Two photos of La Janda On the left taken 15th January before recent flooding and on the right on taken on 21st March after flooding - Ecologistas en Acción An important meeting took place in Jerez de la Frontera at the start of this month (July 2025) regarding the future of La Janda. As ever there were reasons to be optimistic - the support of the national government and variuous conservation organisations - and pessimistic - the opposition of local landowners backed by the regional government. This is a long running scandal, with wealth & power pitted against conservationists and the local community. Fortunately, El Diario gave a full report both before the meeting and afterwards.
I offer English versions (via 'Google Translate') of two articles below with links to the original Spanish for those able to read it.
I offer English versions (via 'Google Translate') of two articles below with links to the original Spanish for those able to read it.
The Andalusian Regional Government avoids meeting with the government to "recover" La Janda, the public lagoon drained by Franco
The Ministry of Ecological Transition has convened a working group meeting this Wednesday, a meeting that environmentalists have been demanding for years, warning that they will not settle for merely informative information.
— The Regional Government joins the landowners in a report on the drained lagoon of La Janda and says that there is no longer any public land.
by Néstor Cenzio 1st July 2025 (for the original Spanish text see - here)
This Wednesday, at 10 AM, a meeting that environmental organizations have been longing for years will take place in Vejer de la Frontera (Cádiz). The Ministry of Ecological Transition has convened the meeting, sending Hugo Morán (Secretary of State for the Environment, second only to the minister) to chair a roundtable discussion to address the "recovery of the La Janda wetland" with the associations that have long called for it, the local irrigation community, the municipalities of Vejer, Tarifa, Barbate, Medina Sidonia, and Benalup, and the environmental organization WWF.
Half a century of illegal exploitation of the valuable La Janda lagoon by landowners
The Regional Government of Andalusia has also been invited. However, the regional government has confirmed to this media outlet that it will not attend, claiming that the Ministry of the Environment, which received the invitation, has nothing to say. In October 2023, the Regional Government's Directorate General for Heritage issued a report concluding that the former public lands of La Janda lagoon had long since ceased to be public lands, thus aligning itself with the interests of the landowners who exploit them and shifting any possibility of recovery to the State Administration.
There is no agenda for the meeting, beyond a brief notice from the Ministry announcing that the meeting will address the "recovery of the La Janda wetland within the framework of cooperation between administrations and civil society." A phrase so broad as to include anything, it keeps those interested in anticipation of the State's will and proposals.
A 7,000-hectare wetland
La Janda, in addition to being a region, is the name of the former lagoon, now transformed into fertile land for growing vegetables, cereals, and fruits sold across half of Europe.
A century ago, this was a wetland that stretched across 7,000 hectares (70 million square meters; 70 square kilometers) between Vejer, Barbate, Medina, and Tarifa, south of Cádiz. The most valuable lake area in Spain, according to the chronicles, until it was drained by Franco's orders to turn it into agricultural land to be handed over to illustrious families loyal to the regime.
So he did, but in the early 1960s something went wrong, the works were left unfinished, and the State ended up recovering the land. However, this was only on paper. A 1967 Supreme Court ruling upheld the demarcation: 6,165 hectares of the 9,039 drained hectares remained in the public domain and, therefore, belonged to the State. But no one lifted a finger: for almost eighty years, the land had been precariously exploited by landowners who had built their lucrative agricultural business there.
Almost a decade ago, a citizen platform led by the Association of Friends of La Janda began demanding that the public domain be returned to the public domain so that the lagoon could once again become a lagoon. And after calling every contact and being referred from one administration to another, the activists obtained an unexpected advantage with the Wetlands Plan, approved by former minister Teresa Ribera at the end of 2022.
It includes a commitment to "partially restore, before 2030, some of the largest and most emblematic wetlands that had once disappeared, such as the La Janda lagoon (at least 1,000 ha)." But again, everything stopped. Until now.
The platform has been calling for years for the creation of a roundtable to move forward toward the recovery of the wetland. Initially, they were waiting for the report from the Andalusian Regional Government, which was expected at the end of 2023. Later, the associations met twice with Morán, obtaining a commitment to create the roundtable, which never arrived. Finally, it will be held this Wednesday.
The call was sent a few days after the Platform, which brings together various environmental organizations interested in the issue, issued a press release accusing the State of "paralyzing" the recovery of La Janda.
The Ministry of Ecological Transition has convened a working group meeting this Wednesday, a meeting that environmentalists have been demanding for years, warning that they will not settle for merely informative information.
— The Regional Government joins the landowners in a report on the drained lagoon of La Janda and says that there is no longer any public land.
by Néstor Cenzio 1st July 2025 (for the original Spanish text see - here)
This Wednesday, at 10 AM, a meeting that environmental organizations have been longing for years will take place in Vejer de la Frontera (Cádiz). The Ministry of Ecological Transition has convened the meeting, sending Hugo Morán (Secretary of State for the Environment, second only to the minister) to chair a roundtable discussion to address the "recovery of the La Janda wetland" with the associations that have long called for it, the local irrigation community, the municipalities of Vejer, Tarifa, Barbate, Medina Sidonia, and Benalup, and the environmental organization WWF.
Half a century of illegal exploitation of the valuable La Janda lagoon by landowners
The Regional Government of Andalusia has also been invited. However, the regional government has confirmed to this media outlet that it will not attend, claiming that the Ministry of the Environment, which received the invitation, has nothing to say. In October 2023, the Regional Government's Directorate General for Heritage issued a report concluding that the former public lands of La Janda lagoon had long since ceased to be public lands, thus aligning itself with the interests of the landowners who exploit them and shifting any possibility of recovery to the State Administration.
There is no agenda for the meeting, beyond a brief notice from the Ministry announcing that the meeting will address the "recovery of the La Janda wetland within the framework of cooperation between administrations and civil society." A phrase so broad as to include anything, it keeps those interested in anticipation of the State's will and proposals.
A 7,000-hectare wetland
La Janda, in addition to being a region, is the name of the former lagoon, now transformed into fertile land for growing vegetables, cereals, and fruits sold across half of Europe.
A century ago, this was a wetland that stretched across 7,000 hectares (70 million square meters; 70 square kilometers) between Vejer, Barbate, Medina, and Tarifa, south of Cádiz. The most valuable lake area in Spain, according to the chronicles, until it was drained by Franco's orders to turn it into agricultural land to be handed over to illustrious families loyal to the regime.
So he did, but in the early 1960s something went wrong, the works were left unfinished, and the State ended up recovering the land. However, this was only on paper. A 1967 Supreme Court ruling upheld the demarcation: 6,165 hectares of the 9,039 drained hectares remained in the public domain and, therefore, belonged to the State. But no one lifted a finger: for almost eighty years, the land had been precariously exploited by landowners who had built their lucrative agricultural business there.
Almost a decade ago, a citizen platform led by the Association of Friends of La Janda began demanding that the public domain be returned to the public domain so that the lagoon could once again become a lagoon. And after calling every contact and being referred from one administration to another, the activists obtained an unexpected advantage with the Wetlands Plan, approved by former minister Teresa Ribera at the end of 2022.
It includes a commitment to "partially restore, before 2030, some of the largest and most emblematic wetlands that had once disappeared, such as the La Janda lagoon (at least 1,000 ha)." But again, everything stopped. Until now.
The platform has been calling for years for the creation of a roundtable to move forward toward the recovery of the wetland. Initially, they were waiting for the report from the Andalusian Regional Government, which was expected at the end of 2023. Later, the associations met twice with Morán, obtaining a commitment to create the roundtable, which never arrived. Finally, it will be held this Wednesday.
The call was sent a few days after the Platform, which brings together various environmental organizations interested in the issue, issued a press release accusing the State of "paralyzing" the recovery of La Janda.
Photo - El Diario
The Government offers to include La Janda lagoon in a European plan to restore wetlands and asks the regional government to join in.
The meeting called by the Secretary of State leaves a bittersweet taste in the mouths of environmental groups and confirms the rejection of landowners. — The Andalusian regional government avoids meeting with the government to "recover" La Janda, the public lagoon drained by Franco.
by Néstor Cenzio 2nd July 2025 (for the original Spanish text see here)
The meeting convened by the Ministry of Ecological Transition to discuss the future "recovery of the La Janda wetland" in Cádiz has left a bittersweet taste in the mouths of the associations and organizations that have been demanding for years that the lagoon be restored to its former status as a lagoon. On the one hand, the sources consulted agree in highlighting the importance of this step, the first to offer a glimpse of the lagoon drained by the Franco regime, once measuring around 7,000 hectares, returning to its former glory with the contribution of European funds. The meeting also confirms the Ministry's firm commitment, and that there is a plan and resources to make it happen. However, the end still seems far off, and the meeting confirmed that the landowners will be present, although it is not yet known whether they will be accompanied by the Regional Government of Andalusia.
The meeting in Vejer de la Frontera, reported by this newspaper, had been designed by the Ministry of Ecological Transition as a sort of informal presentation of an ambitious wetlands plan that aims to include La Janda. Minister Sara Aagesen had announced this morning: Spain has a plan and funds to restore wetlands.
The project was recently selected by the European Commission under the Life program. Brussels will contribute €25 million over the next decade to carry out investments to recover these spaces, in addition to contributions from the State and the Autonomous Communities and another €75 million from various programs. The total is approximately €150 million.
“We wanted to start with La Janda because there is a very broad and long-standing social movement behind it, a process of advocacy that has been expressed in the region in recent decades,” explained Hugo Morán, Secretary of State for the Environment, at the end of his meeting in Vejer de la Frontera. “We believe it is important that it be carried out with the involvement of society. It should not just be a plan for the administrations.” “It is a national project that has received a very positive assessment from the Commission,” Morán stated.
Waiting for the Regional Government of Andalusia
The Platform for the Recovery of La Janda (made up of a dozen organizations), the local irrigation community, the municipalities of Vejer, Tarifa, Barbate, Medina Sidonia, and Benalup, and the environmental organization WWF were also invited to the meeting. The Regional Government of Andalusia declined the invitation.
Morán emphasized that Andalusia is among the 12 autonomous communities that have collaborated with the Ministry to qualify for the LIFE project. "The Regional Government has joined this plan," Morán emphasized, before insisting that the regional government is responsible for the Guadalete-Barbate hydrographic district, which includes La Janda.
However, La Janda has not identified the La Janda lagoon as one of the wetlands that could be part of the plan. The representative of the central government has once again reached out to the Moreno government to join the next meeting, scheduled for September. "It is necessary to develop a cooperation plan," he stated.
It is unlikely that La Janda will be recovered without the collaboration of the Regional Government. In this sense, environmental organizations believe it will eventually be included, and they recall what happened with the plans for Doñana, when the Moreno government went from an attitude of open confrontation with the Ministry to a photo op with Teresa Ribera. "He'll eventually be convinced and want to participate, for sure. It's a necessary project for Andalusia," predicts Juanjo Carmona of WWF, who attended the meeting.
"The starting gun"
"The important thing is to fire the starting gun, and that when we talk about restoring wetlands in Spain and fulfilling international restoration obligations, we use La Janda as an example," Carmona asserts, leaving the definition of the legal steps to be taken and the search for tools to reconcile conflicting interests for the future.
That's the elephant in the room. The meeting, the first in what is expected to be a long process, tiptoed around the crux of the matter: the ownership of 6,000 hectares that were public domain, drained, handed over to private individuals, recovered on paper (with a 1967 Supreme Court ruling), and which, in practice, continued to be exploited by private individuals, who now claim them as their own. These are lands on which a thriving agricultural economy has flourished.
The State representative alluded to the ruling confirming the demarcation of the public domain. The Andalusian Regional Government's report protecting landowners was also brought up, and the landowners made their position clear by reading a document in which they oppose the attempted "recovery." Morán stated that this was not the time to open that can of worms, and that the important thing was to create a discussion. "He preferred to open dialogue rather than take a stand," explains Lola Yllescas of Ecologists in Action. "There hasn't even been any mention of the automatic recovery."
For their part, the municipalities have kept a low profile: only the mayors of Vejer and Tarifa attended, and they did not speak. The other meetings were attended by technicians or councilors.
“A Short-Sighted Vision for La Janda”
“The meeting has a positive effect on its existence. Otherwise, it's nothing to write home about,” Yllescas assesses. “The Secretary of State has linked the recovery of La Janda to a Life project. We think it's insufficient. It's a short-sighted vision for La Janda.” “We know that the recovery will be a long and difficult process, with many twists and turns. We're not going to recover it overnight, but we do want to gradually recover small areas.”
José Manuel López, spokesperson for the Friends of La Janda association, expressed a similar sentiment. He believes that the meeting “was an essential step to begin a process that will be long,” but that what was presented “falls a bit short.” "There must be other funding, another series of commitments far beyond a simple Life project," he noted, while expressing his gratitude for the Ministry's step in response to the Andalusian Government's "mistake" of not attending this dialogue table, a position he hopes will be rectified. "What the Regional Government cannot do is shirk its responsibilities and be absent from a process as fundamental as this one will be for the future of the Janda region," he added.
The Platform will issue a joint statement assessing the meeting, but it had presented a very specific document in Vejer, which required not only an organizational design for the meeting to ensure its functionality, but also the definition of a series of milestones that advance toward the ultimate goal of "the recovery of public lands and the restoration of wetlands." These milestones include the initiation of land recovery proceedings, something that predicts confrontation with landowners.
"It's a common heritage and must play a fundamental role in the development of the region," the platform's spokesperson emphasized at the end of the meeting, insisting that everything "obviously" depends on the recovery of public lands. "It was an essential step, but it's only the beginning. It's going to be a long process. Emblematic for naturalists. We hope it will become a reality in a few years."
The Government offers to include La Janda lagoon in a European plan to restore wetlands and asks the regional government to join in.
The meeting called by the Secretary of State leaves a bittersweet taste in the mouths of environmental groups and confirms the rejection of landowners. — The Andalusian regional government avoids meeting with the government to "recover" La Janda, the public lagoon drained by Franco.
by Néstor Cenzio 2nd July 2025 (for the original Spanish text see here)
The meeting convened by the Ministry of Ecological Transition to discuss the future "recovery of the La Janda wetland" in Cádiz has left a bittersweet taste in the mouths of the associations and organizations that have been demanding for years that the lagoon be restored to its former status as a lagoon. On the one hand, the sources consulted agree in highlighting the importance of this step, the first to offer a glimpse of the lagoon drained by the Franco regime, once measuring around 7,000 hectares, returning to its former glory with the contribution of European funds. The meeting also confirms the Ministry's firm commitment, and that there is a plan and resources to make it happen. However, the end still seems far off, and the meeting confirmed that the landowners will be present, although it is not yet known whether they will be accompanied by the Regional Government of Andalusia.
The meeting in Vejer de la Frontera, reported by this newspaper, had been designed by the Ministry of Ecological Transition as a sort of informal presentation of an ambitious wetlands plan that aims to include La Janda. Minister Sara Aagesen had announced this morning: Spain has a plan and funds to restore wetlands.
The project was recently selected by the European Commission under the Life program. Brussels will contribute €25 million over the next decade to carry out investments to recover these spaces, in addition to contributions from the State and the Autonomous Communities and another €75 million from various programs. The total is approximately €150 million.
“We wanted to start with La Janda because there is a very broad and long-standing social movement behind it, a process of advocacy that has been expressed in the region in recent decades,” explained Hugo Morán, Secretary of State for the Environment, at the end of his meeting in Vejer de la Frontera. “We believe it is important that it be carried out with the involvement of society. It should not just be a plan for the administrations.” “It is a national project that has received a very positive assessment from the Commission,” Morán stated.
Waiting for the Regional Government of Andalusia
The Platform for the Recovery of La Janda (made up of a dozen organizations), the local irrigation community, the municipalities of Vejer, Tarifa, Barbate, Medina Sidonia, and Benalup, and the environmental organization WWF were also invited to the meeting. The Regional Government of Andalusia declined the invitation.
Morán emphasized that Andalusia is among the 12 autonomous communities that have collaborated with the Ministry to qualify for the LIFE project. "The Regional Government has joined this plan," Morán emphasized, before insisting that the regional government is responsible for the Guadalete-Barbate hydrographic district, which includes La Janda.
However, La Janda has not identified the La Janda lagoon as one of the wetlands that could be part of the plan. The representative of the central government has once again reached out to the Moreno government to join the next meeting, scheduled for September. "It is necessary to develop a cooperation plan," he stated.
It is unlikely that La Janda will be recovered without the collaboration of the Regional Government. In this sense, environmental organizations believe it will eventually be included, and they recall what happened with the plans for Doñana, when the Moreno government went from an attitude of open confrontation with the Ministry to a photo op with Teresa Ribera. "He'll eventually be convinced and want to participate, for sure. It's a necessary project for Andalusia," predicts Juanjo Carmona of WWF, who attended the meeting.
"The starting gun"
"The important thing is to fire the starting gun, and that when we talk about restoring wetlands in Spain and fulfilling international restoration obligations, we use La Janda as an example," Carmona asserts, leaving the definition of the legal steps to be taken and the search for tools to reconcile conflicting interests for the future.
That's the elephant in the room. The meeting, the first in what is expected to be a long process, tiptoed around the crux of the matter: the ownership of 6,000 hectares that were public domain, drained, handed over to private individuals, recovered on paper (with a 1967 Supreme Court ruling), and which, in practice, continued to be exploited by private individuals, who now claim them as their own. These are lands on which a thriving agricultural economy has flourished.
The State representative alluded to the ruling confirming the demarcation of the public domain. The Andalusian Regional Government's report protecting landowners was also brought up, and the landowners made their position clear by reading a document in which they oppose the attempted "recovery." Morán stated that this was not the time to open that can of worms, and that the important thing was to create a discussion. "He preferred to open dialogue rather than take a stand," explains Lola Yllescas of Ecologists in Action. "There hasn't even been any mention of the automatic recovery."
For their part, the municipalities have kept a low profile: only the mayors of Vejer and Tarifa attended, and they did not speak. The other meetings were attended by technicians or councilors.
“A Short-Sighted Vision for La Janda”
“The meeting has a positive effect on its existence. Otherwise, it's nothing to write home about,” Yllescas assesses. “The Secretary of State has linked the recovery of La Janda to a Life project. We think it's insufficient. It's a short-sighted vision for La Janda.” “We know that the recovery will be a long and difficult process, with many twists and turns. We're not going to recover it overnight, but we do want to gradually recover small areas.”
José Manuel López, spokesperson for the Friends of La Janda association, expressed a similar sentiment. He believes that the meeting “was an essential step to begin a process that will be long,” but that what was presented “falls a bit short.” "There must be other funding, another series of commitments far beyond a simple Life project," he noted, while expressing his gratitude for the Ministry's step in response to the Andalusian Government's "mistake" of not attending this dialogue table, a position he hopes will be rectified. "What the Regional Government cannot do is shirk its responsibilities and be absent from a process as fundamental as this one will be for the future of the Janda region," he added.
The Platform will issue a joint statement assessing the meeting, but it had presented a very specific document in Vejer, which required not only an organizational design for the meeting to ensure its functionality, but also the definition of a series of milestones that advance toward the ultimate goal of "the recovery of public lands and the restoration of wetlands." These milestones include the initiation of land recovery proceedings, something that predicts confrontation with landowners.
"It's a common heritage and must play a fundamental role in the development of the region," the platform's spokesperson emphasized at the end of the meeting, insisting that everything "obviously" depends on the recovery of public lands. "It was an essential step, but it's only the beginning. It's going to be a long process. Emblematic for naturalists. We hope it will become a reality in a few years."
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