United Left of Aragón has denounced the "irresponsibility" that, in their view, the Government of Aragón shows by avoiding to state whether or not the macrofestival Sizigia should be authorized in the vicinity of the La Sotonera reservoir (Huesca), an event that is expected to gather thousands of people in a protected natural space and during the peak fire risk season.
In the responses sent to the questions registered by their spokesperson in the Cortes of Aragón, Marga Abengochea, the regional Executive limits itself to pointing out that the competence to greenlight the event lies with the body responsible for public shows and that the Department of Environment and Tourism is limited to assessing the possible environmental impacts.
However, the deputy and General Coordinator of IU Aragón emphasizes that the Government does not respond to any of the questions raised about the safeguarding of the ecosystem, the reinforcement of emergency services, or the appropriateness of organizing a festival of this magnitude in a particularly delicate context.
Abengochea considers it especially alarming that the Government of PP and Vox tries to evade its responsibilities when the Aragonese Institute of Environmental Management (INAGA) has already laid out the risks posed by the project.
The environmental agency determined that the initiative should undergo a simplified environmental assessment due to its possible impacts on wildlife, vegetation, soil, and water resources, also warning of the fire danger associated with the high concentration of people and the infrastructure necessary for the celebration of the festival.
"The Government's response demonstrates a worrying lack of commitment to the protection of the natural environment. We are not told whether it considers it appropriate to hold this macroevent in a Special Protection Area for Birds and during the fire season, nor what specific measures it plans to adopt to protect the surroundings," points out the spokesperson for United Left of Aragón.
IU reminds that the festival is intended to take place in a site of high ecological value integrated into the Natura 2000 Network, an environment that hosts important populations of birds and plays a key role for numerous migratory species.
Furthermore, the scheduled date would coincide with a time of special burden for emergency services due to the device designed for the solar eclipse expected on August 12.
Defense of Aragonese Natural Heritage
On the other hand, the coordinator of Izquierda Unida of Alto Aragón, Vicente Guerrero, considers "incompatible" the defense of Aragonese natural heritage with the authorization of mass events that may compromise especially fragile ecosystems.
"The reality is that the Government of Aragón assures in its response to the questions of our parliamentary group that the authorization of the Sizigia festival is still pending and distances itself from the final decision about its celebration," explains Guerrero, who demands that the Executive act with transparency, disseminate all technical reports, and prioritize environmental protection over any economic or business interest.
"When the environmental agency itself warns of significant risks to the environment, the Government cannot hide behind administrative issues. Its obligation is to guarantee the conservation of Aragonese natural heritage and act with the utmost precautionary principle," he concludes.