Asociación pola defensa da ría
Encyclopedia
The Asociación Pola Defensa da Ría (Association in Defence of the Ria) of Pontevedra
, known as APDR, is a Galician local environmental non-governmental organisation created in 1987 to address the environmental degradation of Pontevedra
's ria
area. It has over 500 registered members and it holds substantial support within the local community.
Through its work, the APDR defends a model of sustainable development based in the rational use of sea and forest resources, and a tourism model not based in the idea of mass tourism. The organisation is open to any citizen interested in the rehabilitation of the ria
and its adjacent areas. Most of its work is focused in the fight against the main polluting industries, such as the timbering company TAFISA (already relocated) and the pulp mill
/paper mill
and electrochemical
complex ENCE-ELNOSA.
In addition to the mentioned campaigns, the APDR also entertains parallel campaigns related to the environment and health issues, such as the relation between mobile phone radiation and health
, protection and rational development of the local seafood
industry, etc.
and Verdugo, and with particular citizens initiatives. The APDR, in association with some of these other groups and/or individuals, have submitted a series of environmental and urbanism proposals to the local government of Pontevedra
.
From 1999, the APDR is member of the Galician Environmental Federation (Federación Ecoloxista Galega - FEG), and from 2002 of the civic platform Nunca Máis.
The APDR critically backed the local government of Pontevedra, forming an environmental lobby
, that eventually forced the relocation of the timbering company TAFISA. In in the 2001-2002 period, the APDR also gained the support of the Galician government
on the grounds of health and environmental concerts to speed up the process.
The local government of Pontevedra, in association with the Galician government and APDR, negotiated the eventual closure of the ENCE-ELNOSA complex. However, the agreed date of year 2018 was considered as "unacceptable" by the APDR, which is now trying to force an earlier closure of the company.
In 2005 it received the Vidal Bolaño prize, awarded by the cultural organisation Redes Escarlata.
Pontevedra
Pontevedra is a city in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula. It is the capital of both the comarca and province of Pontevedra, in Galicia . It is also the capital of its own municipality which is, in fact, often considered as an extension of the actual city...
, known as APDR, is a Galician local environmental non-governmental organisation created in 1987 to address the environmental degradation of Pontevedra
Pontevedra
Pontevedra is a city in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula. It is the capital of both the comarca and province of Pontevedra, in Galicia . It is also the capital of its own municipality which is, in fact, often considered as an extension of the actual city...
's ria
Ria
A ria is a coastal inlet formed by the partial submergence of an unglaciated river valley. It is a drowned river valley that remains open to the sea. Typically, rias have a dendritic, treelike outline although they can be straight and without significant branches. This pattern is inherited from the...
area. It has over 500 registered members and it holds substantial support within the local community.
Through its work, the APDR defends a model of sustainable development based in the rational use of sea and forest resources, and a tourism model not based in the idea of mass tourism. The organisation is open to any citizen interested in the rehabilitation of the ria
Ria
A ria is a coastal inlet formed by the partial submergence of an unglaciated river valley. It is a drowned river valley that remains open to the sea. Typically, rias have a dendritic, treelike outline although they can be straight and without significant branches. This pattern is inherited from the...
and its adjacent areas. Most of its work is focused in the fight against the main polluting industries, such as the timbering company TAFISA (already relocated) and the pulp mill
Pulp mill
A pulp mill is a manufacturing facility that converts wood chips or other plant fibre source into a thick fibre board which can be shipped to a paper mill for further processing. Pulp can be manufactured using mechanical, semi-chemical or fully chemical methods...
/paper mill
Paper mill
A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags and other ingredients using a Fourdrinier machine or other type of paper machine.- History :...
and electrochemical
Electrochemistry
Electrochemistry is a branch of chemistry that studies chemical reactions which take place in a solution at the interface of an electron conductor and an ionic conductor , and which involve electron transfer between the electrode and the electrolyte or species in solution.If a chemical reaction is...
complex ENCE-ELNOSA.
Campaigns
The APDR currently has three main active campaigns:- Paper millPaper millA paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags and other ingredients using a Fourdrinier machine or other type of paper machine.- History :...
s: with a focus on the closure of the operations of the ENCE pulp millPulp millA pulp mill is a manufacturing facility that converts wood chips or other plant fibre source into a thick fibre board which can be shipped to a paper mill for further processing. Pulp can be manufactured using mechanical, semi-chemical or fully chemical methods...
/paper mill in Pontevedra's ria. Likewise, APDR opposes to the construction of new ENCE and Botnia pulp mills in Entre RíosEntre Ríos ProvinceEntre Ríos is a northeastern province of Argentina, located in the Mesopotamia region. It borders the provinces of Buenos Aires , Corrientes and Santa Fe , and Uruguay in the east....
(Argentina) and Río NegroRío Negro DepartmentThe Río Negro Department is an administrative division of Uruguay located in the west of the country. It has 53,989 inhabitants and an area of 9,282 km² . Its capital is Fray Bentos.-Geography and climate:...
(Uruguay). - LittoralLittoralThe littoral zone is that part of a sea, lake or river that is close to the shore. In coastal environments the littoral zone extends from the high water mark, which is rarely inundated, to shoreline areas that are permanently submerged. It always includes this intertidal zone and is often used to...
modification: in particular rejecting the modifications to MarínMarín, PontevedraMarín is a municipality in Galicia, Spain in the province of Pontevedra. In this town is settled the Spanish Navy as the “Escuela Naval Militar de Oficiales of Marin is located here.-Demographics:Population growth....
's port and the construction of a new harbour in BueuBueuBueu is a municipality in Galicia, Spain, in the province of Pontevedra. Bueu belongs to the local region of O Morrazo together with Cangas do Morrazo, Moaña and Marín.- External links :* * * *...
. - Sustainable forest managementSustainable forest managementSustainable forest management is the management of forests according to the principles of sustainable development. Sustainable forest management uses very broad social, economic and environmental goals...
. The APDR also focusses on ensuring that certifications awarded by the Forest Stewardship CouncilForest Stewardship CouncilThe Forest Stewardship Council is an international not-for-profit, multi-stakeholder organization established in 1993 to promote responsible management of the world’s forests. Its main tools for achieving this are standard setting, independent certification and labeling of forest products...
(FSC) follow the required criteria in the ria area, and that these are observed by the relevant authorities.
In addition to the mentioned campaigns, the APDR also entertains parallel campaigns related to the environment and health issues, such as the relation between mobile phone radiation and health
Mobile phone radiation and health
The effect of mobile phone radiation on human health is the subject of recent interest and study, as a result of the enormous increase in mobile phone usage throughout the world . Mobile phones use electromagnetic radiation in the microwave range...
, protection and rational development of the local seafood
Seafood
Seafood is any form of marine life regarded as food by humans. Seafoods include fish, molluscs , crustaceans , echinoderms . Edible sea plants, such as some seaweeds and microalgae, are also seafood, and are widely eaten around the world, especially in Asia...
industry, etc.
Collaborations
The APDR works in collaboration with a number of other environmental networks that aim to protect the environment, the Galician rivers Gafos, LérezLérez River
The Lérez is a river in South West Galicia, Spain. The river meets the Atlantic Ocean at Pontevedra, where it creates Pontevedra's ria. With a length of 60 km, its sources are in Serra do Candán, in the mountain of San Bieito, in the parish of Aciveiro...
and Verdugo, and with particular citizens initiatives. The APDR, in association with some of these other groups and/or individuals, have submitted a series of environmental and urbanism proposals to the local government of Pontevedra
Pontevedra
Pontevedra is a city in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula. It is the capital of both the comarca and province of Pontevedra, in Galicia . It is also the capital of its own municipality which is, in fact, often considered as an extension of the actual city...
.
From 1999, the APDR is member of the Galician Environmental Federation (Federación Ecoloxista Galega - FEG), and from 2002 of the civic platform Nunca Máis.
Accomplished goals
The APDR initially managed to open investigations on the fulfilment of environmental regulations by ENCE. However, lack of support from the administration at that time reduced the effect of the APDR's early campaigns. It was only from 1999, with the arrival of a new governing team to Pontevedra's City Council, when APDR began to have institutional support and therefore was able to achieve specific goals.The APDR critically backed the local government of Pontevedra, forming an environmental lobby
Lobbying
Lobbying is the act of attempting to influence decisions made by officials in the government, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying is done by various people or groups, from private-sector individuals or corporations, fellow legislators or government officials, or...
, that eventually forced the relocation of the timbering company TAFISA. In in the 2001-2002 period, the APDR also gained the support of the Galician government
Xunta de Galicia
The Xunta de Galicia is the collective decision-making body of the government of the autonomous community of Galicia, composed of the President, the Vice-President and the specialized ministers ....
on the grounds of health and environmental concerts to speed up the process.
The local government of Pontevedra, in association with the Galician government and APDR, negotiated the eventual closure of the ENCE-ELNOSA complex. However, the agreed date of year 2018 was considered as "unacceptable" by the APDR, which is now trying to force an earlier closure of the company.
Acknowledgements
In 2002 the APDR received the Cidade de Pontevedra prize, awarded by the Pontevedra City Council.In 2005 it received the Vidal Bolaño prize, awarded by the cultural organisation Redes Escarlata.
See also
- EnvironmentalismEnvironmentalismEnvironmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements...
- Water pollutionWater pollutionWater pollution is the contamination of water bodies . Water pollution occurs when pollutants are discharged directly or indirectly into water bodies without adequate treatment to remove harmful compounds....
- Paper pollutionPaper pollutionThe production and use of paper has a number of adverse effects on the environment which are known collectively as paper pollution. Pulp mills contribute to air, water and land pollution. Discarded paper is a major component of many landfill sites, accounting for about 35 percent by weight of...
- PontevedraPontevedraPontevedra is a city in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula. It is the capital of both the comarca and province of Pontevedra, in Galicia . It is also the capital of its own municipality which is, in fact, often considered as an extension of the actual city...
- RiaRiaA ria is a coastal inlet formed by the partial submergence of an unglaciated river valley. It is a drowned river valley that remains open to the sea. Typically, rias have a dendritic, treelike outline although they can be straight and without significant branches. This pattern is inherited from the...
- Rias BaixasRías BaixasThe Rías Baixas are a part of Costa del Marisco facing the Atlantic Ocean in the southern part of the Galicia region of Spain. They consist of the southern part of the Province of Coruña and the entire Province of Pontevedra...
External links
- Asociación Pola Defensa da Ría - official website (in GalicianGalician languageGalician is a language of the Western Ibero-Romance branch, spoken in Galicia, an autonomous community located in northwestern Spain, where it is co-official with Castilian Spanish, as well as in border zones of the neighbouring territories of Asturias and Castile and León.Modern Galician and...
) - Federación Ecoloxista Galega - official website (in Galician)
- Nunca Mais - official website (in Galician)
- ENCE - corporate site of the ENCE group (in Spanish and English)
- Quimigal - corporate site of the parent company of ELNOSA (in Portuguese and English)
- Documentary on the ENCE-ELNOSA polemic - broadcast by Argentinian television. Running time 5:59 (in Spanish)
- Documentary on the history of the ENCE-ELNOSA and the health concerns - broadcast by Pluralia TV. Running time 5:04 (in Galician and Spanish)
- Concello de Pontevedra - official site of the local government of Pontevedra (in Galician, Spanish, and with summarised versions in English and French)