Bad news for the natural capital of the Valencian Community, which includes surface area for crops and pastures, forest resources, protected areas, energy and mineral resources. At a time when protecting the environment is vital due to the inexorable advance of climate change, autonomy is subject to a serious decline in natural resources. According to a report by the Valencian Institute for Economic Research (IVIE) and the BBVA Foundation, in 2018 the region concentrated 4.4% of Spain’s natural capital; therefore it lost two percentage points compared to 6.5% in 1995.
According to the document, this visible decrease is a direct result of the Valencian Community being one of the autonomies that reduced its natural capital the most in the analyzed period. Specifically, it did so with 10.04%; This is the worst figure if the 10.23% decrease experienced by Catalonia is not taken into account. The data contrasts with the decline of only 0.41% recorded in Spain as a whole and, above all, with the development of regions such as Cantabria, Asturias or Extremadura, which managed to increase their resources above double digits: a rate of 18 percent. 14% in the first case and 14% in the second case.
Demography
Autonomy is also below the per capita average due to the demographic dynamism that the Valencian Community has experienced more than other regions over the last three decades. Thus, while the value of natural resources per capita in Spain was over 9,100 euros in 2018, in the Valencian Community this value reached only 3,833 euros; This is less than half, with the aggravating factor of a 28% decrease since 1995 (5,311 euros, compared to 15% of the Spanish average (10,822). The leading region in this ranking, with 23,258 euros, is Extremadura, compared to 21,029 in 1995. improved its position.
The IVIE and BBVA Foundation report also details the composition and development of natural resources. In the Valencian Community, 71% of its natural capital consists of plantations and pastures, in keeping with a region where citrus agriculture, like irrigated agriculture, has a great predominance. Even so, thirty years ago the rate was 73%. Therefore, there was a two-point decrease. Autonomy is on par with the Canary Islands, below only Andalusia (76%) and Murcia (81%), and is undoubtedly well above the national average of 59%.
Minerals
Forest resources represent a fifth of Valencia’s natural capital, specifically 20%, three points behind Spain overall; protected areas, at 8%, is half the national average and the second worst figure for autonomy after Murcia’s 2.5%. Finally, energy and mineral resources are mainly reference, with a percentage of 0.00% out of a total hundred, 0.84% away from the average, and Andalusia comes first in this classification with 2.42%.
Considering that the value of Spain’s natural capital was determined in the document at 467,558 million euros in 2018, the Valencian Community is responsible for approximately 20,500 million euros, based on its 4.4% weight in the country.