According to Observador, the environmental association Zero expressed its “strong opposition” to the construction of a new dam on the Tagus, in the Constância area (Santarém), stating that it “promotes an unsustainable agricultural model and compromises water sustainability”.

In a statement, Zero criticised the study on 'Valorisation of Water Resources for Agriculture in the Tagus Valley and West', whose public consultation ended on Friday, having stated that it “rejects the 1.3 billion euro (ME) project for capturing water for agriculture (…)” and that the new dam planned on the Tagus, within the scope of that project, “promotes an unsustainable agricultural model and compromises water sustainability”.

“After a detailed analysis” of the study in public consultation, the association considered that “the construction of a new dam between Vila Nova da Barquinha and Constância represents a serious strategic error”, with “unacceptable impacts”, environmental and social, among others.

“The project promotes an unsustainable agricultural model, favoring intensive agriculture with high water consumption and presents unacceptable environmental, social and economic impacts,” Zero said, noting that, “in addition, it does not explore truly sustainable alternatives for the region.”

The issue at hand is the construction of a new dam on the Tagus, in the area known as “Constância Norte”, with the public discussion of the project receiving negative criticism from business people, environmentalists and mayors of the Constância and Barquinha councils, who warned of the damage it would cause in economic, tourist and environmental terms.

Zero also expressed its concerns, warning that the project represents a “million-dollar investment” and a “high-risk bet on the future of water”.

“The economic viability of an investment of 1.3 thousand ME, which is equivalent to a cost of 30,305 Euros/ha processed, is highly questionable”, noted Zero, having stated that the project “is based on fragile assumptions, without a clear financing plan and with high associated risks”.

Questioning the “future water availability”, in a project that “assumes that the flow of the Tagus River will be sufficient to supply the newly irrigated areas”, Zero stated that the study “ignores the environmental and social costs of the project, such as the loss of biodiversity, the degradation of water quality and the impacts on local tourism”.

“A more comprehensive cost-benefit analysis could reveal that the project is not economically viable in the long term,” he stressed, stating that it “promotes an unsustainable and predatory agricultural model.”

For Zero, this project “follows the logic of the model adopted in Alqueva, based on intensive monoculture, without meeting the national needs for self-supply and promoting the over-exploitation of water resources, with very serious environmental and social consequences, (…) worsening the risks of water scarcity in the regions covered and compromising the quality of water resources, soils and biodiversity”.

Stating that the project “could accentuate the concentration of ownership and exploitation of soil and water, while further precarious working conditions in the agricultural sector, accentuating social inequalities”, Zero argued that “the incentive for this agricultural model disregards the need to adapt agriculture to the climatic realities and environmental challenges” of the future.

“The study fails to consider viable and more sustainable alternatives, such as regenerative agricultural systems and more efficient and adaptable irrigation systems,” they stressed.

In the same note, the Zero association stated that the project could lead to “non-compliance with environmental commitments”, having highlighted that “the construction of the dam will harm river connectivity, putting migratory fish species such as sea lamprey and shad at risk, in addition to favoring the proliferation of invasive species”.

In this sense, and “given the risks and impacts identified”, Zero considered that this project “represents a serious setback in the sustainable management of water resources” and called on the competent authorities to “rethink the agricultural development strategy for the Tagus Valley and West, opting for solutions aligned with environmental preservation and climate resilience”.