Emergency EU funding wanted to fight palm weevil in Elche´s Palmeral

ELCHE’S Palmeral is in an “absolute emergency situation.” That’s according to the city’s new Councillor for Environment, Parks and Gardens, Antonio Garcia.
Following the first technical committee meeting since the new government team came in to power, Garcia said the situation with the palm weevil plague is “far worse than the previous government told us.”
In 2009 three palms infested with the weevil were felled in the historic Palmeral in the centre of the city. In 2011 this figure reached 80, while in 2014 the number has increased to 427, showing a five-fold increase in the number of palm trees removed as a result of the plague: “The situation will carry on and get worse if we do not have more resources to control it” said Antonio Garcia, who added that measures put in place currently have been “insufficient.”
The Councillor is now creating a plan to combat the weevil and is hoping to raise funds from Valencia and Madrid and even Brussels: “The fight against the weevil is our number one priority” said Garcia who, whilst highlighting the seriousness of the situation, was optimistic the city can “learn to live with the weevil in a controlled manner.”