The tracks of the Aralar Natural Park have generated large discrepancies in recent years and the issue has been brought to court by the Environmental Organisation and Antinuclear Eguzki and the Landarlan Environmental Association. Now, the complaint filed against these clues is that of First Instance and Instruction No. 3 of Tolosa. The Court of Instruction No. 2 of Vitoria-Gasteiz has ordered the provisional file.

The Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa has approved the order of sexual assault. It clarifies that these are works carried out in the project ‘Ordination and restoration of access to the slums from the forest of Intzansao to Goroskintxu’, which aim to ‘improve the conditions of the pastors in the area’. Economic Promotion, Tourism and Rural Development Deputy Jabier Larrañaga has stated that the performance of the car department during the last legislature ‘met all the legal requirements’ and ‘complied with all the existing rules for the protection of natural spaces’.

In relation to what the car says, Larrañaga considers that the decisions taken are not arbitrary and that the procedure for approving the project complied with the “current legislation”. “It was always done with an environmental monitoring plan,” he added. He also recalled that in the Enirio-Aralar Commonwealth, ‘before its approval, numerous general assemblies were held’ and several consultations were held with ‘environmental societies’. In addition, ‘many explanations were given to the public’.

The Court has ratified in its order that the Aralar Natural Resources Management Plan ‘allows certain channels’. Whenever authorized by the Dirección de Montes y Medio Natural de la Diputación Foral. Larrañaga has stressed that the slopes are “key” to dignify the conditions of people living and working in the Aralar environment, “with which a solution is given to the great accessibility difficulties they already had”.

Finally, the honourable Member stressed that justice has supported the "good management and honesty" of director Arantxa Ariztimuño and that it is "regrettable" that the decisions taken "democratically" have been judicialized and used as a political objective".

The farmers' union in Gipuzkoa, Enba, has shown satisfaction with the decree issued in Gipuzkoa. Faced with the decision to file the complaint against the Aralar runway, it has asked the Landarlan and Eguzki groups to withdraw the remaining complaints: ‘Do not criminally impede the decision to dignify the working and living conditions of farmers, and immediately withdraw the complaint against the works of conditioning the road from Enirio to Igaratza’.

ON THE OTHER SIDE

The complainant associations, i.e. Eguzki and Landarlan, claim that this file is not definitive; ‘we have brought an action that has not yet been resolved’, they say. In addition, they have emphasized: “The second runway, built from Enirio to Doniturrieta Igaratza, follows the path of the court.”

The whistle-blowers say that in autumn 2016 the reported runway was built up to half, “it’s for three chabolas, and the rest, i.e. without building, wants to reach two more chabolas”. With these tracks, ‘motor vehicles will be able to access high pastures more easily until they end up in a grassland area of Saltarri’, he explains.

They claim that there are no shepherds there, “there is booty for cows and mares.” They stressed that “it is not for pastors, but to serve farmers”, and that most of them are not professionals, but “people linked to leisure farming”.

In 2016 they reported to the Environmental Prosecutor’s Office the construction of this new track, which in the judicial process continues with signs of ecological crime,” they said. They have therefore been called to attention, ‘to create an interim file’, ‘irrespective of the criminal evidence’ identified by the Public Prosecutor’s Office.

“We continue to appreciate that it has been an ecological crime,” they said. ‘Because the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa, the body responsible for compliance with the regulations in force in the Aralar Natural Park, has not respected it’. In this way, ‘the construction of road traffic lanes is promoted when new roads cannot be built in the natural park’.

They have also recalled that the Enirio-Aralar Commonwealth accepted that ‘in the previous legislature such a track would be made against the regulation of the natural park’. In fact, “80% of this track was projected onto a Protective Mountain Area, where the presence of trees is recommended,” the associations say.

As a result, they have pointed out that the regulation establishes, among other measures, "the limitation of grazing", which "was not done in the previous legislature". They denounce the breach of the ordinance adopted by the Commonwealth itself. Finally, they have stressed that they will continue to work on the protection and defence of the environment, the mountains and their responsible management.