Greenpeace warns of "beach loss" in Lanzarote and La Graciosa due to rising sea levels

The environmental organization Greenpeace has presented a report where it makes a radiography of the state of the more than 8,000 km of Spanish coast in the face of the "threats that are coming". Lanzarote and La Graciosa are two of the Canary Islands that will suffer the greatest impact from the sea level rise expected for the year 2030.

In the same line are Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, La Gomera and La Palma, which would also see their entire coastline affected by the sea level rise.

The Archipelago is exposed to risks due to excessive urbanization and infrastructure, pollution, the construction of artificial barriers (such as dikes, breakwaters, promenades or marinas), the waste of natural resources and the channeling, burying and diversion of riverbeds. All these actions have caused imbalances that translate into the retreat and loss of beaches, and with them, their function as a protective barrier, which poses a risk to millions of people residing on the coast.

Risks on the coast

To these previous bad practices, we must add those specifically due to climate change: the rise in sea level, the increase in frequency and intensity of extreme weather events (such as heat waves, drought, torrential rains, storms, hurricanes, fires and floods), the constant increase in the temperature of seas and oceans and the loss of oxygen dissolved in the water, which exponentially increases the risks.

• The rise in sea level. According to NASA forecasts, it will cause the loss of beaches throughout the coastline. It should be remembered that, according to Bruun's rule, on average it is estimated that for every centimeter the sea level rises, the coast will recede one meter. By 2030, in the scenario of lower greenhouse gas emissions, the islands of La Graciosa, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, La Gomera and La Palma will see their entire coastline affected by the rise in sea level. In the case of Fuerteventura, Morro Jable, Corralejo and Majanicho are especially at risk.
• In Gran Canaria the greatest risk is for Maspalomas, Castillo del Romeral, Arinaga and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Tenerife is the only island that will not see its entire coast affected, with the impact being greater in the northern half of the island, but also in Acentejo, Adeje, Los Cristianos or El Médano. It is estimated that the average sea level rise will range between 27 and 75 cm by the end of the century, which would mean a loss of the surface of the beaches of around 48% in a low emissions scenario, but 80% in a high emissions scenario causing climate change.
• The data on the rise in the temperature of seas and oceans show that marine heat waves have followed one another relentlessly since 2022. Higher sea temperatures cause a decrease in oxygen dissolved in the water and to this is added pollution, which causes acidification of the water. This is what the European Environment Agency calls "the lethal trio", which is already causing serious impacts on biodiversity and marine ecosystems, as well as on fishing and shellfish harvesting.
• More extreme weather events of greater intensity. Hotter water evaporates more and this causes the formation of more powerful and dangerous DANA, hurricanes and cyclones, increasing damage from floods. 4% of Canarian homes are in flood zones. The highest number corresponds to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, with more than 13,000 homes in a flood zone, almost all on Las Canteras beach.

"For decades we have deformed the coast to our liking, but that no longer works. We are no longer able to anticipate the problem, because it is already here, but solutions must be implemented urgently. Any delay will result in greater economic and human costs," explains María José Caballero, head of Coasts at Greenpeace Spain.

The deterioration due to tourism experienced the first major social mobilization in the country in the Canary Islands, igniting the spark for other areas that suffer the same problem. The growing number of tourists cannot hide another fact: 33.8% of the Canarian population is below the poverty line.

Despite this, new urbanization projects continue to emerge on almost all the islands, especially in La Palma. The Canarian Government has reactivated two illegal projects: a hotel in La Tejita and another in the small port of Adeje, both in Tenerife. This decision was the beginning of the historic demonstrations that the eight Canary Islands experienced.

The transfer of powers in coastal matters to the Canarian Government found its first disagreement with the hotels located in the protected area of the Dunas de Corralejo in Fuerteventura. The Ministry for Ecological Transition has declared the expiration of the concession for the occupation of the maritime-terrestrial public domain granted to the Riu Oliva Beach hotel, so it must disappear from the dunes, but the Canarian Government opposes it despite the fact that Riu has failed for years to comply with the conditions of the concession, carrying out discharges of wastewater and altering the conservation of the dunes.

The pollution of the Canarian waters is one of the great pending issues: in 2022, 72% of the wastewater discharge points into the sea were not authorized. In Tenerife there are 195 points (some, such as the one in El Médano, without any purification system, has caused serious infections to bathers). There are 127 in Gran Canaria and Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro follow. There is no data from La Graciosa.

In the last five years, the Canary Islands has paid 7.7 million euros for a sanction against Spain for non-compliance with the European directive on the treatment of urban wastewater in the Valle de Güímar, specifically in the Candelaria area (Tenerife). The problem will not be solved this year, so the payment of the fine will continue.

The pollution caused by plastics is very present in the Canarian waters. In the surroundings of the islands there is a minimum of 50 million microplastics per square kilometer of ocean that are distributed from the surface to depths of more than 1,000 meters (1,150 m south of El Hierro) forming a curtain one kilometer thick that surrounds and contaminates the Canary Islands. The three sandy areas with the highest presence of microplastics are Lambra (La Graciosa), El Porís (Tenerife), and Arenas Blancas (El Hierro).

Solutions for the coast

It is urgent to face these risks. Only with a moderate reduction of greenhouse gas emissions could 40% of the retreat of beaches around the world be avoided. Adaptation measures are also necessary at all levels (municipal, regional and state) to minimize damage and seek real and lasting solutions. The solutions applied so far, such as artificial beach regenerations and the reconstruction of promenades, are no longer useful. Between 2016 and 2020 alone, nearly 60 million euros were spent on the artificial replacement of sand on beaches.

The solutions must be local, because each stretch of coastline has its own characteristics, but they must be agreed upon by the administrations and participated in by the citizens urgently. Protecting and conserving the beaches would be a benefit 150 times greater than letting them continue to deteriorate.

"The coast protects us from extreme weather events and the rise in sea level caused by climate change, but we continue to mistreat it. The loss of its natural characteristics has to be reversed so that it can protect us," explains Caballero.

To reverse the current situation, it is essential:

1. Apply ambitious policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and regulations for adaptation and protection of the coast in accordance with what science dictates.

2. Restore environmental quality to coastal areas to have stable natural systems that protect against the worst risks.

3. End pollution that impoverishes the quality of the waters and involves the payment of large fines to the European Union.

4. Put a stop to mass tourism through measures such as limiting flights and cruises, establishing fees that have an impact on the improvement of public services and the regeneration of ecosystems, as well as citizen participation in tourism planning.

5. Introduce climate change forecasts in urban and infrastructure planning.

6. Prevent the construction of infrastructure and urbanization that generate artificial barriers that act as a screen and prevent sand from being deposited on the beaches and increase the virulence of marine storms.

7. Conserve and facilitate the expansion inland of marshes and wetlands (they are great dissipaters of sea energy and, therefore, very good allies in protection). Prohibit projects in these areas and remove existing ones.

8. Review the boundaries (the delimitation) that determine the maritime-terrestrial public domain (100 meters in non-developable areas and 20 in developable areas), which constitutes the minimum protection zone against DANAs, storms and sea level rise.

9. Recover flood zones. In Spain, floods are, after heat waves, the second natural phenomenon that causes the most deaths. Free them from constructions (their presence exponentially increases damage and risks) and recover the natural channels of rivers and avenues.

10. Promote scientific research into the effects caused by both artificial barriers and climate change on ecosystems, marine species and human health.