200 organisations....

200 organisations……. in the Valencia region called at the end of April to protest marches in the 3 provincial capitals, against the urbanistic policy of the regional government, against massification, abuse and corruption. Tens of thousand citizens rallied to the call.

200 organisations…..mostly local protest initiatives, going against a monster plan that some promoter has paid to get the approval for. The civic uproar against the perverse urbanistic policy in the Valencia region has become a social factor of great importance, not only among smaller groups of foreign property owners, but among the Spanish themselves.

200 organisations….so many and so active that the politicians have to take note. Not the regional government of the arrogant Francisco Camps, that with his tasteless defence of the property promoters and even more tasteless attacks on the representatives from the European Parliament, investigation the abuse has manoeuvred himself into a corner, without escape possibilities.

200 organisations…..instead joined by the leaders of the opposition parties in the regional parliament, greens, nationalists and socialists. The latest Gallup indicates that PP will loose their absolute majority. And the socialist leaders in the region have promised that they will change the urbanistic policy.

Is there a light at the end of the tunnel?

"A mountain of debris..."

Most of us can visualize the extremely low-lying land bridge separating the Mediterranean from Mar Menor in the province of Murcia, called La Manga. It is 24 kilometres long and from 200 to 1.500 metres wide, and thousands of houses, apartments and hotel rooms have been built in its sands over the last 40 years.

José Fernandez Pérez, general director for the “Costas”, the body in the Spanish administration controlling and administrating the coastal areas, declared last month, at a conference organised by the foundation Bioversidad about the effects of the climate changes in the coastal areas of Spain:

“In 30 years La Manga will be a mountain of debrise”

The experts estimate that the sea will intrude up to 70 metres inland in certain coastal areas, especially in Galicia and the northern part of the Canary islands, but specially on beaches with fine sands, as the Atlantic coast and the Balearic islands. It is expected that the coast line will change on Costa Brava, the Balearics and the southern part of the Canaries.

Many constructions made along the coast will become obsolete due to the increase in the sea level. The experts point especially to the sea shore from Malaga to Algeciras.

The general director for the Costa concluded:

“If one constructed from one day to another all that is planned to be urbanized on the coast, we shall despair…” He proposed a kind of moratorium to avoid a new permanent development along the Spanish coasts.