Favorable environmental statement to transform 294 hectares of olive groves into irrigated land

The General Directorate of Sustainable Management and Forest Policy has issued a favorable environmental impact statement for the project to transform 294.42 hectares of dryland into irrigated land for the planting of super-intensive olive groves and cork oak on the “Mesas del Romeral” estate, in Arroyomolinos (Cáceres). The resolution, dated September 15, 2026, is published in the Official Gazette of Extremadura (DOE) No. 188, of September 29, 2026, with official reference 2026062420 and file IA24/2260.

The project is processed through the ordinary environmental assessment procedure as it is included in group 1, section c) of Annex I of Law 21/2013, of December 9, on environmental assessment, and in Annex IV of Law 16/2015, of April 23, on environmental protection of Extremadura. The environmental body acts in accordance with Article 17.6 of Decree 18/2026, of April 30, on the basic organic structure of the Extremaduran Administration, and depends on the Regional Ministry of Industry, Energy, Science, and Territory. The promoter is Mr. Ramón Saavedra Silva.

A 326-hectare estate adjacent to Cornalvo

The action is located in the “Mesas del Romeral” area, on the southern border of the municipality of Arroyomolinos, on plots 6, 7, and 10006 of polygon 13, with a total area of 326.0754 hectares according to SIGPAC. Of these, 294.42 hectares will be transformed into irrigated land, and 31.6257 hectares will remain untransformed.

The planned crop distribution is as follows:

• Super-intensive olive grove: 195.36 hectares, with a planting frame of 4.5 x 1.3 meters and 1,709 plants per hectare.
• Intensive cork oak: 99.06 hectares, with a frame of 6 x 6 meters and 277 plants per hectare.

The estate is not included in any protected natural area or the Natura 2000 Network, but it borders to the west the Cornalvo Natural Park and the SPA-SAC “Embalse de Cornalvo y Sierra Bermeja”. The declaration requires respecting a 20-meter untransformed strip on that border, maintaining the vegetation cover in the planting rows, and leaving an 8-meter radius free of cultivation around existing holm oaks and cork oaks.

Irrigation from the Orellana Canal with 734,670 cubic meters per year

The water will come from an intake in the Orellana Canal, in the municipality of Guareña (Badajoz), and will be stored in two interconnected regulation ponds of 91,923 and 79,970 cubic meters, considered small dams. The requested volume amounts to 734,670 cubic meters annually: 586,080 for the olive grove (3,000 m³/ha-year) and 148,590 for the cork oak (1,500 m³/ha-year).

The surface water concession is being processed by the Guadiana Hydrographic Confederation under file number CONC. 63/18 (2600/2018), requested on December 28, 2018. The basin authority reported that there are sufficient water resources and that the request is compatible with the Guadiana Hydrological Plan, although execution may not begin without the prior concessional resolution.

No objections and with environmental conditions

The public information regarding the environmental impact study was published in DOE No. 74 on April 16, 2025, and no objections were received. Affected administrations were consulted starting April 7, 2025, with reports from the Guadiana Hydrographic Confederation, the Santa Amalia City Council, the Mérida City Council, the Nature Conservation and Protected Areas Service, and the General Directorate of Libraries, Archives and Cultural Heritage, among others. The environmental organizations consulted—Ecologistas en Acción, ADENEX, SEO/BirdLife, Greenpeace, AMUS, and the Nature and Man Foundation—did not respond.

The conditions require the appointment of an environmental coordinator, the preparation of a monitoring plan prior to the works, monthly reports during construction, and annual reports during operation, as well as preventive archaeological measures due to the proximity of sites such as El Confesionario or La Parrilla. It also mandates processing the change of land use from forestry to agricultural for areas with FO use in the SIGPAC and the installation of a meter for the actual flow rates captured. No monitoring commission will be created.

The favorable environmental declaration allows for the unlocking of a large-scale agricultural investment in the region, but its effectiveness is subject to the Guadiana water concession and extensive environmental conditions. The resolution also highlights a positive effect: the cork oak grove will increase from 37.61 to 99.06 hectares, an increase of 61.46 hectares of forest land. The declaration will expire if the execution of the project does not begin within four years of its publication.

Source: Official Gazette of Extremadura, No. 188, of September 29, 2026, section III (official reference: 2026062420).