Outcry over otter threat in Spain: ‘False’ €2.5m Marbella river project will ‘pave 469m of footpaths and benches over one of the last biodiversity reserves on the Costa del Sol’ 

NEW plans to ‘urbanise’ a picturesque river on the Costa del Sol have been slammed by ecologist groups as a ‘potential environmental crime.’

Marbella town hall is planning to invest more than €2.5 million from the EU’s Next Generation fund to ‘re-naturalise’ the Guadaiza river between San Pedro and Benahavis.

Starting in January, the works will see the construction of trails, rest zones and even sports equipment that are designed to ‘encourage recreational use’ of a natural area just next door to some of Marbella’s most exclusive neighbourhoods.

Local authorities have boasted that the plan will ‘contribute to the creation of a healthier and more attractive space for both residents and visitors.’

Yet despite being carried out in collaboration with the Environment Ministry’s Biodiversity Foundation and being hailed as an ‘example of sustainability’, the plan has met with strong resistance from environmental groups.

The group Ecologistas Sierra Bermeja claimed that the project would effectively urbanise the nature reserve and threaten a number of protected species.

Among those are the Eurasian otter, the Mediterranean chameleon and the horseshoe whip snake.

They also pointed out that the area is the natural habitat of protected birds such as the kingfisher, the squacco heron and the purple heron.

“The alleged ‘renaturalisation’ of the Guadaiza river threatens to become a scandal that could taint the Biodiversity Foundation and compromise the credibility of Next Generation EU funds in Spain,” the group said in a statement.

It added that many aspects of the Marbella town hall’s ‘false’ restoration project were ‘incompatible with conservation’, such as the 469 metres of artificial footpaths that will be built.

“The only valid renaturalisation measures are the demolition of the diversion dam, the demarcation of the public river and the removal of exotic vegetation, the strict prosecution of waste dumping and the removal of river mouth channelisation,” the statement continued.

Instead, the group has called for the immediate suspension of the plan and an investigation into the use of European funds.

The complaints come in stark contrast to the Marbella town hall’s initial publicity around the project, which is part of the region’s Recovery, Transformation, and Resilience Plan (PRTR).

It has claimed that it will ‘bolster biodiversity conservation and advance sustainability efforts in San Pedro Alcántara by enhancing the river’s connectivity, enabling species movement and habitat restoration.’

It will also improve flood defences in the region in the wake of this autumn’s deadly DANA storms.