The Ministry of Public Works, Housing and Mobility of the Government of the Canary Islands, through the General Directorate of Coasts and Management of the Canarian maritime space, headed by Antonio Acosta, begins from next Monday, March 16, the prior public consultation process of the draft Law on the Management of the Canarian Coast and Coasts, a regulation whose purpose is to adapt the basic state framework in coastal matters to the territorial, environmental and socioeconomic singularities of the archipelago.
The proposal responds to the mandate contained in article 157 of the Statute of Autonomy of the Canary Islands, which attributes to the Autonomous Community exclusive competence in matters of coastal planning and management, respecting the general regime of the maritime-terrestrial public domain.
The Director General of Coasts and Maritime Space Management, Antonio Acosta, has highlighted that “the initiative seeks to provide the Canary Islands with its own regulatory framework that allows managing the coast in a way adapted to its particularities after the transfer of powers in 2023. The future law aims to balance economic and social development with the protection of coastal ecosystems and natural resources, guaranteeing their sustainability”.
The Canarian coastline, which extends along 1,126 kilometers and presents a discontinuous configuration typical of an archipelagic territory, concentrates an essential part of the resident population and of the main economic activities, especially those linked to tourism. At the same time, it harbors a marine biodiversity of great value and fragility, which demands a differentiated management close to the territory.
The objective of the future regulation is to specify and adapt the determinations of the basic state legislation to the island reality, to fully integrate coastal management into the environmental, territorial, and urban planning of the Canary Islands and to establish a clear jurisdictional and procedural framework that strengthens legal certainty. All this from the premise of achieving an effective balance between environmental protection and the maintenance of social and economic activities that historically take place on the coast, in an island context where it is not feasible to generally displace these activities inland.
The law will be inspired by the principles of sustainable development, integrated coastal management, priority conservation of coastal ecosystems, adaptation to climate change, citizen participation, and consideration of the best available scientific evidence. Likewise, it will address the adequate distribution of powers between the autonomous administration, the island councils, and the municipalities, guaranteeing a coherent planning of a territorial space that, despite being insular and discontinuous, requires an integral and coordinated vision.
The prior public consultation period will remain open for one month, until April 16, 2026, through the Citizen Participation Portal of the Government of the Canary Islands, so that citizens and representative organizations can send their contributions before the final drafting of the preliminary bill. Contributions can be made through the following link.