The environmental organization WWF Spain has filed an appeal with the Secretary of State for Energy against the resolution of August 11 that authorized Repsol's exploratory surveys off Lanzarote and Fuerteventura. The organization argues that the project area is of "exceptional international importance for cetaceans", and that "no measures have been evaluated or proposed to avoid irreversible impacts on these species".
WWF's appeal is in addition to the one already filed by the Government of the Canary Islands, and is the preliminary step to legal action. When these appeals are rejected, as is likely to happen, it will be possible to go to the National Court, initiating another legal process against the surveys.
WWF recalls that in the waters east of Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, where the surveys have been authorized, "a third of all species of cetaceans on the planet meet, including sperm whales, beaked whales and dolphins, which makes the area the most important in the EU for these marine mammals." In addition, they emphasize that the resolution of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment, which in May declared Repsol's project environmentally viable, stated that "to date, the breeding sites and migration patterns of these species are unknown, so there are no measures to avoid their impact."
According to WWF's appeal, "there is scientific information that demonstrates the exceptional environmental richness of the area, but these facts were ignored by the Ministry of the Environment in the organization's allegations to the project."
The organization also explains that it is currently promoting an international campaign to demand that the Government "create a Sanctuary for whales and dolphins in these waters."