Following the silver medal of Maialen Chourraut at the Tokyo Olympic Games, we heard from the spokesman of the Basque Government that in the Rio Oria (in Usurbil, in the vicinity of the Orbeldi plant) the idea of making a fast water channel is well advanced.

To begin with, congratulations to Maialen, who is not a glorious feat. The consequence of this event, however, is disturbing. Because it's not normal, let alone Olympic medals, to be the excuse for building an artificial channel that impacts the Oria River. Panem et circenses (bread and circus show), become a model of authority.

The idea of the artificial channel does not seem to be new. The former president of the Basque Federation of Canoeing has made it clear in a press article entitled That project in Oxinbiribil that the project, approved by the City of Irun and rejected by the Department of the Environment of the Basque Government, was caused and condemned by the Constitutional Court, considering that the article provided for allocating an additional 500,000 people to the protected natural area of Oxinbiribil. What is an excessive human pressure for oxinbirro, is it acceptable for an Orbela with soils of high agroecological value?

For the construction of the new canal, in addition to the demolition of the residues of the plant and the new canal of 195 meters in length, the plan is the construction of a pavilion that allows the urbanization of the river margin keeping the dam. As if this were not enough, an occupation of 12,000 l/s of the Oria River is also foreseen.

The draft needs the approval of the various administrations. Firstly, that of the City Council, since the activity licence is in your hands. The Mayor explained that the City Council initially approved the Special Plan, although the 2016 “Plan of Action for the Landscape of the River Oria” proposes the restoration of the Orbeldi environment (for which it would be necessary to demolish the dam). The COTPV Council of the Basque Government has also issued a favourable report, subject to the adequacy of the project and, what merits attention: The Provincial Council must declare the project of “general interest”.

In recent years, the quality of the waters of our rivers and streams has improved considerably, but nevertheless there are large areas of streams channelled, and associated with them, dams and other structures that hinder and impair the mobility of the inhabitants of the rivers and streams. According to the Diputación, approximately 750 obstacles are found in the rivers of Gipuzkoa, most of which have no function and no use at present. For this reason, it has recently presented the Gipuzkoa River Barriers Permeabilization Master Plan (2020-2035), with a budget of 8.5 million euros. How does this plan fit in with the new channel of currents that you want to do in Orbeldi?

On the other hand, the floods in Germany and Central Europe have recently shown us the environmental risks caused by river and streams. Periodically, streams take their place and the more urbanized the channels, the greater the damage caused.

Well, the question is: what is of general interest in Orbeldi (River Oria), natural preservatives or current channels? The one is neither accessory nor compatible with the other.

If we believe that the climate is in an emergency situation, witnessing the loss of biodiversity that has reached the point of conditioning our health, in the face of private uses of the natural environment, the conservation and/or recovery of biodiversity must be a priority. That is not only a project of general interest, but also an objective of general interest.

Let's use technology in already urbanized areas. The influences of sports shows disappear as foams, while those of these works have serious consequences for a long time. The spectacle will not conceal reality (intolerable loss of biodiversity).