Over 1 million cubic metres of beach lost in Sotogrande

(Agencies) Verdemar-Ecologistas en Acción warned yesterday that the beach in Sotogrande has lost "over one million cubic metres of sand" since last winter, according to the environmentalists' spokesman Antonio Muñoz, who added that the worst losses are "from the Guadiaro River, passing by El Octógono beach and ending at the one at El Cucurucho." Muñoz points to storms and "the hand of Man" as the culprits. The latter, he added, was as the result of the removal of sand at the mouth of the Guadiaro, which has been replaced by "impermeable material that has diverted the natural lay of the river.">

The idea behind this replacement of sand is to avoid river water, and therefore the sand, from becoming salinated in several places "so that it [the sand] could be used for building." Muñoz also pointed out that much of the new building in the area was done in a hurry before approval of the new Ley de Costas (Coasts Law). This, he says, has resulted in urbanizations being constructed right up against the protected Guadiaro's protected Paraje Natural. Moreover, the port at Sotogrande "has broken the natural dynamics of that stretch of coastline," says Muñoz, which means that "the sand at the mouth of the river has to be opened continually" to release water that would otherwise flood the urbanization (photo).