UNDER REGISTRATION

Updated Thursday, February 1, 2024-00:04

The self-absorption of separatism with its particular interests has been diverting attention from the real problems of the Catalan population for years, which is suffering from a prolonged drought aggravated by a lack of foresight and which, from today, will most likely force water to be restricted to six million. of people. The declaration of an emergency situation, which will affect the metropolitan area of ​​Barcelona and part of the south of Girona, is an unprecedented measure in Catalonia: redu

The maximum consumption will be 200 liters per day per person, in addition to limiting water in swimming pools, irrigation and agricultural activities, among others. Over months,

The scarcity of water has spoiled numerous crops and caused million-dollar losses

, after the necessary initiatives to alleviate the problem have been put on hold for more than a decade, the same one in which the

processes

has hijacked Catalan politics and, to a large extent, that of all of Spain.

The measures of the current Government, which plans to invest more than 2.4 billion until 2027, come very late, given that a crisis like this was perfectly foreseeable and one of the richest regions of Spain should have been able to stop it sooner. Catalonia only has two desalination plants and the last one was built in 2009, when the tripartite government of

Jose Montilla

. In 2022, barely 35% of the budget available for water in the community was executed, whose sometimes obsolete pipes - a common problem in many places in Spain - accumulate leaks of 134,000 million liters per year. The Generalitat now considers it urgent

build new infrastructures and expand existing ones to desalinize, purify and regenerate

water, but the new works, to which the central government contributes 435 million euros for the desalination plants, will take years to bear fruit.

Meanwhile, the situation in the countryside, which now also affects Barcelona, ​​is already unsustainable, after 39 consecutive months with below-normal rainfall and losses that have reached 80% of the crops this year in some areas of Girona. As we emphasize today in

Paper

,

drought is not an unexpected catastrophe, but a structural problem exacerbated by climate change

and that will especially affect countries like Spain.

The years that separatism has lost have caused irreparable damage and have contributed to the divisive policy and broken bridges that now supports the Sánchez Government, which

hinders the confidence necessary to face a common problem

-Andalusia and other communities also suffer from it- and it will continue to worsen. Great agreements, prevention, solidarity between regions, science and technology are tools that cannot be abandoned again due to identity politics.

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