“Our forecast is that in 30 or 40 years there will be no Talamanca beach. It is going to disappear, so we have to adapt now”. This is the stark warning issued by Xisco Sobrado, head of the marine area at the environmental organisation GEN-GOB, who cautions that climate change poses a serious threat not only to this Ibiza beach but to many others in the island.
In the specific case of Talamanca — once again badly affected by the recent storms Harry and Ingrid — the expert describes the situation as “an example of poor management”, driven by “two phenomena that are acting simultaneously” and accelerating the beach’s disappearance.
“On the one hand, we have rising sea levels and storms, which will become increasingly intense. On the other, there is the degradation of the beach itself, which we witness on a daily basis as a result of pollution. In the end, it is the perfect combination”, he warns.
In light of this scenario, Sobrado believes the time has come to “take a long-term view of what the situation will be like in 10 or 20 years”. This, he argues, should involve “renaturalising the beach as much as possible and implementing a controlled retreat from the coastline”, as he explained to Diario de Ibiza.
“Climate change is inexorable, and there will come a day when all these frontline infrastructures we are trying to protect will be flooded by the sea”, he predicts. Faced with this outlook, he stresses the need to decide whether “we want to wait until the very last moment to apply short-term fixes, or whether we start adapting early enough to carry out proper planning”.
For the full article, please visit Diario de Ibiza website here.