Axarquía environmental group denounces removal of threatened plant species during beach cleaning

The removal of vegetation from the Ferrara beach in Torrox on the eastern Costa del Sol has sparked a new environmental controversy. The Axarquía-based environmental group GENA-Ecologists in Action has denounced the destruction of a population of sea daffodils (Pancratium maritimum), a species considered to be under threat of extinction by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

As the group explained in a statement on Wednesday 1 April, the incident occurred on 30 March during cleaning operations carried out by municipal workers along the Torrox coastline. "We witnessed how, along with other plant debris, specimens of this plant, which grows spontaneously in the sand, were being uprooted," GENA stated, adding that several residents also reported the situation.

The environmental association maintains that, when warned, the workers responded that they were acting under orders to remove "everything on the sand," which, in the group's opinion, demonstrates "a lack of understanding of the environmental value of these species." "A plant that plays a key role in the coastal ecosystem cannot be considered litter," they emphasise.

In this regard, GENA points out that the sea daffodil is a species native to sandy habitats, classified as a species of community interest and plays a fundamental role in stabilising the sand and helping to curb wind erosion. "Its disappearance contributes to the degradation of an environment already under significant pressure from human and tourist activity," they add.

They have called for greater awareness regarding the conservation of coastal flora, especially in "highly artificial" areas such as some beaches on the Costa del Sol.

Sources at Torrox town hall have expressed their "concern" to SUR about what happened, which they attribute "possibly to an unintentional error" during the cleaning work. The town hall has told SUR that it will investigate the incident and take the necessary measures to prevent similar situations from happening again.

This incident occurred as coastal town halls are intensifying beach maintenance work in anticipation of the arrival of visitors during Holy Week, one of the first busy tourist weeks of the year. This work usually includes the removal of plant debris washed ashore by storms, which sometimes generates conflicts with environmental groups regarding the management of beach ecosystems.

This is not the first time disagreements have arisen in the Axarquía region over these types of interventions. Conservation organisations like GENA have been warning for years about the need to reconcile beach cleaning and tourism with the preservation of native species and sensitive habitats on an increasingly transformed coastline.

The controversy has once again brought to the forefront the debate on beach management models, between the image of "clean sand" demanded by users and tourism businesses and the conservation of natural elements that are part of the environmental balance of the coast.