Marbella will expand its dune ecological reserve with three new areas

José Carlos García

Marbella

From nine to twelve and from 209,947 to 247,603. These are the numbers that summarize the leap that the Marbella Dunes Ecological Reserve will take, established in September 2015 under the current Law for the Protection of Flora and Fauna. The first two figures refer to the number of dune systems, while the others are the square meters they cover. The ones responsible for these leaps are El Pinillo, Torre Real, and Calahonda, the names of the three dunes with which this protected area will go from consisting of nine units of 20.9947 hectares (Río Real, La Adelfa, El Alicate, El Barronal de la Morena, El Arenal, Real de Zaragoza, La Víbora-Oeste, La Víbora-Laurel, and Las Golondrinas) to twelve of 24.7603.

The expansion of the protected areas is now only pending approval from the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment. Before this, it was necessary to initiate a procedure started in 2025 that included the development of a Technical Plan -carried out by the Produnas Marbella association, an entity created in 2004 following a beach club project that would have razed a kilometer of the La Adelfa dune strip- and the approval of the plenary session.

Surface Area

24.7603

hectares

is the area that the Marbella Dunes Ecological Reserve will cover with the addition of El Pinillo, Torre Real, and Calahonda, which will raise the number of dune systems included to twelve.

Of the three new dune spaces to be added to the Ecological Reserve, the largest is El Pinillo, which with its 2.4843 hectares and its 1.43 kilometers in length will become the third largest unit of the Ecological Reserve. Calahonda, on the border with the municipality of Mijas, will add 0.6698 hectares in a line of 800.8 meters, while Torre Real will contribute 0.6115 hectares in a strip of 548.54 meters in length. In total, 3.7656 hectares along 2.779 kilometers that will increase the Ecological Reserve from 20.9947 to 24.7603 hectares.

Excluded from the list is the Artola Dune, declared a Natural Monument twelve years before the creation of the Ecological Reserve (2003) which alone reaches 19.27 hectares. The next largest dune, which is included in this protected area, is the Real de Zaragoza, with its 12.3317 hectares contributing more than half of the current surface of the Reserve, and which is on its way to begin its regeneration within the framework of an urbanization project by the investment fund Platinum States, led by Indian Harry Mohinani, which will involve the construction of a five-star hotel and 170 'branded residences', luxury homes that will receive services from the hotel.

«High Value»

The inclusion of the three dunes will allow for the long-term reinforcement of the protection of a set of coastal enclaves «of high ecological, geomorphological, and landscape value» in Marbella and to consolidate the Ecological Reserve «as an instrument for conservation, restoration, and sustainable use of the Marbella dune system», according to the Technical Plan of the proposal presented to the Andalusian Government. Its incorporation not only makes it possible to expand the protected area but also «to consolidate the conservation of biodiversity, improve the ecological continuity of the coast, and promote the recovery and maintenance of singular, scarce, and environmentally interesting dune systems».

The expansion will establish criteria for protection, restoration, and environmental monitoring in the three dunes

The proposed areas present natural values typical of Mediterranean coastal dune systems, with the presence of vegetation (psammophilous, which grows in sandy soils), fauna associated with coastal sands, habitats of community interest, and processes of active recovery and conservation already started.

The expansion will allow these enclaves to be integrated into the general management model of the Ecological Reserve, establishing criteria for protection, restoration, environmental monitoring, education, and public awareness, always within a framework compatible with orderly public use and the sustainability of the coastal front. The inclusion of these lands, the Technical Plan specifies, «is not intended to alter concessions, easements, or legally authorized facilities, but to ensure that any existing or future use is compatible with the conservation of the dune system, the protection of biodiversity, and applicable sectoral regulations».

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• Junta de Andalucía
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• Marbella
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