The protection and recovery of habitats characteristic of coastal sandy areas in the surroundings of the Mar Menor and some points on the southern coast of Alicante is the objective of the project “Conservation of coastal sandbanks and wetlands in the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula”, launched by the Association of Naturalists of the Southeast (ANSE) with the support of the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry of Agriculture. Food and Environment.

The initiative seeks to advance in several aspects of the protection and recovery of characteristic and increasingly exceptional habitats of coastal sandbanks and coastal lagoons in the surroundings of the Mar Menor and some points of the southern coast of Alicante, such as the phanerogamous meadows. The results of these advances will serve as an example to administrations and various entities for their application in protected natural areas and other nearby areas.

In addition, the initiative aims to establish a series of criteria that will be used to determine the state of conservation and deterioration of seagrass meadows in lagoon habitats.
The proposal will work on the recovery of coastal sandy areas in the interior and surroundings of protected natural areas on the southeastern coasts of the Iberian Peninsula, an uncommon practice on the Mediterranean coastal strip.

The activities that will be carried out within the project range from cultivating endangered or endangered plant species in a nursery, for their subsequent planting in the coastal sandbanks of protected areas, to the elimination of invasive exotic flora, which will be replaced by native species in coastal sandbanks.

Another aspect contemplated by the initiative is the work of disseminating the natural values of the lagoons and coastal sandbanks. The initiative aims to strengthen the knowledge and environmental sensitivity of the population about the values and environmental problems of the coastal sandbanks and the Mar Menor, encouraging the participation of local administrations, citizens and stakeholders in the project.