As if it stood in contrast to the Blue Flags, which reward the most attractive and sustainable beaches, a program awarded by Ecologists in Action, the Black Flags draw attention to coastline stretches that are especially endangered or degraded. This year, the organization confirmed 48 negative indicators after surveying 8,000 kilometers of coastline and presenting findings in a 200-page report.
Poor wastewater treatment that pollutes the sea; urban overcrowding, garbage accumulation, dredging or port expansions, coastal erosion, and biodiversity losses are cited as the main drivers of this year’s Black Flags.
For example, a notable flag was given to a beach in Nerja, Malaga, due to its impact on marine biodiversity from sunscreen ingredients used by bathers. Ecologistas en Acción notes that these creams contain substances that create pollutants in the waters.
“Sunscreens may include agents that not only affect human health, such as endocrine disruptors, but also reach seas, rivers or lakes whenever someone applies chemical sunscreen before swimming,” a spokesman explains. The cumulative effect of many swimmers using these substances leads to a phenomenon that is hard to visualize.
Inside Murcia highlights Mar Menor and Portmán Bay once again. In Mar Menor, the region’s mismanagement and the lack of regulation in economic sectors, especially agribusiness and intensive livestock farming, push the ecosystem to the limit of its resilience capacity.
The report by the environmental body notes that the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO) acknowledged in 2021 that the lagoon ecosystem “loses its capacity to self-regulate,” so any significant nutrient input has serious consequences.
Nevertheless, the same document states there remains a chance to reclaim a large portion of Mar Menor if urgently needed, effective measures are adopted.
While there have been some hopeful moves, Ecologists in Action argues that in practice “almost everything needs to be done” to curb pollution at its source and to prevent further degradation by March. menorah
In the case of Portmán Bay and the Sierra Minera, Ecologists noted a reflection of “absolute” institutional and societal failure.
After decades of allowing environmental damage from destructive mining activities, Sierra Minera is described as a “burnt world” where a private company profits from resource exploitation, destroying the landscape and generating tons of toxic waste that is not contained by ponds, insulation, inerting, or sealing. The scale is so great that the bay is nearly choked, leaving the local population with “a very dark future: an enormous debt in the form of a landscape-less territory and toxic waste.”
Inside the Valencian Community, the Black Flag was awarded to the Colossus Project planned for Cala Lanuza and Cala Baeza due to pollution risks in a humid area of Calp (Alicante). In Valencia, macrofestivals threaten the dunes at Tavernes de la Valldigna beach, an area of high environmental value. The Pinedo wastewater treatment plant also received the flag in Valencia. In Castellón, Tirador beach (Vinaròs) and Les Fonts beach (Alcalá de Xivert) were similarly flagged.
In Galicia, the Black Flag was awarded to the Metropolitan Municipality for ecologically disrespectful management of municipal beaches and to the Foz Estuary in Nigrán.
Inside One Koruna, environmental concerns focus on the dredging of sediments in the O Burgo estuary in Culleredo and the San Fins mines in Lousame, which have been condemned.
In the Balearic Islands, two Black Flags were awarded to Mallorca for Porto Colom due to water pollution and Port d’Alcúdia due to coast mismanagement.
In Asturias, environmentalists argue that pollution from the Xixón regasification plant and the Avilés estuary has a strong coastal impact and should be addressed with urgency.
In the Canary Islands, Charco de la Araña Beach in Tenerife and Waikiki Beach (La Goleta) in Fuerteventura, along with Acuicultura Piscifactorías del Atlántico in Yaiza (Lanzarote), are among the sites flagged.
Catalonia receives several Black Flags: in Barcelona, the city airport is flagged for poor environmental management, and the port for pollution from its heavy cruise-ship traffic. Trabucador beach in Sant Carles de la Ràpita (Tarragona) and Pineda d’en Gori (Palamós) are also listed. Yet the report also notes progress, including a new treatment plant in Barbate (Cádiz), the discharge repair in Roquetas de Mar (Almería), and the expansion of a treatment facility.
To view the full list, a formal citation to the original Ecologistas en Acción report is provided for reference in the publication. (Ecologistas en Acción, 2022, cited in summary below)
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Environment department contact address: [citation placeholder not included in the public-facing text]