On 18 September last year, it marked a year of excavations and earth movements that have turned the ecological connector and vital area for the eagles into something resembling a quarry. The conflict created by the Agroparc of Ametller Origen is, at this moment, very complex.
Let us remember that between 2024 and early 2025, several legal actions were filed against the approval of the Agroparc. At the end of 2025, complaints were also filed with the Public Prosecutor's Office for the Environment and URMA for possible environmental damage.
Up to this point, we could say that we are in a "normal" process against the approval of an urban project. But Ametller's recent actions have turned what until now was an environmental and urban conflict into a conflict against freedom of expression and public participation, initiating a judicial offensive against the association Naturalistes de Gelida and against individuals from StopAgroparc.
Before presenting the current state, it is necessary to carefully assess what the parts of this unequal conflict are: on one side are Naturalistes de Gelida, Bosc Verd and members of StopAgroparc. On the other: Ametller Origen, the Gelida Town Council and the Department of Territory of the Generalitat.
The StopAgroparc platform, throughout its 10 years of trajectory, has exclusively relied on scientific argumentation, social awareness and legal action, without stepping outside the framework of democratic debate.
Lawsuits by Ametller Origen against Naturalistes de Gelida and StopAgroparc
Ametller has filed two lawsuits, one civil and one criminal, both for the same facts, affecting 6 members of StopAgroparc and the Naturalists Association of Gelida. Of the 6 people, 3 are charged in both proceedings.
Lawsuit criminal against five members of StopAgroparc who are also members of the Naturalists Association of Gelida
In January 2026, the executive director of Ametller Origen, Josep Ametller, personally filed a criminal complaint against five members of the Naturalists Association of Gelida and activists of StopAgroparc for specific publications made by the platform on social media, considering them to be defamation and/or slander. The Court of Vilafranca has accepted the complaint and the defendants will testify on 19 November 2026. This is an offence that could result in imprisonment or a fine.
These specific publications posted on Instagram on 18 October 2025 said “Ametller Origen can bypass the law”, “Despite the warnings and precautionary measures, the Generalitat and the Director-General for the Environment are looking the other way”, “They continue excavating inside a protected area. Without effective authorisation. Without compensatory measures” and “They wouldn’t even let a neighbour put up a wall. They let a private company destroy a protected habitat. We wonder why we are not all equal before the law”.
Lawsuit civil against the Naturalists Association of Gelida and four members of StopAgroparc
In July 2026, two companies from the Ametller Origen group filed a civil lawsuit against the Naturalists Association of Gelida and four members of StopAgroparc (3 members of the board of Naturalists of Gelida and one from the board of Bosc Verd). They are claiming compensation of over 215,000 euros, of which 100,000 is for moral damages to business honour. They also request that the defendants stop their criticisms and publish the ruling on their channels and social media. In this case, imprisonment is not requested, but rather financial compensation and the cessation of the criticisms. The Court of Vilafranca accepted the civil lawsuit and gave a deadline of 20 working days to respond to a 1,300-page lawsuit. The response was submitted on 9 September 2026.
As you can see, these are not minor claims: the defendants can spend years under constant judicial pressure that affects their personal life, work, and health. The aim is to create significant wear and tear and to make them think twice about whether it is worth continuing to defend the territory. But we are convinced that, with the support, solidarity, and love of everyone, the platform will continue its work.
Interestingly, Ametller has reported members of Naturalistes and Bosc Verd, but has not charged any member of Unió de Pagesos, which has unconditionally supported StopAgroparc since 2016. Why?
© European Council
Because we think it is a SLAPP*?
* Strategic lawsuits against public participation.
What is a SLAPP? They are strategic lawsuits against public participation.
The European Union has coined this term, and to combat them, a directive has been created relating to the protection of individuals involved in public participation against manifestly unfounded claims or abusive legal actions." A SLAPP has economic costs, time, emotional wear and uncertainty for the victims. The greatest success of a SLAPP is individual and collective self-censorship; the fear of litigation silences victims, media, and citizens. Large companies can afford the luxury of paying lawyers for years, but they cause the economic suffocation of entities and individuals who dedicate their activities to safeguarding the common good.
The characteristics of a SLAPP are the abuse of litigation; the significant power imbalance between the claimant (corporation) and the defendant; an exorbitant financial claim and the aim to silence. The objective of a SLAPP is not to win, but to instil fear of speaking out, to emotionally exhaust you, and to entangle you in legal proceedings that are so lengthy and costly that in the end you are left without resources and the will to continue.
By the way, Slapp in English means slap. It is the slap that the big and powerful give to the small.
These lawsuits come after Naturalistes de Gelida and Bosc Verd filed two contentious actions and two complaints against Agroparc, exercising their right to public action. Let's review how they are doing.
Contentious actions against Agroparc, a wait that is dragging on
We will explain the state they are in shortly, but we can tell you that they are not progressing at the pace one would expect. Naturalistes de Gelida filed two contentious actions: against the modification of the POUM and against the Urban Planning Agreement.
TSJC: contentious action against the modification of the POUM
The appeal was lodged in January 2024. After a year of incidents in the submission of the administrative file to the TSJC by the Department of Territory, Naturalistes de Gelida filed the lawsuit at the end of June 2025. The Generalitat and the City Council have already responded. However, although more than a year has passed, the response from Ametller Origen is still pending. From the platform, we find it incomprehensible that the processing is taking so long while the works continue.
Court No. 3 of Barcelona: contentious case against the Urban Planning Agreement
The appeal against the Urban Planning Agreement was admitted for processing on 1 July 2025. On 28 July 2025, the court issued a precautionary resolution suspending any actions within the critical area of the Bonelli's eagles until the implementation and validation of the compensatory measures ordered by the environmental authority. This measure was challenged on appeal by the developer of the works and is currently pending resolution by the TSJC.
Naturalistes de Gelida is waiting to receive the file to file the lawsuit.
Complaints to the Public Prosecutor's Office for the Environment and URMA
On 25 September 2025, the association Bosc Verd filed a complaint with the Public Prosecutor's Office for the Environment, outlining a possible impact on the survival area of the Bonelli's eagle in Gelida. The Prosecutor's Office decided to archive the complaint on 7 July 2026, considering that the examined facts did not present indications of a crime regarding wildlife protection or land use planning.
On 19 December 2025, Bosc Verd and Naturalistes de Gelida filed two complaints before the Regional Environmental Unit of the Mossos d’Esquadra (URMA): the first raised the possible criminal relevance of the start and continuation of the works of the Agroparc in the vital area of the Bonelli's eagle, alleging contradictions with the reports from the Fauna and Flora Service. The second complaint raised a possible breach of the determinations of the Strategic Environmental Declaration in the works of the public path from the Talaia to the Ferraria de Gelida.
A year of major excavations and earth movements
All this occurs when it has been more than a year —since 18 September 2025— that major excavations and earth movements have been taking place in most of the territory affected by the Agroparc, with a large amount of heavy machinery working daily: road trucks, bulldozers and large excavators. Even in recent weeks, a path over 10 metres wide has been opened in the forest that the DAE says cannot be touched until the Bonelli's eagle can do without the space and the compensatory measures have been validated and their effectiveness verified.
And, in the meantime, the breeding of the Bonelli's eagles in Gelida has not prospered this year. Why could that be? Perhaps we will have to adapt the verse of Antonio Machado**:
The eagles have gone away
nobody knows how it happened.
It has awakened greed
and the almond tree has disappeared
and in the field could be heard
the gri gri of the engine.
The eagles have gone away
nobody knows how it happened.
Closure
A year later, the balance is clear: the construction work does not stop, the judicial pressure against those who defend the territory continues to grow, and the legal disputes remain stuck in the courts. While the heavy machinery continues to move earth, Ametller Origen tries to silence those who denounce the destruction. From StopAgroparc we will continue to inform, denounce and defend the territory. We will not stop.
** Spring has come
nobody knows how it has been.
The branch has awakened
and the almond tree has bloomed
and in the field could be heard
the chirp of the cricket.
Spring has come
nobody knows how it has been.