An area larger than the city of Madrid or the island of Menorca is being irrigated across Spain with water extracted illegally, according to a comprehensive study published by the environmental organization WWF.
The investigation, conducted over an 18-month period, identified approximately 80,000 hectares of farmland supplied by unauthorized water extraction across “six sensitive zones” prone to water theft. The findings, based on data collected in 2023 and 2024, expose a widespread and largely unpunished environmental crime threatening some of Spain’s most fragile ecosystems.
Six Critical Zones Under Scrutiny
The WWF study analyzed water misuse by agricultural operators in six critical regions:
- Upper Guadiana (Castilla-La Mancha)
- Almonte-Marismas (Doñana)
- Los Arenales Aquifer (Castilla y León)
- Baza (Granada)
- Campo de Cartagena (Region of Murcia)
- Southeast Spain (Albacete, Alicante, and Almería)
The Upper Guadiana region warrants particular attention. Home to Las Tablas de Daimiel and the Lagunas de Ruidera, this area contains 39,000 hectares of irrigated land fed by water withdrawals showing “clear signs of illegality.” The study describes it as “the epicenter of water theft in Spain.”
“These cases are not isolated incidents but reveal a much more widespread problem linked to one of the most common and unpunished environmental crimes in Spain,” said Teresa Gil, head of WWF’s Water Program.
Progress and Worsening Conditions
WWF first investigated illegal water extraction in 2021. The new report expands its geographic scope and reveals mixed results. Positive developments include reduced illegal irrigation around Mar Menor—Europe’s largest saltwater lagoon—and in the Los Arenales aquifer.
However, WWF spokesperson Juanjo Carmona told Spanish public broadcaster RTVE that “in other cases, the problem is not only becoming entrenched but is actually worsening.”
The report highlights particularly concerning situations, including the Baza region in Granada province, one of the least-known problem areas. An estimated 62% of the total irrigated area there is supplied by illegally obtained water, with local water sources “drying up for years due to overexploitation.”
WWF also raises alarms about Albacete, where “individuals with prior legal troubles for illegal activities” elsewhere—particularly in Campo de Cartagena—have established operations. The increase in illegal irrigation in this Castilla-La Mancha province, where approximately 11,500 hectares are illegally irrigated, is closely linked to the decline of Mar Menor.
Mar Menor: A Case Study in Enforcement
Following several eutrophication episodes—the appearance of “green algae”—in 2016, 2019, and 2021, authorities began taking stronger measures against illegal crops, the primary cause of excess nutrients in the protected lagoon.
Spain adopted the Mar Menor Law in 2020, and in 2022, the Ministry for Ecological Transition approved the Priority Action Framework for the Restoration of Mar Menor (MAPMM). Since then, significant reductions in both the area and volume of illegal water withdrawals have been observed.
Specifically, groundwater extraction showing signs of illegality has decreased by 65%, and illegally irrigated area has dropped from 11,000 to 3,271 hectares between 2019 and 2024, according to WWF’s analysis.
Doñana: Mixed Results
The Doñana case presents a complex picture. Following controversy over proposed legislation in Andalusia aimed at expanding irrigation near the national park, illegal strawberry and berry cultivation in the La Rocina groundwater area decreased in 2023. This was one of the most heavily exploited zones of the aquifer.
WWF notes “significant progress” in Doñana regarding water use monitoring and control by the Guadalquivir Basin Authority. Nevertheless, Carmona believes the agency’s efforts, under the Ministry for Ecological Transition, are “moving very slowly.”
“About 90 hectares of berry crops are being gradually removed each year, and we still have 300 hectares remaining; it will take nearly four years” for complete elimination, he explained.
While berry cultivation is being phased out, Carmona notes “an increase in intensive olive cultivation in other areas of the aquifer.” This shift toward other water-intensive crops is widespread, according to the NGO.
Subsidies Fueling the Problem
All analyzed regions have experienced a transition from traditional rain-fed agriculture to “industrialized and ultra-intensive irrigated agriculture.” WWF criticizes that this transition “has been encouraged by public subsidies, resulting in increased irrigated area and greater water resource use,” creating a “pull factor” for illegal extraction.
For Carmona, beyond the number of hectares, the core problem with water theft is that it is “economically profitable.” Although authorities impose fines, they take so long to materialize that harvests are already completed.
“Regulations allow agricultural activity to continue for years without having to shut down,” he emphasized. “We need to demand that confederations have the legal tools, human resources, and material means necessary. If it takes seven years to stop a high-yield crop, it’s more profitable to continue.”
“We need a framework allowing immediate and preventive closure of illegal lands and wells,” he concluded.
