The United Nations includes local beaches in MAP

    The coast from Pulpi to Cabo de Gata has been included by the United Nations in its Mediterranean Action Plan (MAP) as the fourteenth Coastal Area Management Project (CAMP). This area has been designated as a CAMP after a feasibility study revealed the weakness of the co-ordination mechanisms between the different policies affecting the coastal resources, the lack of effective social participation in the coastal-related decision-making processes, and the difficulty of implementing a sustainable management of the coastal areas due to the spreading of the administrative responsibilities.

The main objectives of the MAP are; to bring about a massive reduction in pollution from land-based sources, to protect marine and coastal habitats and threatened species, to make maritime activities safer and more conscious of the Mediterranean marine environment, to intensify integrated planning of coastal areas, to monitor the spreading of invasive species and to further promote sustainable development in the Mediterranean region.

The CAMP Levante de Almeria project area covers over 219,000 hectares of the South Eastern area of the Almeria Province. Of that total, 71,000 hectares correspond to the marine area, and 148,122 hectares is terrestrial, which includes the following eight municipalities: Pulpi, Cuevas de Almanzora, Vera, Garrucha, Mojacar, Carboneras, Nijar and Almeria. The limits of the CAMP Levante de Almeria action area will be considered as flexible, considering the convenience of including some adjoining non-coastal municipalities in the resolution of certain issues that influence some aspects of the management of the coastal area (i.e. management of the river basins, pollution, fishing or the urban planning and economic dynamics).

    Although the local Spanish press are hailing this as a success story for the area it is in fact an indictment from the international community of the area's failure to manage itself in a responsible and sustainable manner. The project will be coordinated from the University of Almeria.