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Following a decade of almost unrestrained construction on the coasts of Spain, the Spanish department of environmental protection is finally taking action. The state agency, which had previously limited itself to protecting existing public land, has recently initiated a plan to purchase 50 privately owned coastal plots of great environmental value. The goal is to slow down the rampant development of housing and hotel developments on Spain's environmentally sensitive coasts; areas which have also been threatened by the rising sea level caused by global warming.
Spain’s coastlines are retreating due to the seemingly unstoppable rising level of the sea caused by melting glaciers and expansion as the oceans warm up. Already sea levels around Spain are reported to be on the rise to the extent of 2.5 mm a year. A predicted average of some fifteen metres of Spain’s coast will vanish between now and 2050, according to a report commissioned by the Spanish environment ministry.
Armed with 60 million euros to buy up coastal land, negotiation is the environmental department's preferred method. However, the department is also resorting to expropriation. A coastal law passed in 1988 stating that any land touched by a body of water is public domain, allows the government to expand public land in certain areas. Since 2004, the environmental department has demolished 61 illegal developments on the coast as part of its effort to protect public land. The new plan aims to return 8 million square meters to the public domain.
In Andalucia, the government has announced plans to increase the amount of protected coastal land in Cadiz. The Coasts Authority is studying the areas in which an agreement can be reached to prohibit building, with the Junta de Andalucia (responsible for Andalusian land planning) and the individual Town Halls (responsible for municipal development plans). Areas such as Tarifa, Barbate, Chipiona and Chiclana could be affected by the authority’s proposal. The restrictions will prevent over-construction and market saturation on the coastline, thus increasing the value of existing properties in the area.
