| Jávea Grapevine February 2015
News
From
Agenda
21
Compiled by
Christine
Betterton - Jones
Follow Agenda 21 on
agenda21-xabia.wikidot.com
Oil exploration in the Gulf of
Valencia - a stay of execution?
Cairn Energy - the company which,
in the face of local opposition, was
promoting a project to carry out
soundings for oil deposits in the
Gulf of Valencia has closed its offices in Madrid..without even leaving a forwarding address. See: Oil
prospecting controversy for background. According to company
sources the closure of this branch
on December 31st is due to “reorganisation”. The Ministry of the
Environment has not yet published
its report, but the “Dirección General de Sostenibilidad de la Costa
y del Mar” - a part of the Ministry,
recently concluded that: “the negative potential effect on the marine
fauna present in the area is of sufficient magnitude to discourage development of the project. “ From :
El Pais Ed’s note: According to online sources, Cairn Energy, which
is big in the North Sea, is focusing
its activities off the coast of West
Africa, and it has been laying off
workers.
Spain cuts university degrees
to three years and extends master’s courses to two Spain’s government has approved a new law
which will reduce the length of time
it takes to study for a university degree to three years, instead of the
usual four to six. Master’s degrees
will now take up to two years, compared to just one or sometimes
even six months.
Education minister José Ignacio
Wert says reducing undergraduate degrees in line with much of
the rest of Europe, including the
UK, will cut costs for families by
a total of €150 million a year. The
four-year undergraduate degree
and one-year master’s system
in Spain is ‘very rare in Europe’,
Wert insists, only shared by Cyprus, Turkey, Armenia, Georgia,
Greece, Kazakhistan, Russia and
Ukraine. By changing the system
in Spain, UK graduates and higher
degree holders may find it easier
to get their qualifications recognised, since until now a British degree was shorter than a Spanish
one and was rarely given the full
credit by the Spanish education
authorities. In contrast, a master’s
in Spain has always been considered weaker in other northern European countries, because it involves much less study time and
rarely includes a dissertation. For
full story see: ThinkSpain.
Sun, sea, sand… what about
the shopping? “Spain has a major image deficit as a shopping
destination,” said Angela Castano
of Turespana, a body promoting
Spain’s brand, at this week’s Fitur
world tourism fair in Madrid. Shopping is an essential part of a holiday for a growing number of tourists, according to a report last year
by the Madrid-based organisation
(UNWTO). That trend is being
driven by growing hordes of visitors from emerging markets such
as China, Russia and, in Spain’s
case, from Latin America. Chinese
visitors spend as much as 900 euros each in Spain. But in Paris, the
average Chinese tourist spends
1,500 euros on a visit. Spanish
shops are making an effort to catch
up with the tourists, said Pedro
Vargas, head of international projects for the Forum of Renowned
Spanish Brands, a business lobby.
Spain’s best-known chain department store, the Corte Ingles, now
mounts displays in English and
reimburses sales tax to non-residents. It has also broadened the
range of foods for sale in its delicatessen, to compete with the likes
of Selfridges food hall in London.
For full story see: The local.es
Xàbia uses calendar sales to
reforest two areas of La Plana
Xàbia Town hall has used proceeds of a calendar sold through
the Tourist department to plant
indigenous trees in two areas affected by last summer’s forest fire.