The broken landscape:. Dead nature and gloomy-looking Monteferro in the background
A desert has been born:
Once again Once again we have to inform you of the dramatic destruction of a natural area in our Valle Miñor. This time it is the building of an industrial estate promoted by Vigo's Zona Franca (Free Area) and Nigrán's townhall affecting the villages of Parada, Nigrán, Camos and San
It takes up more than a million square metres of great ecological value by the river Muiños and is destroying (already has) the last humid and sub humid area in our council (along with the wooded area associated with it), the natural habitat – up to now – of a great number of species of water birds.
This stretch of land, due to its physical features, flat and crisscrossed by a great many brooks and rivulets tributary of the river Muiños, was periodically flooded by rain water thus regulating the river's volume.
Its destruction might bring about serious consequences, such as floods in neighbouring urban areas as well as others down the river, between the the motorway's wayout and Playa America. |
A plan from long ago:
The actual purchase of the land started in September 1991, but the difficulty in getting hold of the required 1.07 million square metres and the lack of will on the part of the successive municipal corporations to get involved in a complex expropriation process put off the beginning of the works until now.
The plan, whose environmental impact report dates back to 1994, includes diverting the main course of the first tributary of the river Muiños, which won't take long to be finished.
Rubbish and pollution:
Part of those first estates, bought during the 90s, were used as waste tips by the town hall of Nigrán and all types of waste, especially the bigger ones and also those which polluted the most, were piled up there during these last years.
This dumping wasn't taken away before the current levelling works were started,
To cap it all, the works are failing to maintain the protection distance for the river Muiños, with earth being removed from certain points at less than 13 metres off the river instead of the required 25 metres of distance.
Reporting:
“Salvemos Monteferro” (along with six neighbour associations in Nigrán, the “Instituto de Estudios Miñoranos” and the “Association of those affected by the industrial estate at Porto do Molle”) have reported all these irregularities before a number of Consellerías and regional organisms.
Zona Franca (The free area) is planning to call an open competition for the carrying out of the building works, to be awarded in October.
“The business park- they say - intends to offer first-class quality in tertiary and entertainment uses. It will be furnished with sport and social equipment, shopping mall, hotels, leisure facilities, restaurants and areas for industries to be able to display their offer of product to the public in general.”
And of course, the usual sarcasm, it will also include 200.000 square metres of green space. One cannot but remember that old joke of cutting down a forest to be able to make a botanical garden.
