[nick]

Photographer Ricardo Casas has this series of photos on "Rustic golf". http://www.ricardocases.es/ and follow the link
 

I came across him yesterday and posted this.
http://www.iberianature.com/spainblog/2007/08/03/hunting-the-frozen-wolf/

[Technopat]

Greetings All,
Do NOT - repeat - do NOT follow Lisa's link on this thread - Darwin knows what you'll have appearing on your screen  . All I can say is that it has nothing at **** all to do with golf courses! You have been warned!

B. that as it m., and following Lisa's far from subtle suggestions that my proposed petition be scaled down somewhat - even tho' the draft I posted originally was in fact the précised version - I have now managed to re-edit it for the consideration of iberianatureforumers (tho' there are still a couple of loose ends in there, please add to it of your plenty - all suggestions welcome):

Petition to be sent to EU Commissioner, Spain’s Minister for the Environment, Presidents of Spain’s 17 Autonomous Communities and the UK press (and any other)

11 reasons for signing this petition

1. Spain is one of the European countries most seriously affected by desertization. (31,49% of Spain faces high to very high risk (source: Spain’s Ministry of the Environment - http://www.mma.es/images/general/biodiversidad/desertificacion/que_es_desertificacion/riesgo.gif and http://www.programaagua.com/secciones/medios_comunicacion/prensa/notas_pre/2005/04/pdf/Desertificacion2005nota.pdf).)

2. It already has one of the highest rates of water consumption per head. The third highest in the world. (source: Institute of Business Technology of the Balearic Islands - http://www.idi.es/)

3. Spain is now entering its 3rd successive year of officially declared drought, with many villages in Andalusia, especially, having water rationing during summer - while nearby hotels catering for foreign tourists face no such rationing (source: ¡Error!Marcador no definido.  ).

4. Spain already has 341 golf courses (Source: Real Federación Española de Golf - http://www.golfspainfederacion.com/) with local authority authorisation for another 320-odd approved. (source Greenpeace - http://www.greenpeace.org/espana/)

5. Andalusia, the driest region of the country, is the region with most golf courses (96, with another 316 projected) with some areas, such as Malaga, having up to 46 golf courses. (Source: Real Federación Española de Golf).

6. Business for golf (a game not played extensively in Spain) is aimed at mainly UK golfers coming over for a few days’ golf at an all-inclusive complex, pre-paid in the UK, resulting in very little money being re-invested in the local community.

7. Many villages routinely demonstrate against existing or projected golf courses in their vecinity, as they have enforced water rationing during much of the day in summer, whereas the golf courses have their own wells which are, of course, drying the aquifers that supply the neighbouring regions (see point 3, above).

8. Many licences are being given by cash-struck local councils, either in exchange for back-handers or the carrot-stick of jobs – as of August 2007, 18 mayors have been jailed for illegally giving planning permission for golf courses and housing developments.

9. Golf courses make sense in areas with abundant annual rainfall. As anyone with a lawn to look after during the UK droughts of XX will remember, it takes an awful amount of water to care for a green, never mind 18 of ‘em!

10. As many visitors to Spain in summer can testify, playing golf in blazing sunshine and average temperatures reaching upwards of 40ºC between 11 a.m and 6 p.m. (source: http://www.iberianature.com) is hardly likely to improve anyone’s handicap.

11. Spain is a wonderful country to visit and enjoy. It has an unparalleled variety in landscape, gastronomy and leisure activities. Let’s all try to help make sure this lasts for many more years.

[lisa]

Well done Technopat. There's a slight delay in getting the petition off the ground while I recover from a trapped nerve (comments only if they're funny  )
The link is where the petition is going to originate from unless you can find a better one. 

[Technopat]

Greetings Lisa,
Not quite clear re. your cryptic last:
a) is a trapped nerve something to hand out sympathy for or is it funny in itself, as in "Does it hurt? - Only when I laugh"? If the former, you have my sympathy and hope you get well soon - we need you fighting fit here at iberianatureforum, although I'm sure SueMac and Jill and All can hold the fort while you're out of action  , if the latter, don't laugh!;
b) really don't get what you mean by

The link is where the petition is going to originate from unless you can find a better one.

- the heat down here makes it difficult to think straight.

Regs.
Technopat

[lisa]

Have managed to limp down to the computer, pain v. real.

TP, I know the petition site has changed and become a little twee but it's just a means to an end. Was it really frightening
 

[Technopat]

Greetings Lisa,
Sorry to hear pain v. real - had been intending to make comment such as "someone been getting on yer nerves, then" and the like, but I'll leave 'em for another day 

Re. your cryptic last and the missing link:
My warning to all iberianatureforumers still holds:

Ricardo Casas has this series of photos on "Rustic golf". http://www.ricardocases.es/ and follow the link

Not intentionally trying to be nuisance in such trying moments, but when you get over the nerves, could you please try to clarfiy? Thanx!

Get better!
Technopat

Ps
Homeopathic remedy for all sorts of muscular etc. injuries, sprains, bruises, etc. as used by top athletes (strongest thing they can use without going positive): Traumeel in tablet form or as lotion

[lisa]

Thank Darwin for that, mystery solved. Link not mine 

Thanks for the medical tip.

P.S. Temp. down to about 20 degrees in the Picos today 

[lisa]

P.P.S. Am now going back to loll in my bed.

[Simon]

Hi Techno, Lisa and other warriors,

I’ve finally managed to devote a day to the gold course issue and I’m sending a précis of my article on the subject to a number of editors. The final outcome may be very different as all journals have their own house style, word limit, as I’m sure y’all know!

Just a few notes and queries:

Reply # 21 – draft petition
a) Point 1., in your draft petition may I suggest you change ‘desertization’ to ‘desertification’, which is more commonly used.
b) Point 8. , could you give me a reference for these statistics?
c) Point 9., I’d like to calculate some mind boggling ststistic to highlight this issue, like ‘Spains’ gold courses use as much water as the Isle of Wight. So, does anyone know how many l/m2 of watering a lawn needs and how much green there is in the average gold course?

Reply # 17
Can you give me a reference for the number of judges that have been impeached, and qualify that with some sort of global average?

Many replies refer to the petition itself, e.g. # 24, but I can’t seem to see any link to the petition in the posts that I’ve been reviewing. This is probably me being dumb as usual, but could you help me, Lisa?

Thanks

Simon

PS much sympathy for you Lisa, from bitter personal experience! If it looks like becoming a chronic problem, try acupuncture!

[Technopat]

Greetings Simon and Lisa and All,
After most of the morning spent fighting with Telefónica, and while on hold, trying to do some research, have come up with the following, which rather than save everyone a lot of time, just generates more work  - sorry, but that's the way it is - Telefónica still haven't solved the prob., thank you for asking!

Interesting articles for background info. at the following web sites:

http://www.worldwatch.org/node/797 Matters of Scale - Planet Golf

http://www.worldwatch.org/node/5272 Program Helps Golf Courses “Green” Their Greens

http://www.sochaczewski.com/ARTeco-golf-july2001.htm - THE FUTURE OF GOLF: HOW GREEN ARE YOUR GREENS?

The European Golf Association http://www.ega-golf.ch/070000/070500.asp also has an interesting links page

OK – the cup must be placed at least 10 feet from the edge of the green, so simplifying the maths and calculating the area of the circumference gives us (not too sure of my basics here, but something along the lines of Area = pork pie times 10 feet squared = an area of 314 ft2 times 18 greens = an absolute minimum, carefully, nurtured area of grass per gold course consisting of 5,652ft2 (approx. 1,884 sqaure metres? - how does measure in terms of soccer pitches, which I imagine would be an easier comparison for many people? ) - which of course doesn’t include the other areas that need watering!). My maths are wonky – soy de letras – En. Anyone?

A beaut. I’ve just come across from the following industry “watchdog” well, the R&A, which is the world rules and development body and organiser of golf – based at St Andrew’s - https://www.bestcourseforgolf.org/content/library/optimising_wate is the following (bold print is mine) from a gold course in Australia:

The greens, environmentally sensitive areas of the course and areas close to
housing are watered using higher quality water, but the tees, fairways and
approaches are watered using the recycled waste water. Using waste water in
this way has two main environmental benefits: it reduces the demand for
high quality drinking water and also reduces the amount of wastewater
being discharged into the ocean. There are also substantial cost savings:
recycled water costs £91 per 1,000 m3 compared to £343 per 1,000 m3 for
drinking standard water. The club uses about 40,000 m3 of recycled water
per year, ...

Only for the “other” areas, that is NOT counting the high quality water required for the greens!!!!!!!!!!

This compares nicely with a gold course in Denmark, quoted from the same article:

There is usually a rain deficit from April to October and therefore a need
for irrigation every 2–3 days. Around 6,000 m3 of water is used to irrigate
all greens and tees annually, with irrigation always taking place in suitable
conditions at night to avoid losses through high daytime winds and sunlight.

By way of a more light-hearted relief in the midst of such depressing stuff – have found an alternative tactic if Dave’s moles from León can’t cope with the proliferation of gold courses – biological warfare!:

Rules of Golf 16-1a/15 Mushroom Growing on Line of Putt

Q. A mushroom is growing on a player’s line of putt. Is the player entitled to relief?

A. The player would be justified in discontinuing play and requesting the Committee to remove the mushroom. The Committee should comply.
If such an abnormal condition is a recurring problem on a course, the Committee should make a Local Rule to the effect that mushrooms on the putting green are to be treated as ground under repair.

With the aid of simple hand-made catapults (I’m sure you, too, have lived in Arcady) we could strategically place exploding bombs filled with ‘shroom spores as we casually drive past the course admiring the scenery. To the catapults, fellow iberianatureforumers! 

[lisa]

So pleased you're on the case Simon 
Here are some lonks I've been working from;

From Terra, Consejos Ecológicos - "Un campo de golf necesita 2.000.000 de litros de agua por día, la cantidad equivalente de agua que necesita una población de 8.500 habitantes por día."

This from probably more reliable Ecologistas en Acción based on Valencian courses - "Teniendo en cuenta que la superficie de un campo de golf oscila entre las 50 y 150 hectáreas, el consumo anual de agua un campo de golf es del orden de 1 millón de metros cúbicos al año, o el equivalente de una ciudad de 12.000 habitantes. Así pues el consumo de los 20 campos de golf existentes ahora en la Comunidad Valenciana es de 20 hectómetros cúbicos anuales, o el equivalente al consumo de una ciudad de 240.000 personas. Muchas veces se ha dicho que los campos de golf consumen aguas residuales depuradas, pero eso no es siempre cierto. La alta salinidad de las aguas residuales las hace muchas veces no apta para el riego del "green", lo que obliga a mezclarlas con agua potable o agua subterránea en proporciones a veces del 50%. Otro tema a discutir sería si las aguas residuales depuradas sometidas a un tratamiento terciario para regar el campo de golf, deberían utilizarse en actividades agrícolas, de mayor beneficio social, con prioridad sobre los campos de golf."
Lots more figures in there too and also important, recycled waste water seeps back into the water table.

Nick's article from the BBC on desertification in Spain.

And this from a British "environmentally-friendly" golf course architect.

Finally, for now, this from eyeonspain - "Figures released by the Royal Spanish Golfing Federation show there are more golf courses in Malaga than any other Spanish province. The province has 45 registered courses and also has the largest golf course in Spain at La Cala, which has 60 holes. As a region Andalucia has the most golf courses, with 90, more than double Cataluña with 39. There are now 340 registered golf courses in Spain, up 32 on last year."

And from the same source, we must be careful not to mention any courses in particular -
"Family of British Writer Accused in Golf Course War

Martin Amis' family have joined the fight against a planned golf course development in a UNESCO protected area in Andalucia, but Lord Kilmarnock, stepfather of Amis, is at the centre of a lawsuit by developers demanding 22 million Euros in damages after investors pulled out of the project following the campaign, the Daily Telegraph reported on Friday. The British peer is one of three expats being sued by the consortium behind the double golf course scheme that includes the construction of 800 houses and 3 luxury hotels on the outskirts of the Sierra de las Nieves national park, near Ronda.

Lord Kilmarnock was one of more than 100 foreign residents who signed a petition against the 100 million Euros scheme, but it is his comments to the Spanish media criticising the project on environmental grounds that brought the legal action, last year he said "The scheme is completely unsustainable, the high demand for scarce water in a period of increasing drought will inevitably degrade the environment. "The plague of buildings on green and protected land is threatening the long term interest of the region, which has become popular for green tourism." Two others, Briton, David Milnes and German, Petra Wiegmink, who publicly spoke out against the venture are also accused of slander, coercion and moral injury, the protesters have the support of Spain's Green Party."

This is what I've written so far for the petition -

 "As concerned environmentalists and native English-speakers now resident in Spain, the members of Iberianature forum would like to raise international awareness of the Spanish government’s unwillingness to halt the rampant construction of golf courses in a country completely unsuited to the sustainability of this activity. One 18-hole golf course needs 20,000,000 litres of water daily and over 30% of Spain is in immediate danger of desertification. 340 golf courses have aready been built and another...are planned.
Please join our protest and this petition to be sent to the Environment Ministers of both Spain and the EU."

Apologies in advance if I've duplicated anything already mentioned elsewhere,  just in case.

[lisa]

And another thing, well two actually;
Simon, guardianweekly?
TP, have catapults, can get spores soon but no course in sight, thank Darwin 

[Technopat]

Greetings Lisa, Simon and fellow (male and female) iberianatureforumers,

Lisa's latest:

This is what I've written so far for the petition -

 "As concerned environmentalists and native English-speakers now resident in Spain, the members of Iberianature forum would like to raise international awareness of the Spanish government’s unwillingness to halt the rampant construction of golf courses in a country completely unsuited to the sustainability of this activity. One 18-hole golf course needs 20,000,000 litres of water daily and over 30% of Spain is in immediate danger of desertification. 340 golf courses have aready been built and another...are planned.
Please join our protest and this petition to be sent to the Environment Ministers of both Spain and the EU."

looks just what the doctor ordered!

It succinctly sums up just 'bout everything that's been aired here. 

Just one thing, touching on the libel/slander angle of things:

the Spanish government’s unwillingness

the central gov. really has (unfortunately) very little power to do anything in these cases (as I understand it, the fiscal can only order an invstigation when there is clear proof that the law has been broken). Planning permission is a devolved competence of local and/or regional authorities and the last few years have been spent busily re-classiying land precisely so that when planning permission is finally given, no actual law has been broken. The cases now in the press are extreme ones wherein the local mayor thought him/herself to be immune from investigation/prosecution because of (treading carefully here  ) possible connivance with local authorities of all kinds.

One of the many, real underlying problems is the legal system/judges and authorities at local level who may be in with local big business (now where have I seen that before?) In the case of Marbella, the Junta's protests were continuously rejected in the local courts - and in fact the judge who has recently been impeached was responsible for investigating planning corruption in the region and was supposedly rejecting  the Junta's protests.Ffor the CGPJ, a notoriously conservative body to suspend him, has been quite a surprise and they certainly wouldn't have done unless the case against him were really conclusive. Spain's system is one of the most garantista * in the world - if you're not a petty delinquent, that is.

Rambin' agin!

In other words, I do think some mention should also be made of the criminal activity involved in some/many/nearly all  cases of the re-classification of land and subsequent construction of gold courses.

Way to go, Lisa! 

* Not my own - El garantismo judicial, del que se benefician exclusivamente los políticos y los grandes delincuentes (¡menudos compañeros de viaje!) es el sucedáneo con apariencia democrática de la antigua figura jurídica denominada "garantía de los funcionarios públicos" from http://www.elalmanaque.com/lexico/garantista.htm

[Technopat]

No gold course within shooting range? Must be too much rain in your part of the world. Or you don't mix with the right people, or you have the camera pointing in the wrong direction 
Regs.
Technopat

[Technopat]

Greetings Simon,
Re. your request for a comparative on impeached judges, have just posted what must be iberianatureforum's longest posting to date - so long as the server holds out you can read it at the following.
http://www.iberianatureforum.com/index.php/topic,616.0.html

It's not exactly what you were looking for but it helps to get a persp. on things, I hope.
Regs.
Technopat

Ps.
If there are no more postings from me over the next couple of days, it'll simply be due to the powers-that-b. have finally decided on blocking my account after formally acccusing me (unjustly) of spamming the forum - but have no fear - I have access to other ISPs and will be back under a psuedonym (I've always loved that pseudo prefix) 

[Simon]

Thanks TP and Lisa,

I've got all this safely downloaded. I just hope that I can do justice to all your efforts!

re GWeekly I will send stuff to the but I fear it's preachig to the converted - what I'd really like to do is get on the Angry of Tunbridge circuit, probably a cat's chance but worth the try!

I also think the Greenpace report is suitably unslanderous to quote in terms of accusing local government mogusl of incompetence/complicity, etc. so I'll stick to them unless I see specific cases.

An enormous thank-you to you both.

Si X

[lisa]

Thanks both, I'll make it "regional governments". Should have spotted that after discovering the good old Junta de Castilla y León's dealings. That's just the intro though, then i have to put something a bit longer. Will probably copy some of TP's for that with hopefully a link to the forum for even more info. Looking for a good pic. to illustrate - not easy.

Simon, it'll have to be the Mail and Telegraph then 

May head down to Seve country with the catapults 

[Simon]

Got it in one, L 

Si X

[Technopat]

Greetings All,
I totally agree that we have to appeal to both the converted and to the willing, so methinks that if we're going to appeal to the Mail Telgraph types we should leave out any mention of Greenpeace, however neutral, PC or whatever their report might actually be (am I being sufficiently paranoid? - it's taken me many years of training). Don't know the standing of that peer back in the LOG (but I would imagine he would be more appealing to the Grauniad readers as a quixotic character) - anyone know of him? (i.e. should he also be mentioned or left out).

Once we have the def, vers. - should we make a Sp. lang. vers. also and get our Snapish friends to it, or would it be self-defeating? Does the format of the petition site allow for a bilingual version. I only ask 'cos I could cope with the French petition you forwarded me to, but some friends told me they couldn't be bothered to guess their way through the instructions.

Rges.
Technopat

Ps.
The race is on to see if we can overtake the San Glorio petition before it reaches 10,000 signatures! 

[Technopat]

Sorry - regional governments AND local councils! Important difference, 'cos there are often conflicting power struggles ...