Catalan Coast (Barcelona and Ebro Delta) - Spain
Catalan Coast: Barcelona’s urban beaches and Ebro delta
Local Context
The Barcelona Metropolitan Area is home to some of the most heavily visited urban beaches in Catalonia, with more than 10 million visitors annually.
These beaches face significant environmental pressures, including eutrophication due to urbanization and storm-induced erosion.
The Ebro Delta, known for its agricultural activities and extensive aquaculture, faces challenges from freshwater inflows, agricultural runoff, and mussel farming.
These areas are critical to local biodiversity, tourism, and coastal health, requiring improved monitoring and management.
Planned Actions
In the Barcelona Metropolitan Area, the focus will be on analyzing the impacts of urbanization and storm events on beach ecosystems, integrating citizen science data for enhanced biodiversity monitoring and anthropogenic impacts.
In the Ebro Delta, the project will assess the effects of agricultural and aquaculture pressures on water quality and biodiversity.
Both areas will benefit from improved pressure and impact maps using Copernicus data, particularly imagery from Sentinel 2, data from monitoring programs, and participatory observations, enabling better coastal ecosystem management.
Expected Impacts
The project aims to improve the understanding of environmental pressures on both urban and rural coastal zones, providing valuable insights for sustainable management practices.
By integrating new technologies and citizen science, the project will enhance the ability to predict and mitigate pressures on coastal ecosystems, contributing to biodiversity conservation and better coastal health, while also supporting local stakeholders in their decision-making processes.
Lead partner in the area: CSIC