A-Infos (en) Sicilia Libertaria 2-24: State of permanent drought (ca, de, it, pt, tr) [machine translation]

There are no longer the droughts of the past. Previously, at least, the 
lack of water on the island was only felt in summer. Provinces such as 
those of Agrigento and Caltanissetta, above all, every year had, and 
must, deal with the same script: dry taps in homes for days and weeks, 
agricultural production that sustains only thanks to the extensive use 
of greenhouses, farmers in knee forced to refuel from expensive tankers. 
---- Between the end of 2023 and the beginning of 2024, however, we 
witnessed an unprecedented winter drought in the whole of Sicily for the 
first time. In reality, the signs had already been evident for some time 
but we preferred not to see them, concentrated as we are on a citizen 
vision of the world, in which our yardstick becomes the supermarket 
shelf: if I can continue to buy strawberries in the winter , bananas 
from Ecuador or avocados from Chile, where is the problem? And yet for 
years the oranges in the Catania plain have been getting smaller, for 
years the expanses of vines in the province of Trapani have been 
thinning out, for years farmers have preferred legumes (which need 
little water) to tomatoes (which instead require a lot). In January 
there was never any talk of water rationing, which instead took place in 
39 municipalities, and of irrigation bans almost everywhere.

But the data is impressive: according to a recent report from the Anbi 
(the national association of land and irrigation water management and 
protection consortia), in Sicily the second half of 2023 was the driest 
for over a century. It has also been calculated that to re-establish a 
condition of semi-normality, which could still save an agricultural 
season already on the ropes, 54 billion cubic meters of water would be 
needed. Something simply impossible, because the ongoing climate changes 
are here to stay and indeed increase in intensity, and because the 
mismanagement of the water network, at the same time, is something 
structural.

For decades Sicily has not broken free from the horrendous record of 
water dispersion, chronically stable at more or less around 50%. And on 
the other hand it is known that it rains less and less and worse, in the 
sense that the data, already worrying, must be further contextualised 
because there is less constant but more intense rainfall (the so-called 
extreme meteorological events), with the havoc of the Sicilian dams who 
are forced to discharge excess water. With the shortage of reservoirs, 
hydroelectric energy is also affected which, at a national level, is 
still the most widespread renewable energy. Instead, the latest regional 
data says that compared to last month there is 12% less water in the 
dams. The decline is greatest on the most vulnerable reservoirs: Fanaco 
and Rosamarina, in the Palermo hinterland; Pozzillo, in the province of 
Enna, which is at an all-time low. To this dramatic scenario it must be 
added that the situation is destined to worsen. Suffice it to say that 
the African anticyclone, which until now had remained over Spain, is 
about to move over Italy, and this means that we can forget about the 
showers. It is also worth adding that dry dams also mean less energy, 
given that in Sicily eight reservoirs are intended for the production of 
hydroelectric energy.

As we write we learn that the national commissioner for the water 
emergency has summoned all the basin authorities in Rome. Explaining 
that the focus will be above all on Sicily and Sardinia. The Sicilian 
Region has made it known that it has asked for 150 million euros for 
immediate interventions on reservoirs and pipelines, for projects that 
have existed for some time but are somehow blocked. A source within the 
region let us know that Schifani's government should soon finally 
unblock the establishment of the permanent observatory on water uses. 
The first step should be to declare a high severity state for drought. 
So much for it, what power! What a wonderful intervention, what an 
incredible novelty! The objective, obviously, is to pressure the Meloni 
government to immediately release the necessary money. But the fascist 
bass drum in power is more interested in renewing the expropriations of 
the bridge and differentiated autonomy.

Circumstances such as the fiery days of July 2023, with the city of 
Catania without water for two weeks, are destined to repeat themselves 
and become more constant, as the recent case of water rationing in 
Barcelona also teaches. The next candidate in this sense is Palermo, 
where there is one of the worst water networks in Italy. In short, a 
slow-motion dystopia is emerging in front of us, in which we will have 
to fight for access to water, for a resource that we still take for 
granted. What seems clear is that Sicily is heading towards a state of 
permanent drought. We must understand from now on that on this front the 
state is the enemy and can be neither an ally nor an interlocutor, 
interested as it is in guaranteeing financial returns to giants such as 
Nestlè (who have cornered a precious source in Santo Stefano di 
Quisquina), to profit from water concessions and the impotence of 
reclamation consortia. Less water available means more state control, 
more manipulation of populations starting from primary needs.

If it is true that historically water has always been a source of 
conflicts, it is equally undeniable that so far the priorities of the 
fight over it, at least in Sicily, have focused on other aspects, from 
contamination to waste. This is why now we need a paradigm shift, even 
in the demands. There will be less and less water, due to a system that 
has created the conditions for its lack. So if we want access to water 
to still be guaranteed for everyone, all we have to do is overturn the 
development model that is making us thirsty.

A.T.

https://www.sicilialibertaria.it/
_________________________________________
A - I N F O S  N E W S  S E R V I C E
By, For, and About Anarchists
Send news reports to A-infos-en mailing list
A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
Subscribe/Unsubscribe https://ainfos.ca/mailman/listinfo/a-infos-en
Archive: http://ainfos.ca/en