Sierra Navada Dam Protest

Sierra Navada Dam Protest

LAST UPDATED: 11 October, 2010 @ 11:54 am
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Sierra Nevada dam protest
MARCH: At the Pradollano skiing resort

Sierra Nevada dam protest
MARCH: At the Pradollano skiing resort

MORE than 300 protesters have manned the ski lifts to protest against plans to ‘steal’ more water for artificial snow in the Sierra Nevada.

By Jane Brooke

Organised by Ecologistas en Accion, the group marched against a new dam being constructed high in the national park.

The protesters insist that the project – which is being undertaken to create more water for artificial snow – will seriously deplete the rivers Monachil and Dilar.

“The dam is threatening water supplies for local agriculture and degrading the wonderful Monachil gorge, which is a haven for wildlife and hugely popular for walkers,” explained a spokesman.

The scheme is being undertaken in the run up to the 2015 World Student Winter games, which are taking place at the Pradollano skiing resort.

While it is good for local business, ecologists say it is bad for the park’s fragile environment, which is already in danger from overdevelopment.

They insist that a variety of new schemes are endangering the area. They include 20 km of new ski slopes, chairlifts, a funicular railway and a huge new car park.

There is also a plan for 600 new houses in the so-called ‘Olympic Village’ being built on the outskirts of Granada, at El Serallo.

The protest questioned the legality of the works, and made links with other damaging infrastructure projects, such as Granada’s Eastern Ring Road which threatens the valleys below the Alhambra.

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