Call to address shrinking populations in Spain

MUNICIPALITIES have called on the provincial, regional and national administrations to take action against shrinking populations in some inland areas.

An association of some 20 rural municipalities is seeking meetings with the Diputacion de Almeria, the Junta de Andalucia and the Sub-delegate of the national government in Almeria with a view to looking at ways to reverse depopulation.

The AMCODES Association for Sustainable Development and against Depopulation president and also Mayor Almocita Mayor, Francisco García, explained the association had been formed “with the aim of being a useful tool for our villages.”

He said the idea was for the association to serve as a “valid representative” for dealing with the various administrations and “to urge them to take our demographic scenario in which we find ourselves seriously.”

Almocita will host a three-day event focusing on the sustainable villages and the rural depopulation issue over the first weekend of October, which is being organised by the Spanish Association against Depopulation in collaboration with the local council.

AMCODES thanked the provincial government for supporting the event and said it had requested the collaboration of Andalucia regional government.

AMCODES was formed in 2018 to bring together the Almeria municipalities experiencing dwindling resident numbers, especially those with populations of less than 1,000 inhabitants.

An AMCODES statement points out that deserting villages is not only a problem in central and northern Spain, but affects rural areas in general.

“Our association wants to highlight the importance of our land, culture, heritage, and resources and the right of our village’s residents to live where they choose, with the same rights and services as anywhere else”, Francisco Garcia commented.

“The abandonment of our villages is producing great losses and shortages which not only affect residents, but affect everyone, as our municipalities are the heritage of the whole of society”, he added.