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Date Published: 22/05/2023

WATCH: Activists chain themselves to Seville Cathedral in dramatic Donana protest

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The scientists staged a mass demonstration against the “ecocide” caused by more irrigation at the Doñana National Park

WATCH: Activists chain themselves to Seville Cathedral in dramatic Donana protest

The protests over the expansion of irrigated farmland at the Doñana National Park kicked up a notch this weekend when a group of protestors from the Rebelión Científica (Scientific Rebellion) activist group chained themselves to the Cathedral of Seville.

Around 15 banner-carrying scientists gathered outside the iconic landmark at 3pm on Sunday May 21. Four of the demonstrators were padlocked to the railings by their necks while the others chanted against the “ecocide” facing the park and waved flags reading “Doñana resists” and “In the face of the climate emergency: action plan now!”.

The Doñana National Park hasn’t been far from the news in recent months and the most recent outrage came after the Andalucía government green-lighted a huge residential development with a hotel, villas and a golf course right next to the protected nature reserve.

Un grupo de activistas de @EsRebelCientif se encadena por el cuello a la catedral de Sevilla en defensa de Doñana y para alertar sobre los impactos de la emergencia climática. Bravo. 👏🏿✊🏿 #DoñanaResiste pic.twitter.com/z3dlGjmlM5
— Tom Kucharz (@tomkucharz) May 21, 2023

And despite the fact that the EU is considering declaring the area an “endangered World Heritage Site,” plans are steaming ahead to allow more irrigation for strawberry farms along the park’s northern border. This debate was raging while the region was suffering from severe drought that threatened much of Doñana’s native flora and fauna.

The objective of Sunday’s protest, according to the organisers, was “to denounce the ecocide that is intended to be carried out in Doñana and the climate inaction on the part of our governments.”

In addition, they have demanded “an immediate action plan, in accordance with the recommendations of science and with the participation of all of society, through participatory democracy tools, such as binding citizen assemblies.”

The dramatic demonstration lasted less than an hour as firefighters cut the chains of the protestors and police took their details.

In other news: A wet week in southern Spain—Andalucia weather forecast May 22-28

Image: Activistas de Rebelión Científica

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