Who gains from saving nature
Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Water use · Spain · date not stated

EU court finds Spain ignored illegal water abstraction in Doñana

Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.

Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Not on record
  • The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
What the record lacks: 3 none on record · 1 not measured · 1 unclear See the gaps

The EU Court of Justice found that Spain had not taken illegal water abstraction in Doñana into account. The Doñana aquifers are the nature at stake, and three of its five aquifers are reported in poor condition.

What?
The EU Court of Justice found that Spain had not taken illegal water abstraction in Doñana into account. Court of Justice of the European Union
When?
Court ruling in 2021 (case C-559/19); El Salto report dated November 2024. Court of Justice of the European Union
Who?
Gained
None on record
Lost
None on record
Harmed
None on record
Why?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
Illegal wells and abstraction, according to the El Salto report. El Salto
5 of 6 questions answered from the record · open: who

What happened

The record, in order.

In 2021 the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that Spain had not taken illegal water abstraction in Doñana into account.

A November 2024 El Salto report covers illegal wells and poor aquifers in Doñana.

    In court and with insurers

    Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

    Lawsuits and rulings

    1. 2021Outcome not on record
      Case C-559/19
      Court of Justice of the European Union · Administrative · Not stated in the sources reviewed → Spain

      The court found that Spain had not taken illegal water abstraction in Doñana into account. Court of Justice of the European Union

    Insurers

    No insurer decision on record.

    What we don't know

    Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.

    Nature

    • Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.

    Court

    • Unclear Case C-559/19: outcome not on record.

    Record

    • None on record The sources reviewed do not say who brought the case or what remedy was ordered.
    • None on record The sources reviewed do not say which wells were illegal or how many there are.
    • None on record The sources reviewed do not say who gained from the illegal abstraction.

    Did the harm stop?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Who paid?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Sources

    Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators✓ Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers

    Courts

    1. Doñana: illegal abstraction, case C-559/19 (summary)
      Court of Justice of the European Union · 2021

    Press and investigations

    Connected cases

    Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.

    Science and environment

    Groundwater
    Water held underground in soil and rock, drawn through wells.