WATER WAR

Government decision to reduce water to south east threatens jobs, exports and the environment

THE lifeblood of south-east Spain is under threat after a Madrid decision to turn off the tap from the dwindling River Tagus.

The Valencian, Murcia and Alicante regions have joined forces to oppose a 40% cut in the amount of water transferred from the Tagus to the local Jucar-Segura river basin.

The government ruling will

By Walter Finch

limit the long-established massive water transfer from the north that helped turn the arid semi-desert of southeastern Spain into Europe's market garden. The citrus fruit, water melons and other crops grown in the provinces of Murcia, Alicante and Almeria

TRANSFER: Vast quantities of water are piped south cused Madrid of ‘failing to protect farmers’ this week.

Language barrier

OVER two-thirds of young people in the Valencian Community have told a survey that they cannot speak or understand any English.

Meanwhile only one in 10 say they speak it well, they told an official INE study.

Several schools and teachers say the lack of English retention is down to too few teachers in the language as well as too much emphasis on grammar and vocabulary.

They insist pupils should spend more time actually speaking the language.

TRANSFER: Red shows the pipelines employs 100,000 people in a sector turning over €3 billion a year. However, the serious drought Spain is suffering means a massive cut in the usual annual transfer between the Tagus and Jucar-Segura river basins. The agricultural association ASAJA ac-