The government delegate in Extremadura, José Luis Quintana, has highlighted the importance of the agreement reached between the Guadiana Hydrographic Confederation (CHG), Badajoz City Council and Junta de Extremadura to sign the collaboration protocol that allows to undertake the necessary actions for the eradication of the Mexican nenúfar in the Guadiana River. The agreement was concluded at the meeting held today in Badajoz, which was also attended by Maribel Cortés, Badajoz’s deputy delegate, and the president of the Guadiana Hydrographic Confederation (CHG), Samuel Moraleda; the mayor of Badajoz, Ignacio Gragera, and the councilor for Urbanism, Carlos Urueña; and the general director of Sustainability, Germán Puebla.
In his appearance after the meeting, Quintana thanked the three administrations for their willingness to cooperate in the fight against this invasive plant. “It is essential that we understand the magnitude of this situation and hence the importance of possible future actions being obtained from the collaboration of all parties. Future actions require us to join forces and work in a coordinated manner among all the administrations involved,” he said.
The government delegate pointed out that this is an important action and not without discomfort for the residents of Badajoz, “but the agreement reached is the response that the citizens expected from us. And that has been our job as a Government Delegation, to seat all parties and reach this understanding,” said Quintana. Although there are no closed deadlines, the forecast is that the work could start from October 2025 and has an estimated duration of three years. The budget that is managed to undertake this action is around 25 million euros and would be financed from European funds.