Staff Reporter
AN Andalucian court has blocked plans to build a gas storage tank in the Coto Doñana National Park.
The ruling against the Petroleum Oil and Gas Spain comes after a decade of legal debate.
Four sub-projects at Saladillo, Aznalcazar and Marismas Occidental did not have the necessary permits to go ahead according to the Supreme Court of Andalucia.
Initial works at these sites were stopped after the Junta de Andalucia took the case to court back at the beginning of 2018.
Over 250,000 hectares of Doñana park have been protected under UNESCO World Heritage status since 2012.
Had the plans gone ahead, 20 kilometers of pipelines capable of extracting more than 8,000 gigawatt hours (gwh) of energy would have been installed.
The Olive Press has campaigned tirelessly so that this pristine natural environment would not be damaged in any way.
Alongside this newspaper, environmental pressure groups Ecologistas en Accion and WWF, have also been instrumental in the prevention of gas extraction in Doñana.
“Industrial activities are incompatible with national parks,” said Ecologistas spokesperson Juan Romero.
“Ecological groups are against hydrocarbons and in favor of renewables. Doñana should not contribute to climate change.”
The park, which sits between Sevilla, Cadiz and Huelva provinces, is one of Spain’s most important reserves, famous for its thousands of migratory birds.
