Jávea news in English from "Jáveaamigos" —Latest Issue of Javea Grapevine — Mayor Chulvi's Blog
Agenda 21 seems to be in abeyance in Xàbia these days so THIS SITE IS "ON HOLD" until it gets going again. Check out Jàvea Amigos for latest news, and use this site as an archive ! Hasta luego ! Chris and the Agenda21 asistentes - April 2022.
Spain declares climate emergency
Jan 23
Spain’s government issued a statement, declaring a “climate emergency” and committed to bringing a draft bill aiming to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. The new government of prime minister Pedro Sánchez has committed to updating the national plan for tackling climate change and to ensuring that “climate change and the transition is the cornerstone for all departments and governmental action”, a spokesperson said. The country’s environment minister explained the move was inspired by the French example. France last summer created a public dialogue panel with the goal of generating ideas about responding to climate change. Last November, the EU Parliament also voted to declare a “climate and environment emergency”, which inspired many national authorities to do the same. From: New Europe
Triana bridge in the Port to remain closed until assessed by technicians
Sept 17th
The Triana bridge over the mouth of the Gorgos river in Xàbia will remain closed to traffic "preventively" until a technical report "reassesses its safety conditions." The bridge was initially damaged in the 2007 floods and had been earmarked for repair. The recent storms had not worsened its condition but brought public attention to cracks on the road surface and worrying condition of the lower part of the structure. The procedure for doing the repairs had been very complicated and the company which had tendered for the repairs, Levantina Ingeniería y Construcción- «breached the contract, behaved very irresponsibly when asking for more money and did not even start the work». Now it is expected that the administrative process that has had to be restarted will be completed shortly. From La Marina Plaza
Worst storm in 140 years
Sept 17th
The worst storm to hit eastern Spain in the last 140 years finally let up on Sunday after wreaking havoc in Valencia, Alicante, Murcia and Almería. The torrential downpours caused rivers to burst their banks, dragging cars and people away, flooding streets, forcing thousands from their homes, and destroying at least 300,000 hectares of prime agricultural land according to early estimates. At least six people have died after being caught by the floodwaters. Military personnel were deployed to the region to help rescue thousands trapped inside vehicles, homes and campsites. Authorities warn that it is still too early to put a precise figure on the damage caused by the most devastating storm since 1879, when floodwaters killed over 1,000 in Murcia and Orihuela, according to the national weather agency AEMET. For full story see: El País in English
Mercadona promote a sustainable food chain
Sept 10
Mercadona and Lanzadera are promoting the development of companies capable of contributing to the development of a sustainable food chain in order to respond to society's growing demand for environmental care and sustainability. Both have launched a Corporate Program aimed at innovative entrepreneurs in the following 5 areas: healthy products, energy savings, disposal and reduction of plastics, urban distribution models and waste management. The Corporate program is designed to complement Mercadona's strategy of innovation from areas outside the company itself, with the aim of offering solutions to large corporations. From: Cope
Spain’s solar-thermal energy generation hits record high
Sept 10
Production of electricity by large solar-thermal plants across Spain hit an all-time high during the first eight months of 2019, responsible for generating 4,269 gigawatts/hour of energy, an increase of 4.1 percent over the previous record set during the same period in 2015. For full story see: Progressive Spain
Xàbia recycles more glass per head than the regional average
August 26
In 2018 Xàbia recycled a total of 1.67 million kilos of glass in the 243 green containers distributed throughout the municipality, equating to about 62kg ber head. This is according to the data provided by Ecovidrio, which empties the igloo containers The amount per head in Dénia was 41.3kg (1.7 million kilos collected last year) and at the provincial level the amount of glass recycled is 21.5 kilograms per head on average. From: Xàbia al Día
More than 100 establishments in Xàbia join the 'Green Flags Movement'
August 26th
More than 100 hotel establishments in Xàbia participate in the campaign 'Green Flags Movement' Organized by Ecovidrio. A motivational campaign that has the collaboration of bars and restaurants that generate the most waste from glass containers, 52%. In addition, it is known that one-third of the glass is recycled in summer, so it is key to increase the recycling rate in these months. For participation in this campaign, Ecovidrio has delivered buckets adapted to the establishments to facilitate the recycling work. As an incentive, the entity has also raffled prizes among the participating establishments and in Xàbia the winner has been Cande Ros Vivens, from the Casa Cande restaurant. For full story see: Javea.com
The brown algae threatening Spain’s southern coast
August 26th
The alga Rugulopterix okamurae, is a foreign species that has attacked the southern Spanish peninsula with unusual virulence, threatening the marine biodiversity of the area and piling up on beaches. The brown algae was identified for the first time in Spain’s exclave city of Ceuta in North Africa in 2015, and in just four years has spread across the entire coast of Cádiz province in the south of Spain, reaching as far as Huelva and Marbella on the Atlantic coast. The fishermen estimate that trammel net ships have lost almost 100% of their catches, while trawlers have lost half. For fulls tory see: El Pais in English
How an ancient Arabic technique saves Alicante from floods
August 20th
In San Juan, a low-lying area of the city, authorities have built a new park with a twist. Called La Marjal, it serves as a typical recreation area and a nature reserve – but its primary purpose is to store, and then recycle, rainwater. In function it resembles an aljibe, a technique developed by Arab residents of Spain many centuries ago, in which rainwater is collected and stored in a kind of cistern underneath a building. La Marjal does a similar job, but outdoors. The water is also then diverted to a nearby treatment plant, where it can subsequently be used to clean streets and water parks. For full story see: The Guardian
Spain is failing to curb food waste
August 19th
When Spain adopted the UN Sustainable Development goals in September 2015, it promised to halve food waste by 2030. But it is far from meeting this target. In 2018, Spanish homes threw out nearly 1.4 billion kilos/litres of food – 8.9% more than in 2017, breaking the downward trend of the previous two years. Hot weather increases food waste, but waste also contributes to rising temperatures. According to the latest climate change report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), spoiled or wasted food – which makes up between 25% and 30% of all food produced in the world – is responsible for between 8% and 10% of all greenhouse gas emissions caused by humans. For full story see: El Pais in English.
Vandalism plagues bike sharing scheme in Xàbia
August 16th
The company Bike2Use that launched a bicycle sharing and rental system a few months ago in Xàbia posted a message yesterday on its Facebook profile in which it lamented the vandalism that their bicycles were suffering. Many users had complained that bikes were not where they were supposed to be. But according to the company this is not because of their lack of diligence but because of a wave of “terrible vandalism” that they have suffered. Which makes it "impossible to achieve our goal, to have bikes available to everyone, all the time in Xàbia." For this reason, from they have made a public appeal for citizen collaboration and that if the neighbours see their abandoned bicycles “in remote places, underground parking, within urbanizations or private areas” that they should contact them so that they can go to pick it up, repair it if necessary and put back it into circulation. From XAD
Teulada and Benitatxell buy water from the Xàbia desalination plant due to the risk of supply cuts
August 16th
Benitatxell and Teulada have anticipated possible drinking water supply problems during the August period of high consumption and have signed an agreement with Xàbia and Amjasa for the purchase of quality water from the desalination plant. Their supply company Hidraqua will purchase between 1,500and 2,000m3 of drinking water. They feel that regional cooperation and collaboration is of paramount importance and that the Xàbia desalination plant is of a size to provide regional solutions. From: La Marina Plaza.
Spain turns its back on coal, as use of the fossil fuel falls to historic lows
July 17th
According to data from the Spanish Electric Network (REE), the use of coal to generate electricity has never been lower than the months of May and June this year. In May, coal-fired power stations contributed just 1.7% to electricity on the Spanish mainland and 2.1% in June. … a number of factors are contributing to coal-generated electricity’s demise in Spain and in several other European countries too. On the one hand, the price of emitting CO2 in the European coal market is very high and now stands above €26 per ton released into the atmosphere. As coal power stations are the worst culprits, they are the most heavily penalized. Though natural gas power stations also release CO2, the emissions are less than half those of coal. In fact, natural gas is picking up the slack from the coal industry in Spain, which means the combined systems that have been underused for years are now feeding into the national grid at historic highs. Sources within the sector indicate that another factor contributing to the demise of coal-generated power is the competitive price of gas. This means the so-called “green cent” tax, which the government abolished for gas but maintained for coal, is also having an impact. for full story see: El Pais in English
Valencia proposes birdwatching tourism to combat seasonality
July 17th
The first conference on ornithological tourism organised by the Patronat de Turisme de València met with the idea of promoting bird watching as a tourism product. They noted that it was important to take care of the resource: the birds and their habitats with attention to the cleaning and conservation of flora and fauna reserves and management focused on improving the positioning of the product. From: Europapress.es
Spain's natural river basins network should expand to protect biodiversity in rivers
July 17th
The Natural River Basins (RNF) was created in Spain in 2015 to preserve the river areas with no human intervention, and which were in a perfect ecological state. A new study reveals the first conclusions of Reservial (2015-2017), a pioneering project in the European framework to assess the efficiency of the RNF in Spain with the participation of all stakeholders. This innovative project seeks to shape a network of water basins of the rivers in Spain to guarantee the protection of river regions with the highest ecological and socio-environmental value, as well as the preservation of water biodiversity. The European eel (Anguilla anguilla), the freshwater blenny (Salaria fluviatilis), the freshwater pearl mussel (Margaritifera auricularia) and the pronged clubtail (Gomphus graslini) are some of the vulnerable species that are not sufficiently represented in the biodiversity catalogue. According to the new study, citizen participation in the systematic planning of conservation could improve the protection of freshwater ecosystems in the country For full story see: Phys.org
UPV students enter a Valencian "barraca" style house in international sustainable housing competition
June 19th
A Valencian "barraca", 80 square metres by 7 metres high will represent the Universitat Politècnica de València in the Solar Decathlon Europe competition that will take place from June 26 to July 28 in Szentendre (Hungary). Solar Decathlon Europe is the most important competition in the world in sustainable and efficient housing. It is driven by the Department of Energy of the United States, and its objective is the design and construction of houses that consume the least amount of natural resources and produce a minimum of waste during their life cycle. The revision of the traditional Valencian building was developed over two tears by a team of 45 students. The result is a totally self-sufficient, modular house, built mainly with wood and insulated with cork, which has a very low energy demand. From Cope.es
Spain prepares for faster and more aggressive wildfires
June 19th
Spain is preparing for fires that are more aggressive and up to twelve times faster, with one of its northern regions set to be the first to deploy new detection methods. Estanislao de Luis Calabuig, Professor of Ecology at the University of León said: “the effects of climate change, with higher temperatures and lower rainfall in our environment, makes the fires more virulent.” According to the Ministry of Agriculture, 30 per cent more land has been burnt during the first five months of this year than the average at that time during the last decade. For full story see: Euroweekly News
Barcelona port is worst in Europe for cruise ship air pollution
June 7th
The port of Barcelona, a city already overwhelmed by mass tourism, has topped a list of 50 European ports for the amount of air pollution produced there by cruise ships, according to a report. In 2017 cruise ships emitted 32.8 tonnes of sulphur oxide (SOx) in Barcelona, according to the research. Palma de Mallorca was the second most polluted, with 28 tonnes…Ships run on fuel oil, which contains about 2,000 times more sulphur oxide than ordinary diesel. The report claims that cruise ships docking in European ports produced 10 times more sulphur emissions than all the 260m cars in those countries combined. In the case of Barcelona, in 2017 cruise ships emitted nearly five times as much SOx as all the city’s cars. For full story see: The Guardian
Elections 2019 - The parties explain their approaches towards developing a sustainable Xàbia
May 26th 2019
The political parties fighting the local elections in 2019 answered questions posed by Para Una Xabia Sostenible based on the EDUSI project
Click on the Blue link to read the full questions and the answers given by each party.
1 There is too much dependence on tourism and construction. How will you diversify the economy?
2 Agriculture and traditional industry are nowadays marginal activities. Should these aspects be promoted?
3 Sustainable mobility
4 How would you revive heritage resources for local culture.
5 Areas like Jávea Park have been neglected
6 We must create close links with the natural environment.
7 Technology to improve relations between citizens and the administration
PP pushes to reactivate Citizen Participation
May 24th
The popular candidate is committed to reactivate Xàbia in all areas, connect the three urban centers and of course, in having citizen participation, «That each technician, professional or neighbor contributes his point of view before an action is very important so that Xàbia is alive». For article and Video of interview (in Spanish) see: Javea.com Ed's note: Podemos at the opposite end of the political spectrum also proposed reviving citizen participation - see question 7.
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PUXS asks the political parties to clarify their position on sustainable development
May 21st
Working from the Fent Xàbia project, PUXS drew up a list of eight questions which is being sent to all the political parties putting up candidates in these municipal elections, with a request to reply by Friday 17 May. Click on link for more details How can we ensure a sustainable Xàbia for the future?
Spain's struggle with Light Pollution
May 5th 2019
Spain’s light pollution problem has become so bad over the past 10 to 15 years that light from the country’s biggest cities can be seen from hundreds of kilometers away. Recent scientific studies have drawn attention to the problem with striking images that capture the light pollution emitted by Spain’s major cities. The only exception is the Canary Islands, which has introduced legislation to protect the skyline.
For full story see: El Pais in English
This Site put "on hold" for 2019
Feb 15th
Due to new priorities of the Editor, and subsequent lack of time, this site will not be updated in 2019, unless anything really significant happens which needs to be translated into English. I will, however, continue to post links to articles about the environment and sustainability which appear in the Spanish Press on our Agenda21 Facebook Page.: Agenda21 Xàbia Facebook.. The site remains as a useful archive on the Agenda21 process in Xàbia, which morphed into Citizen's participation, and which has gradually faded away.
Sorry for the inconvenience. Chris BJ