Spain’s coastline, a longed-for destination for millions, is once again at the center of critical environmental assessment. The non-governmental organization “Ecologists in Action” presented its annual report on Tuesday, painting a bleak picture of the environmental situation on Spain’s beaches with the awarding of 48 “Black Flags.” This distinction, two per province or autonomous city, denounces not only environmental pollution but also serious environmental mismanagement along the more than 8,000 kilometers of coastline.
Main Focus: Appropriation of Coastal Space and Inadequate Infrastructure
Since 2005, “Ecologists in Action” has been analyzing the Spanish coast. This year, a particular focus is on the “problem of appropriation and occupation of maritime-terrestrial public space.” The organization sharply criticizes this practice as being “widespread among wealthy private individuals and commercial companies.” Another central issue is the deficiencies in sanitation and cleaning systems, further exacerbated by mass tourism.
“We are not against tourism, but it must be regulated, because overcrowding ends tourism itself, which has paid for these beaches, leading to cleaning problems because the overcrowding causes the treatment plants to overflow and the coasts to be dirty or even closed,” explained Cristóbal López from the Marine Environment area of “Ecologists in Action” at the press conference presenting the 170-page report.
Diverse Reasons for the “Black Flags”
The 48 “Black Flags” awarded are based on a variety of environmental transgressions:
- 13 flags were awarded for “urbanization of the coast and invasion of the maritime-terrestrial public domain” (DMPT).
- 12 flags for “discharges, deficiencies in sewage systems, and serious treatment problems.”
- Nine flags for “impacts on biodiversity.”
- Five flags for “accumulation of waste, plastics, and microplastics.”
- Four flags for “unnecessary or poorly managed port or coastal protection works.”
- Three flags for “chemical pollution.”
- One flag each for “damage to historical and cultural heritage in DMPT” and a “geological CO₂ storage project that represents serious ecological and social damage.”
The environmentalists regret that “similar problems to previous ones are observed,” with the “appropriation and occupation of space or DPMT on the Spanish coast” identified as one of the biggest problems. Despite the clear illegality – the Coastal Law prohibits construction less than 100 meters from the coast – some administrations fail to enforce the law.
Prominent Examples of Abusive Privatization
The report highlights several prominent cases:
- The black flag for the private owners of the urbanization on the island of Toralla in Vigo, who deny free access to both the coast and the interior of the island.
- The case of Pancha Island in Ribadeo, where the state itself secretly privatizes public space by granting concessions to private companies for commercial uses that restrict free public access, even though the area belongs to the Natura 2000 network.
- The abusive use of public space, according to the report, is repeated along the entire Spanish coast, even in natural parks, as is the case with the parking lots that encroach on the Natural Park of the Dunes of Liencres and Costa Quebrada in Cantabria.
- Beach bars in Andalusia increasingly encroaching on the DPMT, even building basements and privatizing the use of public space.
- Luxury resorts like the one built in the dunes of Corralejo (Fuerteventura).
Worrying Situation in Valencia After the DANA Flood
The report particularly criticizes the situation in Valencia. Seven months after the devastating floods caused by the DANA storm, which claimed 228 lives, “Blue Flags” were surprisingly awarded to practically all affected beaches. Ecologists in Action awards the black flag for pollution to the beaches of L’Arbre del Gos, El Saler, La Devesa, La Garrofera, and Recatí-Perellonet in the province of Valencia. Here, after the drainage of the Albufera lake, massive amounts of waste reached the coast.
“The amount of waste and pollutants on the beaches of the natural park [of l’Albufera], with a very delayed and superficial removal, without even assessing the extent or actual type of pollution received. And the awarding of the Blue Flag to many of the affected beaches, which have not yet been cleaned or even checked for pollutant risk, shows that this award is far from reality,” the report criticizes. There are no official records of the 40,000 tons of waste announced by the authorities, and no specific physical cleaning work has been carried out in the underwater area (underwater beach/bathing areas).
In Alicante, the bays of Mosca and Ferris were singled out for poor environmental management, and Levante de Benidorm for pollution. In Castellón, the black flag was raised for Mar Xica beach in Benicarló and for the southern (industrial) port of Castellón.
Andalusia and Catalonia Also Heavily Affected
Andalusia received a total of ten black flags, including the Huelva estuary, La Antilla de Lepe, the Trafalgar coast “for pollution and invasive occupation of the coast,” the municipality of Tarifa “for the accumulation of urbanization projects,” the Natura 2000 network beach “Los bajos de Roquetas de Mar,” and the beaches of Vera in Almeria. The beaches of the Guadalfeo River delta and the Granada coastal path were also mentioned. In Malaga, they warned of “the proliferation of marinas in the province” and “microplastics from wastewater treatment plants.”
Catalonia is described as the area with the “greatest urban pressure on the coast.” The few remaining natural spaces are subject to commercial projects, such as the pine forest on La Farella beach or the last section of the Rec d’en Feliu river (both in Girona), where the Llançà city government’s plan aims to urbanize these areas despite flood risk and their high ecological value as a threshold to the Cap de Creus Natural Park. Specifically, in the province of Tarragona, an offshore CO₂ storage facility and the cooling tower of the Ascó nuclear power plants were penalized with the black flag for contamination this year. In Barcelona, the situation of the Llobregat river delta and the beaches of Barcelona was denounced, while in Girona, Lloret del Mar also received a black flag.
Conclusion and Outlook
The “Ecologists in Action” report highlights the urgent need for a change of course in managing Spain’s coasts. The continued privatization of public space, inadequate infrastructure, and the lack of enforcement of existing laws threaten not only the environment but also the future of tourism, which is so closely linked to the beauty and cleanliness of Spain’s beaches. It remains to be seen what concrete measures the authorities will take to counteract these alarming developments.
