Coastal Sustainability Update
November 16th, 2007
AT the end of October, Madrid made an announcement of a radical change in the policy that has seen Spain’s coast become saturated in concrete.
Since the 1960s – when international tourism in Spain gained huge popularity – hotels, apartment blocks and homes went up at an alarming rate to satisfy the demand of the millions of visitors who come to the country each year. Coastal construction has not slowed in the intervening 40 years with 260,000 hectares of littoral replaced by bricks, mortar and glass between 2000 and 2005, according to figures released by government think tank the Observatory for Sustainability in Spain.
In its manifesto for change – called the Strategy for Coastal Sustainability – the government wants to rid 800 kilometres of coast of constructions illegally erected after the Coast Law of 1988. This means thousands of homes, hotels, plastic greenhouses and even swimming pools built on Spain’s sands and 100 metres inland face demolition.
At the moment, this move is nothing more than a statement of intent, as the government needs the support of town halls and authorities in Spain’s coastal regions to push the measure through – something that is easier said than done when you consider the nature of politics in Spain. Traditionally, the opposition opposes everything the government says and does. Today, the socialists are in charge and the conservatives are in the shadows. However, the conservatives run many of the town halls, whose backing Madrid needs for this to be a success.
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