Tarifa, southern Andalusia gem risks cementification

Tarifa, an untouched, wild paradise on the extreme southern tip of Spain, is at risk of being covered in cement: for this reason a cry of alarm - reported by El Pais - has been launched by the population in the streets and via Twitter. The hotly-debated municipal plan for Tarifa in Spain's southern province of Cadiz was approved over the night between Tuesday and Wednesday. The People's Party-led town council has set in motion an urban plan calling for the creation of a residential and tourist complex in an area of the coastline which is still virgin land. Tarifa, 14 kilometres from the African coasts of Morocco and the southernmost municipality of Europe, is well-known for its pure white beaches and its winds, highly praised by surfers the world over. The zone - on the edge of Andalusia - is also called the Costa de la Luz due to its shining dunes and the crystal clear sea. The project, technically known as the ''Partial Plan of the Valdevaqueros Coastline Sector 1 '', is backed by private investors and calls for the construction of hotels with accommodation for about 1400, as well as 350 homes, close to the dunes of the well-known Valdevaqueros beach. If it does come into being, it will be the first tourist resort in this untouched area. It will cover about 700,000 square metres, of which about 84,000 are licensed for building purposes. Over the past few days the population in the zone have set in motion a number of protests with demonstrations in front of the Tarifa town council and the creation of internet sites and chat lines entitled 'salvamosvaldevaquero'. The coordinator of the protests, Noelia Jurado (reports El Pais) noted that the project had been drafted in the 1990s and focuses on an area between the Estrechi Nature Reserve and that of Alcornocales. Moreover, according to Jurado the zone to be hit by what has been called landscape destruction ''is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve''. Mayor Juan Andres Gil, who feels he is being targeted by a ''defamatory campaign'', stands up for the choices made by the town council, saying that it is ''urban planning of a modern nature in line with regular development'' since it calls for ''a low density of constructions and a low environmental impact''. Only Izquerda Unida voted against the plan, which was instead accepted by the PSOE. Tarifa, the first Roman territory on the Spanish mainland, is considered the juncture between Europe and Africa, and up until now has survived on fishing and tourism, maintaining its characteristic of a cultural bridge between two continents, as well as being the southern pearl of Andalusia. (ANSAmed).