The strategy for the protection of the Balearic coast, drafted by IHCantabria in collaboration with local and international experts, has been presented

The strategy aims to guide decision-making regarding the actions to be carried out to manage the risk of coastal erosion on the Balearic coast.

The Vice-President and Minister for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Teresa Ribera, presented the Strategy for the Protection of the Balearic Coast on 1 April, stating that “it is a far-reaching project that will serve as a planning tool for all the actions of state competence on the archipelago’s coastline” and emphasising “the need for coordination and alignment in terms of means and objectives between the different administrations, with the collaboration and understanding of all public and private actors involved in coastal management”.

IHCantabria’s staff participated in the development of this strategy together with a team of professionals from the Coastal & Marine Union (EUCC), the Coastal Observation System of the Balearic Islands (SOCIB) and MedCities. The project, which includes the collaboration of an international panel of European experts, is an initiative funded by the European Union’s Structural Reforms Support Programme at the request of the Directorate General for the Coast and the Sea of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO).

The strategy aims to guide decision-making regarding the actions to be carried out for coastal erosion risk management throughout the current management cycle (2020-2045), seeking synergies with flood risk management and incorporating climate change adaptation measures. The preparation of the strategy began in December 2019 and was carried out in three successive phases.

The first was an integrated diagnosis of the Balearic coast, to improve the understanding of coastal issues. Additionally, it aimed at understanding the perception of coastal issues by relevant stakeholders, and at analysing the governance framework. This diagnostic phase included a public information process in which 66 key stakeholders participated and provided their perception of the coastal problems and the coastal protection measures implemented in the past.

A proposal for action was then put forward to identify the measures to be implemented by the Directorate General for the Coast and the Sea of the MITECO, within the framework of its competences. This proposal covers social and institutional prevention measures, physical and structural prevention measures, and recovery and review measures.

Thirdly, a final drafting phase was tackled to guide decision-making in relation to the implementation and monitoring of the set of proposed measures.

IHCantabria’s team led the development of the integrated diagnosis, the proposal for action and the strategy’s final drafting. In addition, the project benefited from a cross-cutting communication and public engagement component coordinated by Medcities and from lessons learnt from experience through case studies in Portugal, Italy, Ireland and the UK, according to an international panel of experts led by the EUCC.

Este proyecto está financiado por el programa de Apoyo a las Reformas Estructurales de la Unión Europea e implementado en colaboración con EUCC y sus socios, y la Comisión Europea.