The beaches of the Valencian Community begin to receive the first swimmers.
The Valencian coast has experienced its wettest spring since 1950, marked by storms that have caused the loss of sand and the accumulation of remains of banquettes on the shore.
Some mountains of plants that the municipalities until now removed as a source of garbage and bad smells and that the Valencian Government now wants to protect through a new decree.
The document for the conservation of posidonia marina meadows in the Valencian Community pursues the regulation of uses that may affect what is considered "the Mediterranean forest".
An extension of more than 30,000 hectares of this species of seagrass endemic to the area that has an important environmental value.
The Valencian one is, precisely, the second autonomy in Posidonia surface after the Balearic Islands, which also has its own regulation for the protection of this vulnerable species.
Although bathers sometimes tend to flee from the remains of algae in the water or on the sand, considering them as dirt, the truth is that posidonia is an ally against climate change, since they are CO2 collectors.
In addition, they represent a natural barrier against the regression of the coast, they are bioindicators of the good quality of the waters and the source of a rich marine biodiversity that is home to more than 1,000 species of fauna and 400 of plants.
For their protection, the Ministry for the Ecological Transition seeks to regulate with the decree, not only these biological communities, but also the management of the remains that reach the beaches and that represent a natural barrier against the loss of sand.
Those piles of vegetable remains dragged by the sea will also have special protection between the months of October to March.
From now on, municipalities must request prior authorization to proceed with their removal.
The director of the Coastal Ecology Institute, Gabriel Soler, explains that these dry posidonia leaves that wash up on the shore have natural sediments from the beach.
Soler indicates that when they are removed "80% is sand and, therefore, their removal contributes to erosion and loss of beach quality."
Elche has worked in recent weeks to remove more than 200 cubic meters of algae from its coastline.
However, there are municipalities that are demanding specific management.
Santa Pola, which has 13 beaches, seven urban and six natural.
The mayor of the municipality, Loreto Serrano (PP), has demanded that the council allow them to remove posidonia from the sand, at least from urban beaches, due to the large amount of plant debris they receive.
In the coming days, both administrations will hold a meeting to reach an agreement because, according to Serrano, "Santa Pola does not have the same characteristics as other municipalities."
In fact, the town has a report prepared by the Coastal Ecology Institute that also supports the City Council's claim to remove excess algae.
Gabriel Soler explains that the town is right in front of the Isla de Tabarca reserve with a very extensive posidonia meadow that generates a significant amount of leaves.
Despair
The mayor has shown her desperation because they are not enough to remove the posidonia accumulated in the sand.
Since April 9, beach cleaning services have collected more than 12,000 cubic meters of algae, which is equivalent to 1,000 trucks.
In just a few weeks, more posidonia remains have been removed than during all of 2019 (10,754 cubic meters) and close to what was accumulated in 2021 (13,792 cubic meters).
Serrano insists that it is detrimental to the image of the municipality to keep this large amount of algae on the shores of its beaches.
The town quadruples its population in the summer months and the mayor insists that the rest of the year they maintain a high level of occupation and visitors who will not be able to enjoy the activities that are scheduled in the arena, especially for the elderly, if they keep the mountains of debris.
In addition, he advances the accusations of lack of cleanliness although "we do not withdraw them because they do not let us".
To enforce the new regulations, the Ministry for the Ecological Transition also warns in the decree that surveillance will be intensified in coastal municipalities.
However, Loreto Serrano affirms that, for the time being, they have been told that the breaches that are committed will not entail any type of sanction.
Santa Pola has also been reusing algae in circular economy projects for some time, as the new regulations also recommend.
Posidonia on the Carabassí beach, in Elche (Alicante). joaquín de haro
A local company is making algae substrates, although at the moment, with a small production.
The City Council wanted to take advantage of these remains to seal and close disused landfills, but in this sense, but for the mayor, the rule is ambiguous and "it is not clear if the remains of posidonia are classified as plant remains or waste."
However, Gabriel Soler points out that they are plant material that, when removed from the sand and manipulated, become waste and, therefore, cannot be used in anything other than reuse initiatives.
Even so, Soler clarifies that the process used to remove the salt and dry the algae consumes too much energy and is not profitable for private initiative.
The regulations also emphasize another of the agents with the greatest impact on the Posidonia meadows, such as the anchoring of boats.
The environment of the Island of Tabarca is one of the most crowded every summer due to the daily arrival of pleasure boats.
For this reason, the old moorings that harmed the seabed have been replaced by ecological ones that are fastened with a helical screw that raises a buoy to which boats can anchor.
Even so, the Association of Friends of the South Alicante Wetlands (AHSA) has submitted allegations to the Provincial Coastal Service for authorizing more than 120 ecological mooring buoys for this summer.
The environmental group considers it "disproportionate" and demands that they be reduced to just 50. But,
The regulation pursues, in a climate emergency context, the conservation of marine biodiversity and the good environmental quality of beaches.
An objective that, in turn, must be made compatible with the tourist activity so affected in the hardest months of the pandemic and with the specific characteristics that the different municipalities of the Valencian region present.