EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 78/622

(2004/C 78 E/0657)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3650/03

by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(9 December 2003)

Subject: Extinction of the Iberian lynx in the Sierra Morena nature reserve in Andalusia due to the construction of a large reservoir and lack of compensatory habitat

1. Can the Commission confirm that the number of Iberian lynxes, shy feline predators, living in the Sierra Morena nature reserve in the north of the Spanish region of Andalusia, in Doñana national park on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir and in Portugal, has fallen from 1 100 in 1989 to 200 now?

2. Does the Commission assume that efforts to save the Iberian lynx have definitively failed, so that this species will disappear from the wild in the next few years and be able to survive, at best, only in zoos?

3. Is the Commission aware that, as a result of the completion of the Breña II dam in 2008, the existing reservoir in the Guadatio river in the Sierra Morena will be replaced with a new reservoir with a water level 80 m higher and eight times the water capacity, which will be many kilometres longer?

4. What chances of survival do Iberian lynxes have in the Sierra Morena, a designated Natura 2000 area, if 2000 hectares of their habitat disappears under water and the rest is divided into two?

5. Is the Commission aware that, according to the Worldwide Fund for Nature, which has in the past worked to secure the survival of the lynx in this area with the support of the Commission, the adjoining land which has been expropriated and which was intended as a wilderness to provide compensation for the lost area is totally unsuitable as lynx habitat?

6. Under these circumstances, is the possible EU cofinancing (as requested by Spain) of the new dam, which is expected to cost EUR 150 million, compatible with the Commission's nature conservation policy?

Source: Rotterdams Dagblad, 20 November 2003.

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(22 January 2004)

The Honourable Member has expressed his concern about the situation of the Iberian Lynx in Sierra Morena (Andalucía).

In October 2002, the Spanish Ministry of Environment and the regional Government of Andalucía with the support of The World Conservation Union (IUCN), Council of Europe, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and other partners organised an international meeting to assess the current situation of the Iberian Lynx. One outcome of the meeting was that a new inventory of the lynx was carried out; according to this there are currently three main locations of subpopulations. Two of these are breeding populations and are located in Doñana National Park and Andujar-Cardeña (Sierra Morena, Andalucía).

The Spanish Ministry of Environment has established an ad hoc working group for the Iberian lynx.

This group considers the Spanish population (200-300 individuals), distributed in four sub-populations:

— Gata-Granadilla Sierra (Cáceres-Salamanca).

— Montes de Toledo (Toledo-Ciudad Real-Cáceres).

— Sierra Morena (‘Sierra Morena Central de Cordoba’, ‘Ciudad Real and Jaén’ and ‘Sierras del Relumbrar-Guadalmena in Ciudad Real and Albacete’).

— Doñana and its environment (Sevilla, Huelva).

The Commission is assisting, through the LIFE-Nature programme, the national efforts to improve the conservation status of the species. There have been, over the last decade, a large number of LIFE projects, both in Spain and Portugal, targeting the Iberian lynx. These projects have included basic inventories and ecological and biological research on the species, but also improvement or re-creation of habitats, including corridors, and particularly repopulation of potential lynx areas with rabbits; this species constitutes the main prey for the lynx. The other main action consisted of population monitoring and surveillance of lynx areas.

A captive breeding programme is presently under way in Spain, following an agreement with the Portuguese authorities. Community financing for this programme was not requested, although some marginal activities related to the programme have been included in some of the above-mentioned LIFE projects.

La Breña II reservoir is proposed to be built on River Guadiato, close to River Guadalquivir. The dam will be located 120 metres from the existing ‘La Breña I’ reservoir. Part of the existing ‘La Breña I’ reservoir is within the Natura 2000 site ‘Sierra de Hornachuelos’. ‘La Breña II’ reservoir will completely flood ‘La Breña I’ reservoir. The new reservoir will occupy 626 hectares of the Natura 2000 site, which is 1,05 % of its surface. This reservoir is not located in Sierra Morena.

According to the available information Spain has proposed 2 615 102 hectares as Sites of Community Importance (SCI) to protect the Iberian Lynx. Specifically the Regional government of Andalucia has proposed 1 356 845 hectares (36 sites, pSCI).

The compensatory measures plan has received a favourable statement of the Regional Ministry of Environment of Andalucia and the Spanish Ministry of Environment. It has been elaborated in coordination with Iberian Lynx Group, the Doñana Research Station and the University of Córdoba.

The Ministry of Environment, Office of the State Secretary of Water and Coast, has asked the Commission for an opinion pursuant to Article 6.4 of the Habitat Directive (1), because of the absence of alternative solutions and for imperative reasons of overriding public interest, including that of a social or economic nature. It is foreseen that the Commission will shortly deliver its opinion in relation to this project.

(1) Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 July 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora, OJ L 206, 22.7.1992.