Dipanare un paesaggio tossico. Il caso studio del paesaggio d’acqua del Delta dell’Ebro

The study, “Cleaning up a Toxic Landscape: A Case Study of the Ebro Delta Waterscape”, examines the complex socio-environmental transformations in the Ebro Delta in Spain, focusing on the area’s toxic waterscape. Renowned for its natural beauty and biodiversity, the Ebro Delta is paradoxically marred by industrial and agricultural pollutants, particularly pesticides, which have gradually altered the region’s ecology and economy. Using historical anthropology, the research traces the area’s environmental policies and the socio-political dynamics underlying the contamination issues that have shaped the landscape over the past fifty years. The authors highlight the conflicting roles of the delta as both an intensive rice production area and a protected natural site, emphasizing the delicate balance between conservation and economic interests. Through extensive fieldwork, archival research, and policy analysis, the article explores how the concept of toxicity can serve as a lens for understanding human-nature interactions and the unintended consequences of agricultural practices. This study contributes to the broader discourse on toxic landscapes by revealing the hidden, long-term impacts of pollutants on ecosystems and proposing a more nuanced understanding of “protected areas” as sites continuously redefined by socio-environmental processes