More pressure in the pillage of millenary olive trees in Montsià
As we have already told you, one of the most painful problems nowadays in the “Tierras del Ebro” region is what we call the plundering of olive trees. It happens when our centennial and millennial olive trees are indiscriminately uprooted and sold to agents around the world so they can use them to better decorate the gardens and properties of rich people or powerful institutions.
For years, the “Salvem el Montsià” platform has been denouncing a situation that is considered an irreparable loss for our landscape, our environment and our economic and cultural heritage. Until now, this wealth can be found in our fields, but it takes a few hours to disappear. When an olive tree vanishes from our land, a part of our identities is lost as well.
At the beginning of 2019, the government of Catalonia promised to protect our olive trees through laws that would prohibit the extraction and trade. However, there has not yet been time enough to enact them yet.
In anticipation of this restrictive regulation, the pressure of those who buy and uproot olive trees has intensified. Thus, they can take advantage of a legal vacuum that is meant to disappear soon. Local press reported, for example, a new pillage in the area of the Ermita de la Pietat, in Ulldecona, at the beginning of April.
From Ralda + Friends we do sympathize with the work of “Salvem el Montsià” and we keep on offering our platform as a megaphone for the cause. We also add ourselves to the legitimate request for more protective legislations on our heritage.
The concern also extends to Europe
It is because of the work of “Salvemos el Montsià” that media from more countries are echoing the problem. On April 11, the German weekly “Jungle World” detailed in an article how millenary olive trees work: “In Spain, century-old olive trees are planted and sent around the world as luxury goods. Resistance to this lucrative business is being formed in Montsià, Catalonia”, said the journalist. You can consult the article in this link.
