valencian Community (CEV) and the support of Deputation from Alicante, different current affairs of interest for the regions of the province.
The event organized this Thursday, attended by the president of the Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations (CEOE), Antonio Garamendi, revolved around the fundamental role of water in the economic and social development of territories, particularly the Vega Baja region.
The mayor of Orihuela, José Végararesponsible for inaugurating the event, defended that water is a fundamental right and a key element for the economy of Orihuela. He assured that the Transfer Tajo-Segura It is essential to ensure the continuity of economic and social development and required that hydraulic policies are not based on political criteria but on technical aspects. “We must be able to find a balance between economic development and environmental protection,” he concluded.
Relevance for regional competitiveness
After the institutional opening, the first table opened the debate by talking about the importance of water for regional competitiveness and its role in the economic fabric. The president of the CEV, Salvador Navarrocalled for a review and improvement of water governance in our country. “Water must stop being a weapon thrown between political parties and the solution may be to promote a National Pact of the Water. Water must be elevated to the rank of all national and sectoral policies, placing it as a State policy,” he assured.
Miguel Lopez Abadpresident of CROEM, for his part stressed that “it is necessary to improve water governance according to solidarity criteria. There must be a political consensus translated into pacts. The Tajo-Segura transfer is untouchable because three million people in four Spanish provinces have water resources thanks to it. There is also an urgent need to invest more in depurationwater sanitation and modernization of irrigation. And where investments from national administrations do not arrive, let European funds do it. »
Mario Martinez, president of Camera of Trade of Orihuela, agreed with the president of the CEV on the need for a National Water Pact while assuring that the region “would not be as we know it today without the transfer” . We represent 10% of Valencia’s GDP and our economic development goes hand in hand with the transfer.
Marcos Martinezpresident of ASEMVEGA, also regretted that businesses in the region “live with the permanent threat of water supply in sufficient quantity and quality to maintain our productive units”. In this sense, he also expressed his strong support for maintaining the flows of the Tajo-segura transfer and for the search for a National Water Pact. “The main objective is to guarantee a sustainable use And fair of this vital resource. For a territory with a structural deficit like the Vega Baja del Segura, this would generate the tranquility that the economic sectors and society in general need to continue moving forward,” he concluded.
Impact on key sectors
The second table focused on the specific impact of water on key sectors for the economy of our province such as agriculture, tourism and real estate development. Jose Vicente Andreupresident of ASAJA, explained that the restrictions of more than 50% adopted by the Segura Hydrographic Confederation are a clear example of the impact of water scarcity. “With the current water, even half of the winter vegetable plantations in Vega Baja and Camp d’Elx cannot be served. It is a real ruin, not only for the farmer who has already planted and made the economic investment, but also for the consumer, because if there is a shortage of vegetables, prices will increase. In this specific case, I would like to emphasize that it is not just a question of shortage, but above all a lack of planning and foresight. The agricultural sector is once again on the ropes; The lack of political certainty on the Tajo-Segura transfer and these unpredictable restrictions put us on the ropes, and push us to give up. After a year of inaction, we began the hydrological year without stocks and with the harsh reality of losing 50% of the vegetables from traditional irrigation in Vega Baja,” he denounced.
For his part, Salvador Lucaspresident of the Association of Golf Courses of the Costa Blanca, explained that the golf industry does not only work to highlight the benefits it brings to society as a whole in terms of economy and employment, but also its tourist importance as a great value offer for tourism. “We are also working to demolish fake myths that he ignorance product in terms of use of the water present in the fields of golfas is surely the case with other productive sectors. It is very important that the sectors share our concerns and our opinions on an extremely important and transcendental issue for the future and the development of our territory and our society,” he defended.
Christopher Ruizdirector of urban planning TM Real Estate Group and civil engineer, demonstrated that “water scarcity is stifling the growth of our cities and municipalities. “The tragedy is that we cannot meet real demand to ensure rational and sustainable growth, which has undesirable consequences on the economy and society.”
Dialogue with the CEOE president
The day ended with the presence of the President of the CEOE, Antonio Garamendi, who took advantage of his first visit to the region to learn more about its economic fabric and its main needs.
Interviewed by news director Toni Cabot, Garamendi said he was convinced it was possible balance THE requests water resources between regions and key sectors, such as agriculture, urban and environment. In this regard, he assured that “this balance must be based on effective and equitable governance, which integrates the needs of all parties involved”. In this sense, he affirmed that “all Spaniards have the same rights and obligations wherever they live, as the Constitution says. And this also applies to water. Furthermore, we must not forget that the territories which suffer the most from water shortage are the pioneers and those which manage water best.
In this context, a Water Pact, far from ideological considerations and based on rigorous criteria of technical and economic sustainability, constitutes the necessary and urgent solution to this conflict. “A Water Pact would not only resolve the Tajo-Segura transfer conflict, but also guarantee the water resilience throughout the country, through the integration of sustainable water policies and investments in infrastructure enabling equitable distribution of water,” he concluded.
Finally, the president of Deputation from Alicante, Toni Pérezlaunched a call for dialogue: “Solving the great water problem involves investmentbut also for the dialogue. We need to talk to each other more. “If Spain listened, it would know that although we face many challenges, we are also a great country.” In this sense, Pérez emphasized that “all the efforts we are making in a sense effective management water should be heard.
This first day of the “Conversa” cycle benefited from the collaboration of the CEOE, the Chamber of Commerce of Orihuela, the Businessmen’s Association of Vega Baja (Asemvega) and the Business Union of the Province from Alicante (Uepal).
