MADRID (Reuters) -The top court in Spain’s northwestern Galicia region has ordered that authorities stamp out pollution linked to intensive pig farming in a landmark case highlighting decades-long environmental mismanagement, a court document showed on Friday.
Spain, Europe’s largest pork producer, houses about a third of its pig farms in Galicia.
The court found that for some 20,000 residents of the A Limia area, the fundamental right to living in a healthy environment had been violated.
The ruling, condemning both state and regional authorities, marks the first time a European court has addressed the impact of large-scale livestock farming on water sources and residents’ human rights, according to environmental groups ClientEarth and Friends of the Earth Spain, which supported the case.
It could pave the way for other communities suffering from similar issues to demand justice and protection from authorities, campaigners say.
A Limia residents say life has become “unfeasible” due to the proliferation of intensive pig and poultry farms, which brought unbearable odours and contamination from chemicals such as nitrates that seeped into groundwater and water reservoirs.
The court stated that regional authorities and the national body overseeing water management failed to act despite legal obligations and awareness of the issues. Government and regional officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The ruling can be appealed at Spain’s Supreme Court.
The court in Galicia ordered that the Galician regional government and the Mino-Sil Hydrographic Confederation take immediate measures to eliminate odours and environmental degradation around the As Conchas water reservoir.
The ruling also mandates authorities to ensure clean and safe drinking water free of harmful microorganisms and chemical substances.
“Now the authorities have to take action,” Pablo Alvarez Veloso, head of the neighbours’ association in the As Conchas reservoir area, told Reuters.
(Reporting by Emma Pinedo; Editing by Andrei Khalip and Aidan Lewis)
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