Storm Nelson has destroyed the Catalan beaches. All? No. Paraphrasing the screenwriter Renné Goscinny in Asterix and Obélix, there is a beach that has resisted the invading sea. It is located in Premià de Mar, a city that, faced with the dilemma of surrendering or resisting, chose the latter, as did the irreducible Gallic village in the famous comic.
In the case of storms, there are two thoughts to face the attacks of the sea. One consists of unconditional surrender under the premise that the end of the world is inevitable and the only option is to pray and curse at the opposing side, who are called deniers, because they persist in seeking solutions to an irremediable destiny.
This debate has been reproduced in recent years on our coast. On one side are the mayors of parties who consider that the advance of the sea and the destruction it entails is unstoppable and it is not worth spending money on palliative measures. And for that reason, his recipe is resignation. On the other side are those who, without denying the existence of climate change, trust in resistance options to meet the social, mobility or recreational needs of their citizens.
In the midst of this discussion, the Ministry for the Ecological Transition proposed a coastal regeneration plan for Catalonia in 2015, but the vast majority of city councils rejected it after embracing the weekendist thesis of resignation. Very few municipalities dared to accept the resistance plan, despite the avalanche of criticism they received.
Premià de Mar was one of them. He allowed the construction of a breakwater parallel to the coast to reduce the force of the waves long before hitting land, and another perpendicular breakwater that protected the sand from the beach. Storm Nelson has tested this solution with good results. The beach has resisted and, more importantly, everything behind the sand that was always destroyed in that municipality and in the rest: the promenade, the N-II highway, the train tracks and front line homes.
The curious circumstance occurs that the discourse against preserving the coastline because it only benefits sun and beach tourism does not work in the case of Premià de Mar because it is not, at all, a tourist municipality. On the other hand, its citizens suffered serious mobility problems because the train track was interrupted by storms and they could not exercise their right to travel to work or study. Therefore, as long as these infrastructures and homes are on the seafront, we must look for solutions to protect them because the option of surrendering to marine advance is unacceptable.
It is also curious that this same municipality that received furious criticism for its decision to accept the path of resistance is now held up as an example of what should be done. It is not wrong to admit the mistake, but we have lost nine years. Something similar to what has happened with the infrastructure to alleviate the drought.
Are there solutions to the invasion of the sea? Absolutely, yes. But first we must shake off some prejudices. The Netherlands is an example of resistance to the sea. Without the dams they once built, today they would be an underwater country. And no one thinks of calling the defenders of this measure that guarantees their survival deniers.
The problem is that solutions need time to be implemented and in our latitudes we are very prone to resting on our laurels until the bull catches us. They say that the sea level will rise 84 centimeters in 2100. So we have 75 and a half years to work, although there will be those who prefer to lock themselves up and pray before the arrival of the inevitable deadly wave.
