ILP Mar Menor
The Mar Menor is a 135 km2 coastal lagoon in the southeastern region of Murcia in Spain. It is the largest saltwater lagoon in Europe, separated from the Mediterranean Sea by a strip of land . The Mar Menor is in a severe state of eutrophication due to the nutrients it receives, mainly from intensive agriculture in the surrounding area. Other impacts also contribute to its deterioration: excessive construction on its shores, mineral inputs washed in by rainfall, a large number of marinas that act as barriers to marine currents and filling in artificial beaches.
The petition for Legal Personality for the Mar Menor (Iniciativa de Legislación Popular, ILP) was initiated by law professors Teresa Vicente and Eduardo Salazar and supported by a number of action groups and voluntary organisations in Spain. The Banderas Negras organised demonstrations and collected signatures. Now that the law to grant the Mar Menor legal personality has been enacted, they formed the association AMARME. The Pacto por el Mar Menor is a platform for various professionals to inform the public about the ecology of the Mar Menor and put pressure on the government with legal complaints.
