No rain, only pain in Spain

The largest nature reserve in Andalusia, Fuente de Piedra, usually welcomes thousands of pairs of flamingos each year, which this year have been absent due to the drought. The combination of extreme temperatures, droughts and other factors aggravate the risk of erosion and the loss of soil quality, warns Spain’s Ecology Minister Teresa Ribera. — AFP

ONGOING droughts and an over-exploitation of land for both agriculture and industry have stoked fears in Spain over the creeping spread of “sterile soil” which could devastate Europe’s kitchen garden.

“There used to be a holm oak forest here... but now the land is barren,” says Gabriel del Barrio, pointing to a hill where only stunted shrubs remain.