WRITTEN QUESTION E-3188/02 by María Sornosa Martínez (PSE) to the Commission. Protection of the Almenara marshland site of Community interest (Spain).
Date: 2002-11-07
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Community of Valencia, EC Directive, application of EU law, humid zone, protected area, protection of animal life, protection of plant life, urbanisation

C 155 E/108

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

3.7.2003

The Council is currently examining the question of relative stability as part of the reform of the
6.
Common Fisheries Policy. At this stage of the negotiations the Council has not agreed to constrain its
discretionary power to decide on the allocation keys. Neither has it established a link between the Hague
preferences and the principle of equal access for Spain to the Community’ fishing zone on 1 January 2003.

(1) OJ C 105, 7.5.1981.
(2) OJ C 158, 27.6.1980.

(2003/C 155 E/117)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3188/02

by María Sornosa Martínez (PSE) to the Commission

(7 November 2002)

Subject: Protection of the Almenara marshland site of Community interest (Spain)

At the beginning of 2000, the author of the present question complained to the Commission that the
Almenara marshland area (‘Marjal de Almenara’) in Spain, which had applied to be classified as a site of
Community interest (SCI), was under repeated attack from environmentally damaging agricultural practices
(E-0520/00 (1)). At the time, the Commission said it would make representations to the Spanish authorities.
However, no change of attitude has been forthcoming: far from it, the protected area initially proposed by
Spain for the marshland has been reduced by approximately 85 000 m2 (see the draft inventory of
wetlands issued under the auspices of the Valencia regional government, which is the basic reference for
the final delimitation of the SCI for Natura 2000).

This reduction in the area allocated to the protected natural area has been justified essentially on planning
grounds. The developer Inmuebles WJK S.L. has contracted another company, Terra Canet S.A., to carry
out the initial work. This company is now draining and eliminating vegetation from a section (85 000 m2)
of the Almenara marshland, at the isolated location of the beach of Almardá de Sagunto.

The Commission is in possession of the following reports:

(cid:1) an eco-toxicological report from the Institute of Legal Medicine attached to the regional

justice

ministry;

(cid:1) a report by the expert Dr Rosselló Verger, Professor of Physical Geography at the University of

Valencia;

(cid:1) a report by Mrs Eulalia Sanjaume, Professor of Physical Geography at the University of Valencia.

In these reports, the government is urged to confer protected status on the 85 000 m2 of marshland now
being developed. They stress the ‘particular environmental value’ of the Almardà beach area, and call for
the existing planning schemes to be modified so as to ensure its preservation.

In view of
these circumstances and the information contained in the above documents: Does the
Commission intend to agree that only a part of this marshland should be defined as a site of Community
interest, thus excluding the above 85 000 m2 in spite of their accredited ecological importance?

What action will the Commission take to ensure the preservation of the protected species living in the part
of the marshland which is at present being developed?

(1) OJ C 26 E, 26.1.2001, p. 55.

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(11 December 2002)

The Honourable Member has expressed her concerns regarding the criteria used by the Spanish authorities
to propose the site ‘Marjal de Almenara’ as a Site of Community Importance (SCI). The Honourable
Member states that
the autonomous community of Valencia has included this site in its Wetlands
Catalogue with a larger area than the site proposed as a site of Community interest.

3.7.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 155 E/109

Spain has proposed the site ‘Marjal de Almenara’, ES5223007, situated in the autonomous community of
Valencia, as a Site of Community Importance for inclusion in the Natura 2000 network. The site has an
area of 1497 hectares.

The Commission would like to clarify that the criteria used by the Generalitat de Valencia to include a site
in its Wetland Catalogue differ from the criteria used by Member States to identify and designate the sites
that are proposed as Sites of Community Importance.

The Sites of Community Importance have to fulfil the criteria set out in Annex III, stage 1 of the Habitats
Directive (1). These are based on assessment at national level of the relative importance of the sites for each
natural habitat type of Community interest and each species of Community interest whose conservation
requires the designation of Special Areas of Conservation.

The Commission, with the support of the European Topic Centre for Nature Protection and Biodiversity
(ETC/NPB), will assess, based on the criteria set out in Annex III (stage 2) of the Habitats Directive, all sites
proposed by Member States for the Mediterranean Region during the next bio-geographical seminar that
will take place in January 2003.

If the evaluation of the sites shows that a Member State has not proposed sufficient sites to meet the
requirements of the Directive 92/43/EEC for certain habitat types and species, the Commission will request
the Member State to make additional designations. If these additional designations do not cover the
objectives of the Habitats Directive the Natura 2000 network will be incomplete for those specific habitat
types and/or species. The list will therefore remain open in order to include additional sites.

In relation to species protection outside the proposed Natura 2000 sites, the Member States are the
competent authority for the conservation of its natural heritage as they are for the management of their
Natura 2000 sites. The Commission’s task is only to ensure that the European regulations and directives
are observed.

(1) Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora (cid:1)

OJ L 206, 22.7.1992.

(2003/C 155 E/118)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3195/02

by Monica Frassoni (Verts/ALE)
and Giorgio Celli (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(8 November 2002)

Subject: Bridge in the regional park of the River Taro

There are plans for a road inside the Taro river regional park (in the province of Parma), which protects a
fragile and precious natural environment; the road is projected to cross the park over a large bridge. On
the left bank the bridge joins the provincial road connecting Medesano and Noceto to the via Emilia, while
on the right bank it links to the Collecchio bypass (on the new section of the SS 62 to Cisa via Parma).
Another addition planned to the road network on the left bank is a better connection to Salsomaggiore, to
produce an east-west axis at the bottom of the mountains. In fact, the bridge would be located in the
zones of greatest value in the protected natural area.

The planned bridge (now under final discussion by the departments which are shortly to approve the EIA,
following which the final construction plans will be drawn up with a view to launching the contract award
procedure) and the link road sections have been located in one of the last areas belonging to the State to
have escaped being sold off. From Fornovo to the A1 motorway the Taro park is designated a special
protection area (SPA) within the meaning of Directive No 79/409/EEC (1), and it has been put forward as a
site of Community importance within the meaning of the Habitat Directive, No 92/43/EEC (2).

The impact assessment was not carried out, as it should have been, at the initial stages, when comments
could have been made on the choice of site for the bridge. The EIA procedure only compared three routes
which are very close to each other and the difference between them is irrelevant as far as the impact on
resources is concerned, since pollution in the area would be very high in all three cases. This is an isolated
project in an SPA, which has probably been planned with the public contract itself in view and to add
value to the surrounding land. In fact, there is a highly polluted site in Maraffa at a height of 800 metres,
where a ford links up to manufacturing sites, which was not taken into consideration even though it is a