The GOB warns of the proximity of the Son Brau chicken mega-farm to the protected area of na Borges
The area forms part of the Natura 2000 Network and is declared as one of the "best preserved" natural systems in the East of Mallorca
PalmaThe GOB has presented a series of allegations to the project for the chicken mega-farm that would be located in the Son Brau area, in which it is requested that the environmental impact declaration not be "favorable" until an "adequate" assessment of the repercussions on the na Borges Special Conservation Area (ZEC) is provided.
The environmental organization has issued this warning because the public exhibition period for the project, which is intended to be located in the municipality of Manacor, ends this week. Thus, they have pointed out that they support the allegations presented by the Macrogranjas No Platform, which address issues such as the impact on water resources, the management of livestock manure, nitrate pollution, and the compatibility of the project with the Balearic Hydrological Plan, among others.
The GOB's approach, they have pointed out, is "complementary," as it focuses on the possible effects of the project on the na Borges ZEC, located less than 100 meters from the point where the mega-farm is planned to be located.
The na Borges ZEC is part of the Natura 2000 Network and was declared to protect one of the "best-preserved" natural systems in eastern Mallorca. It includes the na Borges stream, the na Borges pond wetland, dune systems, scrubland, and various habitats and species of community interest, which constitute the natural values that the European Habitats Directive "obliges to conserve."
Furthermore, the area is included within the scope of the Management Plan for Ravines and Mountains of Mallorca, which identifies excessive nutrient input, pollution of surface and groundwater, intensification of agricultural uses, inadequate waste management, and alterations of riparian habitats as the main pressure factors. "Precisely, these are some of the impacts potentially associated with an intensive poultry operation of the projected dimensions," they have asserted.
The GOB's allegations also point out that the environmental impact study "does not adequately assess" the health risk derived from the proximity between a poultry "mega-operation" and a wetland with the presence of wild birds, in a European context marked by "concern for avian flu."
"This risk is bidirectional, as it is not only necessary to consider the possible transmission of pathogens from wild birds to the farm, but also the role that an operation of these dimensions could play as an epidemiological amplifier with possible repercussions on the protected fauna of na Borges", they insisted.
For all these reasons, the GOB has requested that this favorable environmental impact declaration not be issued until it is based on the "best available scientific evidence" and allows for the exclusion, "without reasonable doubt", of a "significant" impact on the habitats and species that warrant the protection of this natural space.
