Spain parched

Spain is facing the longest ever dry patch this century. The drought spells disaster for crops. Although the Agrarian Young Farmers Association pegs drought losses at us $2.34 billion, Greenpeace believes that the total cost to the Spanish economy was twice that figure for 1994 alone.

The government responded by implementing emergency measures like the shipping of water from Huelva to Cadiz. Long-term plans like new reservoirs and urban waste water treatment plants have been outlined in the draft National Hydrological Plan. However, ecologists argue that instead of merely increasing the water supply, the government should curb wasteful farming practices and wasteful consumption by the tourism sector.