Coasts Authority Optimistic about Future
November 26th, 2007
José Fernández Pérez is the head of the Coasts Authority in the Ministry for the Environment. His department recently commissioned a report into coastal planning from Punta Carnero in the province of Cadiz to Almería, carried out by the Alatec Consultancy, in which over-building on the Malaga coastline is analysed. From his office in Madrid, Fernández Pérez answers some of the questions we all want to ask about this report.
What do you make of the Alatec report, and what do you think of its recommendations for solving the problems of the the Malaga coastline?
I must say that it’s a sincere and very complete document, drawn up with the utmost rigour, and it puts on the table all the problems that affect the Malaga coastline. It will allow us to begin solving these problems, working with the relevant authorities, fundamentally the Junta de Andalucía, to save the future of the coastline.
So what happens now?
We use the information in the document to begin to work on solutions, identifying each problem in turn, seeing who is responsible for it and what means can be used to solve it. We all have to work together on this, in a systematic and gradual way, to ensure that the coastline can be improved.
Can we really be optimistic about it? Can we hope that the Malaga coastline can actually be improved?
Of course it can. It is really not that complicated an issue. We have a good diagnosis of the problems that exist, and know how to tackle them. The Junta de Andalucía is developing an overall urban plan for the areas in question, which is a good way to establish and consolidate communication between the different administrations involved. It is not that expensive a process. We have begun to solve it in time, and most important of all, we have the support of the ordinary people to do something about the situation regarding climate change. If we get to work now, we’ll certainly see vast improvements on the Malaga coastline within the next decade.
One part of the document deals with the recuperation of the concession for the Baños del Carmen and the elimination of the groynes and part of the esplanades at Pedregalejo, El Palo and El Chanquete beach. What do you think of these proposals?
In these areas, as in others, there are existing legal concessions that do not now fit in with an area we are attempting to make more public and in the general interest. In such cases, our policy is to recuperate the concessions first, with the corresponding compensations paid. Besides, there is an esplanade in that part of the city, and other work done that we do not consider to be of sufficient quality, and it is in these cases that we need to carry out a profound transformation to improve overall quality. For that reason, we are currently working on a plan that we will present in the coming months.
Another tricky problem is the future of houses already built on land too near the beaches, as has happened, for example, in El Palo, Pedregalejo and La Araña. What is going to happen to these houses?
The document proposes that these areas be planned all over again, and this will be the opportunity to do it in a rational way, taking the environment into account much more than before.
Can the local inhabitants of these areas be sure their houses will not be knocked down?
Owners of houses built on public land need not worry; we are working to find a reasonable solution for all concerned.
We have much the same situation in areas like Banana Beach in Marbella, the El Castillo area in Manilva, a building belonging to the Unicaja banking group in Arroyo de la Miel and the La Rada Hotel in Estepona. What’s going to happen in these cases?
First let me say that all cases have to be looked into one by one, and in many cases we are already working on a solution. There are also cases in which we are considering moving the buildings in question, because they have been badly located in the first place. They do nothing for the surrounding areas they are in, and given the possible effects of climate change in the future, they will become a risk. We should not close our eyes, therefore, to any possibility. We must search for urban planning solutions in areas we have no direct control over, and these solutions must respect the rights of property owners, ensuring that they will not lose their properties and have them in less vulnerable areas.
With respect to chiringuitos, is the policy going to be to continue moving them from the sand to the esplanades?
That’s the idea. The sand on our beaches should not be filled with large restaurants. We understand that these restaurants are necessary near the beaches, being an essential part of our tourism tradition, and we must keep them. But they should be better located. We have to work closely with the sector to have them moved little by little, so that the product they offer remains the same, although in a different place.
Loss of sand on the beaches is another big environmental problem on the Malaga coastline. What are you doing about it?
We plan to manage it in a more integral way, using the same methods as nature itself, making the most of the existing sand and preventing its loss.
Rationalising the marinas on the coast
José Fernández is fully aware that the demand for pleasure ports along the Malaga coastline is increasing all the time, and new proposals are being presented to meet this demand. He is not very happy about such a situation. “We here in the Coasts Authority agree with the Public Ports of Andalucía Company that this demand must be rationalised, making the best use of existing pleasure ports or amplifying them. If this is done well, there will probably be less need for more ports of this kind,” he says. But if new ones have to be built, he adds, then they should be of the right kind in the right places. He also believes that some ports have been badly built in the wrong places, and it would probably be a good idea to knock them down to re-build somewhere else, or not at all. “They are badly situated and cause more problems than they solve,” he says, “and make no sense at all.” He refused to name the ports in question.
Full story from surinenglish.com
