Land use - National Responses (Spain)

Several legislative instruments are able to influence spatial planning. These include:

Protection of land

Spanish Law 8/2007 of 28 May 2007 on Land, and Royal Legislative Decree 2/2008, of 20 June 2008, approving the consolidated text of the Land Law, set out the guidelines for implementation of public policy on matters of land regulation, planning, cover, transformation and use according to the public interest and the principle of sustainable development.

Spanish Law 10/2006 of 28 April 2006 which modifies Law 43/2003 of 21 November 2003 on Forests, prohibits changes in land use in forest areas affected by fire for 30 years after a fire has occurred. The purpose of this law is to guarantee the conservation and protection of Spain's forests and to promote their restoration, enhancement, sustainability and rational exploitation by fostering collective solidarity and territorial cohesion.

Protection of coasts

Protection of Spain's coasts is the constitutional duty of both national and regional government. The principal piece of legislation in this regard is Law 22/1988 of 28 July1988 on Coasts. Land cover in coastal areas is governed by the Coasts Law, which defines two protected areas — a 100-metre-wide strip in which all construction is prohibited and a 500-metre-wide area of influence within which building is tightly controlled.

The publicly owned shoreline is the Directorate-General for Coasts' main area of responsibility and action. By 30 June 2010, 93 % of Spain's approximately 10 000 kilometres of publicly owned shoreline had been demarcated. The purpose of demarcating the publicly owned shoreline is to establish the official boundary, guarantee public access and use, regulate rational use of its assets and ensure appropriate coastal water quality.

PERCENTAGE OF DEMARCATED COASTLINE BY REGIONS (JUNE 2010)

Many of Spain's protected areas include stretches of coastline. In June 2006, approximately 35 % of the country's coast was included in one of the available protection categories. The percentage protected varies widely between autonomous communities, with Galicia and Asturias having the highest proportion of protected coastline (over 50 %).

 

Sources:

• Spanish Land Law. http://www.boe.es/boe/dias/2008/06/26/pdfs/A28482-28504.pdf
• Spanish Law 10/2006, of 28 April, modifying Law 43/2003, of 21 November, on Forests. http://www.boe.es/boe/dias/2006/04/29/pdfs/A16830-16839.pdf
• MARM. Website: http://www.mma.es/portal/secciones/acm/aguas_marinas_litoral/gdpmt/index.htm
• MARM. http://www.mma.es/secciones/biodiversidad/biodiversidad_marina/normativa_marina/pdf/infor_sapbio.pdf