Pájara Calls on Costas for Solutions in Ajuy, La Lajita, Morro Jable and Costa Calma

The Pájara City Council announced that it held a working meeting on Tuesday with Antonio Acosta, Director General of Coastlines and Maritime Space Management for the Canary Islands Government. The purpose was to coordinate actions aimed at improving the municipality’s coastline and to unblock several pending projects.

The council listed the priority works that require joint coordination, including:

• The construction of La Lajita Avenue
• Pedestrianisation of Ajuy
• A link between the Port of Morro Jable and the town’s main avenue
• The restoration of the “Laguna de Los Gorriones” (the wetland at Playa de La Barca, Sotavento)

Representatives from the municipality who attended the meeting were Alexis Alonso, first deputy mayor and councilor for Works, and Raimundo Dacosta, councilor for Beaches. They presented the projects they consider essential.

“This collaboration between the City Council and the Canary Islands Coast Authority must facilitate the unlocking of these initiatives, which are historic demands of the citizens,” Alexis Alonso emphasized.

Raimundo Dacosta added in a municipal statement that the council is preparing a new tender to upgrade sports facilities, sun‑beds and beach bars along the municipality’s coastline.

According to the council’s communiqué, the aim of such meetings is to promote projects that conserve and valorise the shoreline, while also stimulating the local economy and tourism development.

Sand Dynamics Affected by Tourist Constructions

The council’s reference to the “Laguna de Los Gorriones” actually concerns the wetland at Playa de La Barca, Sotavento, where a Meliá hotel is situated. Scientific studies dating back to 2000 have documented a loss of sand supply in this area, as noted in the Conservation Regulations for the Site of Scientific Interest of Playa de El Matorral.

The report states that urban expansion linked to tourism, spreading from the original core of Costa Calma toward the Hotel Los Gorriones, is causing a partial interruption of sediment flows from the isthmus to the Sotavento beaches. This disruption appears to be altering the sedimentary dynamics of the zone.

Twenty‑five years ago, researchers already detected changes in the sand bar normally found at Playa de La Barca and a noticeable shoreline retreat. Current estimates indicate that sediment transport from the isthmus amounts to approximately 30,000 tons per year toward the Barlovento beaches and about 60,000 tons per year toward the Sotavento beaches. These flows are crucial as they feed the coastal environments, and the observed reduction has become a point of concern for local authorities.