The Goliaths of San Simón
and a landmark climate ruling in Switzerland
Dear community,
Over the past year and a half, we have focused our content on community stories that highlight how effective grassroots activism is in preventing environmental destruction and regenerating natural spaces.
This week the powerful story of the Plataforma en Defensa da Ensenada de San Simón, which has long been protecting the natural beauty of the Vigo estuary from the significant commercial and government interests attracted to one of Europe’s most important ports. Scroll down to read more.
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♾️ eco-story
The Goliaths of San Simón
For the past two decades, the legend of David, the young shepherd who defeated the giant Goliath with a stone and a sling, has echoed in Galicia, Spain. The Ensenada de San Simón is a space included in the Natura 2000 Network, a web of protected areas covering Europe’s most valuable and threatened species and habitats, and therefore theoretically protected under the European Union’s Nature Conservancy Act. But these supposed protections are often too lax, as each EU country decides how best to implement these regulations based on the understanding that each site in this network is unique, so it’s on the landowners and site managers to work together to find local solutions for each area.
The Ensenada de San Simón has, on paper, been protected since 2001, when it joined the Natura 2000. But these protections are often ignored in the face of the interests of Goliaths like Pescanova and the Port of Vigo.
“The Vigo fish market is the most important port for the commercialisation of fish for human consumption on the European continent, and it serves as a central point for fish trading at both European and global levels.”
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