To protect fragile coasts, Spain issues moratorium on building

Does Spain's development hold a lesson for the Riviera Maya? From an article Lisa Abend by in The Christian Science Monitor:

Madrid - Rampant development has turned much of Spain's Mediterranean coast into concrete jungles. Now, the country's environment ministry is determined to fight back, taking on the unchecked and frequently illegal construction that has threatened to overwhelm Spain's shores – causing erosion rates of up to 1 meter per year. Yet because development and the tourism it attracts have brought tremendous prosperity to Spain, the government's new plan represents a gauntlet thrown down for a brewing battle between environment and economy.

"If we want [the coast] to last, we have to change our paradigm," says José Fernández Pérez, the environment ministry's Director of Coastal Areas.

His ministry's "Strategy for Coastal Sustainability" is designed to do just that, calling for the national government to buy up unoccupied coastal lands, recategorize as protected areas already approved for construction, and demolish buildings and recreational ports that occupy public beaches. The plan also demands the enforcement of an existing law that requires the first 100 meters of shore be kept free of all construction. All in all, the proposal is expected to cost €5 billion ($7.4 billion) and to affect more than 400 miles of coastline.