San Sebastian, Spain

The defenders

The ANTONDEGI BERDEA-OLATUAK ITSASOAN collective is made up of the ocean protection association Surfrider Foundation Europe, the environmental group Eguzki, the climate change movement Fridays for Future, the conservation associations Haritzalde and Parkea Bizirik, the ornithological association Itsas Enara and the Bizilagunekin platform. In addition, the group has the support of Greenpeace, Surf & Nature Alliance and SEO-Birdlife, and plans to bring in other members.

State of the environment

Many of our activities alter these surfaces and increase the vulnerability of ecosystems to the effects of climate change, particularly land use projects or those involving high water consumption, such as artificial wave pools. Concreting over a 9-hectare natural and agricultural area such as Antondegi would prevent water from infiltrating the soil to replenish the water table and increase the risk of flooding in the surrounding plots. The construction of this site would destroy a rich natural environment that serves as a green corridor for mammals such as foxes and badgers, as well as hundreds of bird species, some of which are endangered. Our mission is to discredit the project, which is not in the public interest. We are putting pressure on WaveGarden and the Donostia City Council, which owns the land along with the Basque Government and is promoting the project by amending the General Urban Development Plan (Modificación del Plan General de Ordenación Urbana). We want to ensure that environmental protection commitments and regulations are respected in order to request the reclassification of the Antondegi site as undevelopable land (maintained in its natural state or as a rural park).

Our demands

The objective of the ANTONDEGI BERDEA-OLATUAK ITSASOAN collective is to defend Antondegi as a natural space and to stop the artificial wave project or any other project that threatens this environment.