As if it were the opposite of the Blue Flags, which reward the most attractive and sustainable tourist beaches, Awarded by Ecologists in Action, the Black Flags aim to draw attention to parts of the coastline that are particularly threatened or degraded.. This year, the business confirmed 48 of these negative splits after analyzing 8,000 kilometers of coastline and projecting its results in a 200-page report.
Poor wastewater treatment polluting the sea; urban overcrowding, garbage accumulation, dredging or port expansions, coastal erosion and impacts on biodiversity are the main reasons for this year’s black flags.
For example, what is remarkable is the flag given to the beach. in Nerja, Malaga, due to the impact on marine biodiversity due to ingredients in sunscreens used by bathers. Ecologs in Action says these creams contain sunscreens that “create a significant pollutant in our waters.”
“Sunscreens may contain substances that not only affect human health, such as endocrine disruptors, among others, but also reach seas, rivers or lakes every time a person applies chemical sunscreen before bathing,” she says. organization. The multiplier effect of many swimmers using these substances creates a “hard to visualize” effect.
Inside Murcia highlights, another year, Mar Menor and Portman Bay. In the case of the Mar Menor, the region’s mismanagement and the lack of regulation of economic sectors, particularly agribusiness and intensive livestock farming, are pushing the ecosystem “to the limit of its resilience capacity”.
The report on the environmental situation notes that the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO) acknowledged that in 2021 the lagoon ecosystem “loses its capacity to self-regulate”, so any impact, such as excessive nutrient input, has serious consequences for it.
However, in the same document, the IEO communicated that there is still the possibility of reclaiming a large portion of the Mar Menor provided that truly necessary and effective solutions are urgently adopted.
While there has been some “hopeful” movement at the moment, according to Ecologists in Action, the reality is that “almost everything needs to be done” in terms of reducing pollution at its source and measures that prevent it from progressing into March. menorah
In the case of Portmán Bay and the Sierra Minera, Ecologists noted in Action that they represent a reflection of “absolute” institutional and societal failure.
After decades of allowing environmental pollution due to its destructive mining activities, Sierra Minera is today a “burnt world” where a private company profits from the exploitation of natural resources, destroying the landscape and generating tons of toxic waste that is not enough in ponds. insulation, inertization and sealing. The amount was so great that the bay was almost completely clogged, leaving the local population with “a very dark future: an enormous debt in the form of landscapeless and toxic waste”.
Inside Valencian Community, received the Black Flag for the Colossus Project planned for Cala Lanuza and Cala Baeza, due to a humid area in the municipality of Calp (Alicante) and the pollution to which its waters are exposed. In Valencia, macrofestivals threaten “the mere dunes of Tavernes de la Valldigna beach”, an area of ​​great environmental value. Again in the same capital, this title was given to the Pinedo treatment plant. In Castelló, Tirador beach (Vinarós) and Les Fonts beach (Alcalá de Xivert) also received the flag.
Inside GaliciaThe Black Flag was presented to the Metropolitan Municipality. vigofor the “ecologically disrespectful management of the municipality’s beaches” and the Foz Estuary in Nigrán.
Inside One Koruna Environmental dredging of the sediments of the O Burgo estuary in Culleredo, as well as the San Fix mines in Lousame, has been condemned.
Inside Balearic IslandsThere are two Ecologist Action flags, both in Mallorca: Porto Colom, due to the pollution of its waters, and Port d’Alcúdia, due to the mismanagement of this coastline.
Inside AsturiasAccording to environmentalists, the industrial sanitation of the Xixón regasification plant and the Avilés estuary has been ‘awarded’, with these activities having a strong impact near the coasts, according to environmentalists.
Inside Canary IslandsCharco de la Araña Beach in Tenerife and Waikiki Beach (La Goleta) in Fuerteventura and the company Acuicultura PiscifactorÃas del Atlántico in Yaiza (Lanzarote) fly flags.
Catalonia gets a few black flags. In Barcelona, ​​one is awarded to the city airport for poor environmental management, and the other to the port for the pollution created by this large industrial facility that receives a large number of cruise ships.
Trabucador beach in Sant Carles de la Rà pita (Tarragona) and Pineda d’en Gori (Palamós) are also included in the list.
However, this year’s report also acknowledges some progress, such as the new sewage treatment plant commissioned in Barbate (Cádiz), the repair of the discharge in Roquetas de Mar (AlmerÃa), and the expansion of the sewage treatment plant. .
To access the full list: https://www.ecologistasenaccion.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/informe-banderas-negras-2022.pdf
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Environment department contact address:[email protected]
Source: Informacion
