A team from the High Scientific Research Council, specifically the Segura Center for Edaphology and Applied Biology (CEBAS-CSIC), coordinated a roadmap with 14 measures aimed at sustainable development for the Murcian lagoon, the largest salt lake in Europe, renowned for its environmental value. The plan sought to strengthen cooperation between coastal and rural sectors around the Mar Menor and to promote balanced growth in the region.
The measures include promoting rural and coastal ecotourism, advancing sustainable agriculture through careful fertilizer management and extended irrigation within legal limits, and supporting small agricultural photovoltaic plants. A model was developed to assess the impact of these actions, and the roadmap emerged from a process of active engagement and dialogue with representatives from the region’s diverse rural and coastal sectors.
This work is part of the Shore project, a Collaborative Land and Sea Integration Platform within the European Union’s Horizon 2020 program. The project seeks to create synergies between coastal and rural activities to foster environmental, social, and economic development. It is organized around six European working areas and includes the Mar Menor region and the Cartagena countryside.
View of the Mar Menor coastline
Over the past four years, scientists have conducted numerous workshops and interviews with stakeholders from tourism, agriculture, public administrations, fisheries, salt production, local communities, and NGOs to map the interactions among sectors and identify potential solutions. The resulting mental maps, expert interviews, and technical studies informed a first quantitative system dynamics model. This model evaluates the impact of the roadmap on key sustainability indicators for Del Mar Menor and Campo de Cartagena.
As one researcher noted, the initial results present 14 solutions and 56 practical tips. The novel aspect lies in quantifying the effects of adopting these solutions through participatory modelling, which helps stakeholders understand and reach consensus on an environmental issue that has evolved into a social problem. Joris de Vente of CEBAS-CSIC coordinated this initiative in Spain.
Solutions and practical advice
The 14 roadmap solutions include:
– Expanding rural ecotourism events;
– Promoting coastal ecotourism activities;
– Implementing nutrient, soil, and water retention measures;
– Reducing fertilizer use;
– Denitrifying brine residues used for irrigation;
– Aligning agricultural water demand with per-hectare requirements;
– Controlling the expansion of irrigated farmland;
– Ensuring the sustainable extraction and treatment of groundwater;
– Increasing the supply of desalinated seawater;
– Regulating pumping and treatment of surface water in the boulevard Albujón area;
– Limiting groundwater wells for irrigation;
– Controlling point-source pollution from urban areas;
– Supporting small agricultural photovoltaic facilities;
– Organizing environmental education events.
Beyond the 14 general solutions, the roadmap also includes 56 practical suggestions voiced by participants throughout the project. Raquel Luján Soto of CEBAS-CSIC explains that these additional ideas reflect the collective experience of the regional teams involved.
Examples include creating green corridors that merge attractions with sustainable transport, restoring and promoting cultural heritage, organizing recreational activities in wetlands and salt flats through conservation and restoration projects, and introducing green covers between crops alongside training for the agricultural sector on fertilizer use and agrotourism development.
Modeling environmental, social and economic impacts
Researchers developed a system dynamics model to evaluate the environmental, social, and economic consequences of the 14 proposed solutions under various international socioeconomic, political, and climate-change scenarios. Javier Martínez López, one of the scientists, highlights the model’s ability to simulate outcomes across different futures and to guide decision-making.
View of the Mar Menor from an aerial perspective
When resources to implement solutions are limited, the model helps establish a minimum set of actions needed to achieve sustainable development, based on key performance indicators for economic, environmental, and social aspects, according to CSIC researchers.
Specifically, the roadmap is expected to reduce excessive nutrient inputs that contribute to ecological degradation and fish die-offs in the lagoon. If the plan is implemented, nutrient accumulation could reach notably lower levels by 2035. Without action, a linear and sustained rise in nutrient levels is projected.
As environmental quality improves, tourism is expected to grow significantly due to seasonal appeal. If the roadmap is not adopted, all modeled scenarios show a decline in the number of visitors to Mar Menor in the near, mid, and long term.
Overall, the analysis indicates that at least six of the 14 roadmap solutions must be implemented to achieve a minimum level of sustainable development across environmental, economic, and social dimensions. The emphasized actions include promoting rural and coastal ecotourism, curbing irrigated expansion, reducing fertilizer use, supporting small agricultural photovoltaic facilities, and advancing environmental education initiatives, according to de Vente.
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