TheCanary Islandshave seen growing protests over the past few years. Resentment has been growing among locals, who say the boom in tourism to the sun-drenched Spanish archipelago is unsustainable. They cite outdated rules that enable speculators to buy up land for hotels and holiday apartments, whilst only paying minimal tax.

As a result, Canarians say they earn the lowest average wages in Spain and struggle to find affordable housing. But now they have another grievance against tourists. The islands are experiencing coastal erosion at a staggering rate. Activists say the Canary Islands’ coastline is on the brink of disaster.

Every year, according to a report from SOS Costas Canarias, some 2½ miles of coastline is lost. Anne Striewe, the foundation’s director, says that hotels, apartment blocks, housing developments and marinas, among other buildings, are being built on this “lost” land.

The organisation warns that across the eight islands, around 18% of the land within the first 500 metres from the sea has already been developed. Outside protected natural areas (PNAs), this percentage soars: it exceeds 40% on several islands and coastal stretches, peaking at 43% in Lanzarote and Gran Canaria.

Almost 20% of the living space on the Canary Islands is devoted to tourism – compared to roughly 4% on the Spanish mainland. Five municipalities on the Canaries have more tourist beds than permanent residents: Yaiza (Lanzarote), Pájara (Fuerteventura), Mogán (Gran Canaria), San Bartolomé de Tirajana (Gran Canaria) and Adeje (Tenerife).

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Ms Striewe points out that, in addition to holiday accommodation, there is a mass of tourist-related infrastructure such as access roads, golf courses and desalination plants, which do not appear in hotel occupancy statistics but are part of the same issue.

Sharon Backhouse, director of GeoTenerife, told Sky News that the Canary Islands are a "biodiversity jewel in the Atlantic,” but local government offers few protections for the islands’ natural habitats.

She said that every year more "beautiful landscapes are cemented over" to build new tourist resorts.

Source: Daily Express :: World Feed