The (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

: Association for the Ecological Defense of Galicia) is a Galician ecological group founded in 1974 and registered in 1976. ADEGA has always been linked with the

Galician nationalist Galician nationalism is a form of nationalism found mostly in Galicia, which asserts that Galicians are a nation and that promotes the cultural unity of Galicians. The political movement referred to as modern Galician nationalism was born at ...

movement. The organization has chapters in the

comarcas A ''comarca'' (, , , ) is a traditional region or local administrative division found in Portugal, Spain, and some of their former colonies, like Brazil, Nicaragua, and Panama. The term is derived from the term ''marca'', meaning a "march, mark ...

of A Mariña,

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

, Coruña,

Costa da Morte Costa da Morte (; "Coast of Death") is a part of the Galician coast. The most common definition of the Costa da Morte states that it extends from Cape Finisterre to Malpica, although some may debate it extends from Muros to A Coruña. Backg ...

Lugo Lugo (, ) is a city in northwestern Spain in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia. It is the capital of the Lugo (province), province of Lugo. The municipality had a population of 100,060 in 2024, ...

O Carballiño O Carballiño () is a municipality in the province of Ourense, in the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Fea ...

Ourense Ourense (; ) is a city and the capital of the province of province of Ourense, Ourense, located in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, northwestern Spain. It is on the Camino Sanabrés path o ...

A Paradanta A Paradanta is a ''comarca'' in the southeastern corner of the Galician Province of Pontevedra Pontevedra is a province of Spain, located in the southwestern part of the autonomous community of Galicia. It is bordered by the provinces of A Co ...

, Barbanza,

Ordes Ordes is a municipality in the province of A Coruña, in the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain. It belongs to the comarca of Ordes. The population in 2008 was 12,534 inhabitants, according to the INE. Etymology According to E. Bascuas, ...

A Ulloa A Ulloa is a comarca in the province of Lugo, Galicia, in northwestern Spain. Notable places The municipalities in A Ulloa are Antas de Ulla (capital), Monterroso, and Palas de Rei. It is home to the Special Zone of Conservation Serra do Car ...

Pontevedra Pontevedra (, ) is a city in the autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, in northwestern Spain. It is the capital of both the ''Pontevedra (comarca), Comarca'' and Province of Pontevedra, and the capital of the Rías Baixas. It is als ...

, Trasancos, and

Vigo Vigo (, ; ) is a city and Municipalities in Spain, municipality in the province of province of Pontevedra, Pontevedra, within the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, Spain. Located in the northwest ...

History

Domingo Quiroga was the first president of the association. The first board of directors included: Francisco Bermejo, Professor of Analytical Chemistry; Xosé Bar Boo, architect; Xosé Luis Rodríguez Pardo, lawyer;

Xosé Manuel Beiras Xosé Manuel Hixinio Beiras Torrado (born 7 April 1936) is a Galician politician, economist, writer and intellectual. He is professor of Structural Economy at the Faculty of Economic Sciences of the University of Santiago de Compostela. He is ...

, national spokesman of the

Galician Nationalist Bloc The Galician Nationalist Bloc ( , BNG) is a political party from Galicia (Spain), Galicia, formed with the merger of a series of left-wing Galician nationalism, Galician nationalist parties. It is self-defined as a "patriotic Popular front, front" ...

for many years; and

Fernando González Laxe Fernando Ignacio González Laxe (born 6 September 1952) is a Spanish politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent ...

, president of the

Xunta de Galicia The Xunta de Galicia (; "Regional Government of Galicia") is the collective decision-making body of the government of the autonomous community of Galicia, composed of the President, the Vice-president(s) and the specialized ministers (''Consel ...

between 1987 and 1989. The organization gained prominence participating in the

anti-nuclear movement The Anti-nuclear war movement is a new social movements, social movement that opposes various nuclear technology, nuclear technologies. Some direct action groups, environmental movements, and professional organisations have identified them ...

against the construction of a

nuclear power plant A nuclear power plant (NPP), also known as a nuclear power station (NPS), nuclear generating station (NGS) or atomic power station (APS) is a thermal power station in which the heat source is a nuclear reactor. As is typical of thermal power st ...

in the municipality of Xove. After a series of mass protests, plans to build the plant were ultimately abandoned. ADEGA again gained international attention in the 1980s for a campaign against the dumping of radioactive materials in the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

, in collaboration with other organizations including

Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by a group of Environmental movement, environmental activists. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth to nurture life in all its biod ...

. The campaign managed to block the dumping by putting Galician fishing boats alongside the boats carrying the nuclear waste. The fire aboard the cargo vessel '' Cason'', which caused a toxic cloud in

, sparked another campaign by ADEGA. In the late 1980s ADEGA also led successful campaigns against the building of new

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aqua ...

s on the

Eume O Eume is a comarca in the province of A Coruña, Galicia, Spain. Its capital is the municipality of Pontedeume. It contains five municipalities and 24,629 inhabitants INE 2018 in an area of 538.7 km2. Municipalities The five municipalitie ...

and Navia rivers. The organization's activities have since diversified, to address numerous environmental problems. ADEGA also has a very important presence in

social movements A social movement is either a loosely or carefully organized effort by a large group of people to achieve a particular goal, typically a social or political one. This may be to carry out a social change, or to resist or undo one. It is a type of ...

like Nunca Máis and, more recently, in the movement against mining that stopped the Corcoesto gold mine in the municipality of

Coristanco Coristanco is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in the province of A Coruña (province), A Coruña, in the autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, northwestern Spain. It belongs to the Comarcas of Galicia, comarca of Bergantiños. ...

. Since 1986, ADEGA has published a quarterly magazine called ''Cerna'', dealing with environmental global problems and their impact on Galicia. Since 2004 ADEGA has promoted the ''Proxecto Ríos'' (Project Rivers), an educational and citizens' initiative in defense of the Galician rivers under which volunteers conduct inspections, make an annual report, and hold conferences and cleaning campaigns when necessary in a river that passes through their municipality. In 2005, Verdegaia was founded as an offshoot of ADEGA. ADEGA was criticized by Galiza non se vende (''Galicia is not for sale''), a network of social movements that has organized a series of mass protests since 2007, for its excessive dependence on the UPG and BNG.

References

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History

References

Further reading