The beaches of Ibiza, and specifically Santa Eulària, deserve all our attention and care. Firstly, because of the particular nature of our coastline, the beauty of the waters and the surroundings, and of course, because these qualities attract a large number of visitors a year, thus making them the main economic driver of our municipality.

In this context, the preservation of these fragile systems is a primary responsibility of the Santa Eulària des Riu Town Hall, in order that our tourism and our economic development be as sustainable as possible.

Santa Eulària des Riu Town Hall has therefore drawn up a Sustainable Beach Cleaning Plan, which incorporates sustainable management criteria with the environment in order to minimise the environmental impact on our coastline.

Background

During recent decades, the posidonia from the beaches was removed throughout the year, along with a high amount of sand and sediment, which was brought to the island landfill. This exposed the beaches in the municipality to greater degradation and erosion.

From 2008, an important change took place regarding beach management, stemming from the 1st Coastline Management Conference and promoted by Santa Eulària Town Hall and the Consell Insular d'Eivissa, in which an agreement was signed between all the municipalities not to remove the posidonia oceanica during the winter season, in order not to aggravate the double process of degradation and erosion of the beaches.

On the one hand, the removal of Posidonia in winter causes large volumes of sediment and sand to be lost from the beaches, and on the other, the fact that the beach is devoid of Posidonia berms makes it more vulnerable to the erosion of the coastline through wave energy, with the consequent loss of sand and sediment.

Sustainable Beach Cleaning Plan Objectives

The objectives of the implementation of the Sustainable Beach Cleaning Plan are ecological in nature. However, economic and social objectives also apply, as these three factors imply sustainability.

Ecological objectives:

• Minimise the impact generated by the indiscriminate removal of plant debris accumulated in the wave-breaking area, thus avoiding the loss of sand and preventing the retreat of the coastline and protecting the beach against winter storms.
• Preparation of protocols for the removal of these accumulated berms, based on the specific dynamics of each of the coastal areas of the municipality.
• The proposal of spaces as storage areas and the use of these as material to be returned the wave-breaking area in winter, contributing to the recovery of a large part of the sedimentary material deposited in its removal.

Economic and Social Objectives:

• Reduction of the costs generated by the current management of Posidonia as waste brought to the island landfill.
• The consideration of tourism as a collective social practice that generates economic activity essentially requires the creation and maintenance of jobs, as well as maintaining the abundance of the place by taking advantage of the available resources efficiently and sustainably.
• Conservation of the beaches as a tourist resource and economic driver of Ibiza.
• The introduction of sustainable beach management criteria improves the Ibiza’s image for residents and tourists.