A Desert in Spain?
The province of Murcia in the southeastern part of Spain is a picture of progress with the recent construction of vacation homes that attract international buyers, the presence of 54 golf courses, most of which were developed just in the last three years, and the wide lettuce and tomato fields that adorn the roadsides. However, there is one thing wrong with this picture: Murcia is losing its water supply.
This province belongs to some areas in southeast Spain that are starting to turn into desert, an occurrence that experts have attributed to global warming and poor development planning. The farmers in Murcia are battling with large developer companies regarding water rights specifically about who should be responsible to supply water to the crops. Water in Murcia has become such an expensive commodity and is being sold like gold in the black market.
European Union’s Environment Directorate spokeswoman Barbara Helferrich pointed out that water supply will definitely be a problem for southern Spain this year, adding that this is an urgent problem. This region of Spain has been experiencing water shortages and repeated drought over the years. However, the present problem is brought about by climate change caused by global warming. It indicates an entirely new crisis.
The previous battles in Spain focused on getting the land. The present ones being fought are directed toward oil. However, experts predict that the battles in the future, when the environment has become drier and hotter, will be fought over one of man’s basic needs: water.
Water shortage is a problem not only in southern Spain but also in other parts of the world like Africa and Australia. In fact, water shortage is being seen as one of the causes for a global food crisis.
According to estimates done by the United Nations, if climate change would continue to worsen, it could force about 135 million people to vacate their land. The drying lands of southern Europe are already a prelude to this.
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