Public demonstration for the health of the beaches in La Paloma, Rocha. Image source: Amaia Guridi, 2023 (@amaia.fotera). Used with Amaia’s kind permission.
In Uruguay, coastal areas are the most densely populated, which entails significant socio-environmental challenges, including wastewater pollution, plastics, water management, and quality. Uruguay's beaches welcome thousands of tourists each year in coastal cities. One of the biggest problems coastal areas are facing is the demand for housing. This demand represents a threat to the conservation of coastal ecosystems like dunes and wetlands, because of ecosystem fragmentation, involving deforestation of native vegetation to be replaced with housing. Another problem is the construction of rigid cement structures (e.g. promenades, harbors) in the coastal area. These rigid structures cause a series of modifications to the geomorphology of beaches, including obstruction of sediment transport, coastal erosion, and degradation of coastal scenic and landscape value.
These processes affect many issues transversally, like whether people can access safe and affordable housing, whether public spaces are open to everyone, and how communities can work together to protect the environment. In this article, we argue that social movements play a crucial role in protecting Uruguay's coastal ecosystem and we explore the challenges and opportunities they face. Finally, we urge greater attention and effort to protect this important public space.
Associated with the increasing threats to the coastal ecosystem is coastal gentrification. At the beginning of the 20th century, a large part of the southern and eastern coastal area (Maldonado and Rocha departments) was divided into small plots (300-500 m2). Several decades later (from the 1980s onwards) it began to receive thousands of tourists year after year, in landscapes that were transformed from rural to urban, intensifying land speculation and the loss of the public space par excellence: the beach. In coastal urban centers, what structures this gentrification process is speculation on the price of land, housing, and rents based on proximity to the beach. Rental prices and home sales have made home ownership unattainable for the working class.
Moreover, in the last 20 years, increasing gated and exclusive housing projects near the coast sharpen social segregation and coastal gentrification. What is ’sold’ to property buyers is the possibility of living in a safe place, far from the robberies and violence of the city, as well as a peaceful life and access to green spaces. These neighborhoods are characterized by the use of "amentéis", or services, within the gated communities themselves (i.e., sports, recreation, spas), which reinforce the idea of ’exclusivity’ and social distinction. They are also characterized by a strong territorial modification. Paradoxically, while what is offered is a connection with nature, this construction of nature is highly anthropized (meaning the transformation or adaptation of natural environment by human activity or to meet human needs) through the addition of designed gardens, ponds, and artificial reservoirs that modify hydrological regimes and introduce exotic plants and fish.
In 2018 the Red Unión de la Costa (RUC) was created to unite the efforts of different groups, NGOs, neighborhood committees, and experts specialized in various coastal issues. It also sought to establish direct contact between neighbor groups fighting against the advance of houses, exclusive tourism projects (Hostels, Inns), and gated private housing on the coastline. The network currently comprises more than 100 groups from across Uruguay's coastal region, along with various technicians (scientists, biologists, engineers, architects, lawyers, journalists) who provide support, guidance, and advice.
The RUC is largely made up of neighborhood organizations. This highlights the importance of local social networks in resisting the advance of urbanization and tourism in the coastal ecosystem. The most common reason residents organize assemblies is conflicts over various types of construction on the beach (houses, hotels, resorts, and gated neighborhoods characterized by their exclusivity). But, also, there are other examples of neighborhood organizing against big infrastructure such as airfields and waterways. Moreover, the RUC is also made up of national-level organizations, such as the Movement for a Sustainable Uruguay (MOVUS), the National Lifeguard Roundtable, the Uruguayan Park Rangers Association, and Karumbé (sea turtle conservation), among others. These national-level organizations, while usually having more general conservation goals (not limited to the coastal ecosystem), adhere to the RUC cause, and participate in RUC meeting and communications.
Each of these groups has its own history, its own way of functioning, and its own way of organizing itself. Some groups function with in-person meetings, others use tools like Zoom meetings, WhatsApp groups, and email chains to stay connected. These tools are important when work and the pressures of daily life sometimes make it hard for people to have time for these kinds of struggles. Groups within RUC, for example, use a general WhatsApp group to share information, daily news, normative, laws, etc. The RUC also has an “Active group”, in which some members decide to participate more actively in the coordination of activities, generation of communications, updating and creation of the official website, and all kinds of issues that arise on a daily basis. So, while the RUC has founding members, it doesn't have a clear hierarchical structure. Instead, decision-making is done as a group, in monthly or bi-monthly meetings that the organization holds.
One of the biggest problems RUC neighborhood organizations face in defending the coastal ecosystem is citizen participation in the environmental impact assessment processes for building projects in the coastal ecosystem. It is the neighbors themselves who act as inspectors in their areas, reporting activities such as logging native forests, filling wetland areas with sediment, and so on. Residents generally have to pay out of their own pockets to hire lawyers to represent them. Even so, trained lawyers dedicated to environmental issues in Uruguay are still very scarce, and their services are expensive for the majority of the population.
But one might ask: why should residents hire lawyers to defend themselves? The answer is complicated. First, the Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Land Use Planning should oversee housing and real estate projects built along the coastline, enforcing the state's own regulations. This should prevent the neighbors themselves having to be the ones who discover proposed construction on land where it is prohibited, or discover that construction has begun even though the projects do not yet have authorization from the Ministry of the Environment. Second, the Ministry of the Environment publishes the projects being evaluated on its official website. However, this information doesn't reach most people because it isn't published on social media or through other mainstream media. Rather, it's published in a specific section of the website that's not widely known. Most people don't know how long these announcements will be available to view (generally 30 business days), or how to post their comments online. Also, there's little information about how the regulations work, and when and how civil society can participate in the legal process. Finally, although residents and civil society can participate in the decision-making processes, their views don’t legally have to be taken into account in the final decision.
Despite all the difficulties, there have been important successes and achievements. "In defense of Punta Ballena" is a clear example. This place, although not exactly a beach, is one of the most famous places to watch the sunset in Uruguay. It also has great biodiversity and geomorphologic value. The site forms a unique coastal landscape in the country, characterized by its rocky cliff, the southern end of the Sierra Ballena Shear, which was formed 530 million years ago. In addition, Punta Ballena is also home to several endemic plant species. The real estate project, which proposed the construction of 29 buildings and 320 apartments, would completely disrupt its unique qualities, from its importance to biology, geology, as well as to the enjoyment of its landscapes and the recreational activities of the population and tourists. The existing neighborhood associations, which fought for the preservation of the coastal ecosystem, contributed greatly to the success of this case. With approximately 90,000 signatures collected on Change.org, more than 13,000 comments on the protest, more than 12,000 signatures on the national petition, and more than 34,000 signatures on the departmental initiative to cancel the construction project near Punta del Este, Maldonado. The social organization recently ended with an outstanding victory of the movement, with Punta Ballena named a Protected Departmental Area. This achievement was grounded in neighbor assembles, which highlights the increasing social cohesion in the fight for protecting coastal ecosystems and their public use in Uruguay.
There have also been previous cases of social organizing to stop real estate projects on the beach. Marina Beach is a hotel and residential project promoted by some limited companies (Manantial del Sol S.A., Coralview LLC, and Lokview LLC). The project was planned to build 26 houses and a hotel on the remains of the dune ridges and the beach. It would cover a total of 21.5 hectares located between Manantiales and José Ignacio, Maldonado department. In this case, more than 6,000 signatures were collected to stop the project. This was a joint action between researchers from the University of the Republic, neighbors, and members of the Red Unión de la Costa. Although in this case, despite the community’s disapproval, the project was approved by the Minister of the Environment at the time. Some other cases are still ongoing (still in litigation or without a ministerial resolution), such as the case of the neighbors in Balneario Buenos Aires, to stop the implementation of a gated private neighborhood called “La Orilla”. In other cases the struggle of the neighbors is against the state itself (through the Maldonado government) and the construction of a promenade in the small coastal towns of Punta Colorada and Punta Negra.
Overall, there have been important advances in social organization for the protection of coastal ecosystems. The work of the RUC is crucial in this regard, uniting efforts among smaller groups of neighbors, and maintaining communication flows. However, a key challenge for the future is to further strengthen the work, for example, by securing funding. This would allow for the funding of a dedicated lawyer to assist neighbors in specific cases, organizing in-person meetings to discuss agreed ways of coordinating and organizing fighting actions, among other needs.
What is being contested in Uruguay is the country's quintessential public and common space: the beach. The beach that doesn't charge admission, the beach that is freely accessible, the beach where you can play sports with friends, and go and watch the sunset, the beach that builds community and a sense of belonging. This is why we must fight to protect it.
This article is part of a series on movements for social and environmental justice worldwide. Find out more and read the other pieces of the series here.
The idea of the ‘15-minute city’ has recently gained traction amongst policy-makers as an urban innovation with the potential to address intersecting social and ecological challenges of the post-COVID world. But its lack of an embedded politics presents a danger as much as it does an opportunity.
