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Regenerating beaches in Spain with Saharan sand could result in much ecological damage

Experts believe that the ecosystem in Spain could be in danger from this practice

Extracting sand from Western Sahara to use in the regeneration of beaches and the construction industry in Spain can have harmful environmental effects, the experts have warned, both for the area it is removed from and its final destination.

Hundreds of thousands of tonnes of sand have been imported to the Canary Islands over the years from the Sahara to add to the beaches which were originally black, but the local authorities believed the beaches, such as Las Canteras in Gran Canaria, would be more attractive to tourists if they were covered in white sand.

The natural resources coordinator of the Canarian Association of the Saharawi People (Acaps) has explained that the sand of the Sahara is not infinite, and that “we should think of it as a non-renewable resource in the same way that water is.”

Quite aside from its overuse, bringing foreign sand to Spanish soil runs the risk of introducing invasive alien species into the new ecosystem, not to mention the threat of extinction it poses to the land from which it was removed by upsetting the natural ecological dynamics.

Finally, the experts warn that regenerating beaches with sand that comes from the land, such as the Sahara, rather than the sea, leads to greater erosion, which means that it will have to be replaced more often, creating a vicious cycle.

You might also like: The 6 best dog friendly beaches in the Region of Murcia

Image: Wikimedia Commons

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