Spain's MITECO funds rural repopulation and Doñana ecological restoration

The Spanish Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) has announced two distinct environmental and demographic initiatives.

In the western Salamanca region, MITECO has granted approximately 300,000 euros to the Mancomunidad de Vitigudino to support a repopulation project titled ‘Revive el oeste salmantino’. The initiative, which has a total budget of 333,170.57 euros, aims to attract 35 families to the area over a 22-month period. The funding includes 100,000 euros dedicated to rehabilitating vacant properties for rural rental use.

Separately, the Biodiversity Foundation of MITECO has released the resolution for subsidies aimed at crop abandonment and ecological restoration in the Doñana area. An investment of 28.5 million euros will benefit 66 preselected projects covering 407.14 hectares. This program is designed to reduce pressure on the Doñana aquifer; it is estimated that the renaturalization of these lands could save approximately 1.8 cubic hectometers of water annually, a significant amount compared to the estimated 1.5 cubic hectometers currently being irregularly extracted from the aquifer.