Urban chaos and climate change join forces to destroy Spanish beaches

Climate change and the lack of urban control: a deadly cocktail for Spanish beaches. Due to the intense urbanization process of the coasts, the increase in the intensity of sea storms and the interruption of the natural circulation of winds and currents have begun to show their effects. Turned Spanish beaches into Europe’s most reactionary beaches. This loss of sand is now forcing the Ministry of Ecological Transition to invest hundreds of millions of euros. The dilemma is twofold: leave them as they are, as environmentalists want, or try to save them, as they represent the greatest heritage and tourist attraction in Spain.

Setback is a problem that stretches along nearly 8,000 kilometers of the Spanish coast.Severe storms and winter storms in recent years have been exacerbated by erosion and wild urban planning that has hindered their natural regeneration. All these factors mean that millions of cubic meters of sand are lost from beaches every year. According to a report by the Geological Institute of Asturias, replacing this amount of sand requires a great deal of effort, both in terms of economic and technical expenditure.

Image of San Juan beach in Alicante RAFA ARJONES

According to the report on the impact of climate change on the coasts, prepared by a coordinated group from the University of Cantabria, the regions where the impact of the increase in sea level in Spain will be most pronounced will be Cantabria and the Atlantic coast. By Professor Iñigo Losada on behalf of the Ministry of Environment.

Mediterranean coasts will experience a smaller rise. On the other hand, in terms of strong waves (swells) due to the frequent occurrence of strong storms (Gloria type), it will actually have a greater impact as it has in the last decade. The waves caused by these storms take up a lot of sand and expose the facade areas occupied by the houses. (Like Playa del Pinet or Playa de Babilonia in the state of Alicante).

Determined to start a human “employment” on the beach

Geographers argue that to begin the evacuation of these areas of high risk to their life, it is urgently necessary to prepare a detailed cartography of the permanently inhabited first line of the coast (under the administrative concession of the Coastal Law). people living there. “This gap must be made through agreements between the administrations (state and municipality) and the owners. But a gap program is urgently needed in these areas, because the problem of rising sea levels and above all more powerful storms will increase in the coming years,” said Jorge Olcina, President of the Spanish Association of Geographers.

The first step would be to amend the 2013 Coastal Act, which unnecessarily extends the concession period of over-occupied public areas. Actually, The Climate Change Act 2021 opens the possibility for these areas to be evacuatedadapting to climate change.

Barcelona’s Institut de Ciències del Mar (ICM) measured the erosion of beaches The erosion of this city over the last two decades, according to Experts, is due to the construction of protective structures such as levees, which alter its artificiality, morphology, waves, the effect of storms and the natural distribution of sediment on the beaches.

Sand filling operation on the beach European Press

Thanks to images from ICM’s Coastal Observatory, researchers can learn about the beach’s surface area, the rotation of the shoreline (due to the approach angle of the waves), erosion or increase caused by storms. of surfaces after artificial regeneration, among others. Likewise, all these data are used to validate models of coastline evolution and to assess impacts from climate change in the medium term.

Regeneration: a temporary solution

ICM-CSIC researcher Jorge Guillén confirms this Barcelona beaches can “barely” receive sedimentary inclusions naturally. Therefore, they can “only be compensated by shedding sand brought from elsewhere”, but due to the effects of strong waves, especially during storms, this produces “progressive settling” of coastlines. In other words, it’s a temporary solution after all, and it’s not always definitive.

In general, the urbanization of the coastal zone adjacent to the beaches hinders the circulation of sediments. Without going any further, depending on the population increase on the beach for decades, the construction of promenade just behind the beach is increasing, followed by important apartment blocks. This is on most of the coastline, Destruction of the dune field and vegetation. Sand dunes are significant sand deposits that form deposits; that is, after a storm, the wind can drag the sand out of this particular ecosystem and thus naturally renew the beach. In addition, the vegetation of the dunes gives stability to the beach, which will fix the sand and prevent it from disappearing.

Man-made barriers destroying beaches

The fact that beaches are occupied by buildings and other infrastructure explains why sediments cannot move freely.. Experts also refer to the construction of marine structures such as levees, piers and harbors that create a barrier along the coast, which causes sediment build-up on the opposite side of the movement of coastal currents, while causing erosion.

Things that can be done to cope with the decline of the coasts can be varied, although not without problems. The usual thing is artificial recovery with crushed marine or terrestrial sediments. But dredging the seabed to get that sand has a negative effect in the flora and fauna of the region, especially if these places have meadows of flowering plants such as Posidonia. When its origin is terrestrial, they often come from quarries, so they are often sand that is unpleasant to the touch, and also cause the destruction of mountains.

Modified coastline in Benalmádena agencies

Experts point out that instead of building embankments, screens or walls, sometimes the most logical solution is when no interests of the population are at stake. Let the beach have a natural evolution, that is, let the beach develop as it should.

This is because, in addition to the effects caused by artificial regeneration of the sand, there is evidence that in many cases it has disappeared again due to storms; it only triggers a chain of economic costs and environmental damage that can hardly be justified.

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