The Spanish Shores Act and its implications for regional coastal management

Abstract

The new arrangement of the Spanish State's territory following the Constitution of 1978 led to the decentralization of many administrative decisions on such subjects as territorial planning, coastal management and urban planning, which were transferred to the different regional governments. Ten years later, the States General of Spain passed a new Shores Act (1988). The result of these two actions has been the creation of a new framework for coastal management in which the three administrative levels: government, regional governments and town councils, carry out their jurisdictions.