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Disaster in Donana: WWF Wants Responsibilities Established

April 27th, 1998



Madrid- WWF considers that the toxic spill produced by the Swedish-owned conglomerate Boliden at the Donana Natural Park is one of the worst environmental disasters ever to happen in Europe.  As a consequence, the Secretary General of WWF/ADENA, Mr Juan Carlos del Olmo, is asking for an urgent meeting of the Patron Board of the Donana National Park, and is also requesting that the government declares an environmental catastrophe in the region, provides more coordination in relief efforts and also that the State Attorney's office establish clear responsibilities.

The moment the news of the spill was out, Mr. del Olmo visited the area.  His description of the situation there is chilling: "Some 5 to 8 million cubic meters of toxic mud spilled from the waste dumps of Aznalcoyar, on the heads of the Guadiamar river.  The Guadiamar has been blackened for about 40 kilometers and to a width of some 200 meters in each side.  There have been massive deaths of fish and invertebrates. We fear that these dead animals might be eaten by others throughout the park and that the tragedy will spread to an even larger area.  The first thing to arrive was a fast-flowing stream of very acid toxic water; it was followed by a black and viscous length of acid mud loaded with hydrocarbons and heavy metals.  The consequences of this environmental disaster are unmeasurable."

Containment plans had foreseen the possibility of directing the flow to the Guadalquivir river, but the toxic mud has moved with such strength that the containment walls have been broken.  The Natural Park has been terribly affected. But not only that: the 'emergency' basin that has been chosen to dump the mud on the Guadalquivir is in itself very valuable.  The best population Spain has of the purple gallinule (a bird) lives there.  This is not to count the loss in biological diversity. In addition, the damage done to agriculture is unmeasurable: enormous extensions of fields have been covered by a thick toxic layer.  "To make matters worse -says Juan Carlos del Olmo- today we are expecting to have one of the highest tides of the year.  I fear that the high waters will push the toxic waste further towards the park."

WWF/ADENA believes that the Industry and Environment Council of the Andalusia government and the Guadalquivir Hydrographic Confederacy (and thus the Ministry of the Environment as well) are clearly at fault.  Their responsibility in this disaster is even greater since the risk situation has been formally established since 1995.  Yet, the legal action that was to prevent this disaster was delayed because the court handling the case is overloaded with work. 

On top of that, it is unbelievable that the toxic lagoon that spilled was actually inspected only a month ago. WWF/ADENA warns that there are no adequate means to fight against the disaster and, also, that there is not sufficient coordination among the authorities of the Natural Park and those of the National Park.  The lack of basic understanding has been made evident by the attitude of the Minister of the Environment, whose sole concern was to prevent the waste from reaching into the National Park and showed no preoccupation whatsoever about the impact on the Natural Park.  WWF/ADENA cannot accept that the person that is politically responsible for the Spanish environment does not understand that political boundaries do not mean a thing in this kind of environmental disaster and that the National Park is indeed affected by everything that happens around it. A group of experts from Sevilla visited the area to look at the impact.  They have described the flow of waste as "a length of ph2 that kills all aquatic life."  This description was expressed however, before the second wave of even more toxic muds arrived.

According to Juan Carlos del Olmo, "the losses will be extraordinary and Donana will be affected for a long time. Whatever remains of the toxic waste will be moved around every time it rains and it is quite probable that the aquifer has already been affected.  All of this is going to force authorities to change policies and management in Donana. This is why I'm calling for an urgent meeting of the Patron Board of Donana National Park, of which WWF/ADENA is a member.  We will have to set up colossal recuperation tasks; an incredible amount of contaminated soil must be removed and taken elsewhere.  It is clear that the company responsible must pay for the damages and restoration."

WWF/ADENA considers that this catastrophe provides a good opportunity to begin an ambitious recovery programme for the entire Guadiamar river, to reduce its levels of pollution and recover the forests surrounding it, so that a real ecological corridor can be built to prevent the slow suffocation of Donana.  This corridor would help besieged species of the area like the Iberian Lynx to perhaps finally make a recovery.

CONTACT:
Carlos Vallecillo,
+34 91 308 23 09 or 23 10.