Spain: The High Court of Justice of Galicia strengthens the protection of fundamental rights against environmental degradation

By judgment 313/2025, of 11 July (appeal 4019/2025), the Second Section of the Contentious-Administrative Chamber of the High Court of Justice of Galicia has declared that the fundamental rights of the residents of As Conchas (Orense) to life and to property, in relation to the right to the enjoyment of water and of an environment that is healthy and suitable to people’s needs, have been violated, given the inaction of the Xunta de Galicia and the Hydrographic Confederation of the Miño-Sil in the face of the well-known environmental degradation of the reservoir and its surroundings deriving from the intense livestock load borne.

The judgment considers that the Xunta de Galicia allowed an excessive increase in macro-farms (more than 300) in the affected region, which, together with the ineffective management of the waste they generated, caused a saturation of the environment that the land was incapable of absorbing, and thereby harmed the environment. Likewise, the court highlights the inaction of the Hydrographic Confederation of the Miño-Sil in the face of the worsening of water quality since the year 2011 and the proliferation of the authorizations of that type of facilities.

The Chamber has ordered both administrations to immediately adopt whatever measures are necessary so that the odors and the environmental degradation of the As Conchas reservoir and its surroundings cease. It also orders them to immediately adopt whatever measures are necessary to guarantee that the supply of drinking water is clean, safe, and free of microorganisms and chemical substances.