With the country's property market looking robust and ever-increasing numbers of new-build developments being announced in its 'up-and-coming' resorts, the Spanish authorities seem to be caught in two minds when it comes to balancing development with environmental matters.

In recent months the Spanish government has been implementing a new policy designed to protect particularly vulnerable spots on the largely overdeveloped coastline. In a similar fashion to the charitable organisations that have been buying up large areas of the Amazon rainforest, the government has begun expropriating land previously earmarked for development in an effort to conserve up to 20,000 acres of coastline. The ministerial official in charge of the project, Jose Fernandez, said, "The coastline has to be protected. It is under threat from both rising sea levels caused by global warming and from construction".

Yet despite this pro-active environmental action, recent reports suggest that Spain's latest hotspot, Murcia, is set to see some significant environmental changes over the next five to ten years.

The region has always been regarded as one of the few areas on the southern and eastern coasts that has avoided the large-scale urbanisation seen in other regions and is frequently held up as an example of unspoilt Spain. However, Murcia City Hall has recently announced plans to create industrial land for up to 6,000 businesses and commercial outlets on 29 million square metres of land in an effort to boost the regional economy. On top of this, there are a further 29 golf courses planned in the region as well as numerous property and hotel developments. And this isn't the only area of environmental concern that is attracting criticism. Murcia has  experienced long periods of drought over the summer with reservoirs dropping to just 10 per cent of their capacity in some places. Environment minister Cristina Narbona has hit out at politicians in the region for worrying more about the needs of the golf courses and hotels than about water conservation and has raised concerns over the impact of additional developments on water supplies.

One solution that has been proposed is the tapping of the river Ebro, Spain's longest river. The plans involve the construction of over 1,000 kilometres of pipeline designed to carry water from the fertile plains in the north east of the country to areas such as Murcia. However, this in itself has raised concern and as such the European Union has refused to fund it.

Despite all this, the property market in Murcia continues to do well. According to government figures, average property prices in the region rose 134 per cent in the first five years of the 21st century, beating the next best performer, Andalusia, by an amazing 11 per cent. In fact, in 2004 property price inflation reached 24 per cent, a healthy 9 per cent more then the Spanish average.

The Murcia authorities are therefore in an interesting position. It is in their interest for the boom times to continue but they are faced with increasing pressure from environmental lobbyists to hold back on development and maintain the region's natural charm. Up until recently the biggest selling point in Murcia was price and the untouched nature of much of the southern coastline. But things are changing. The region needs to continue to attract foreign investment but in the meantime the area's water shortage is a pressing problem that needs to solved. It remains to be seen how they will deal with these pressing issues. 

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Read other articles about Murcia and Spain:
Why buy property in Murcia?
Spain's inland areas and the Islands
Off the beaten track in Spain and Portugal

Article first published in October 2006