Coastal erosion isn't unique to Barcelona,
it's happening all around the world.
There are a number of factors
that make the situation in Barcelona particularly acute.
The main one being
that the city's beaches didn't always look like this.
And one of the reasons for that was this:
The 1992 Olympic Games,
put in motion a series of events that has left the local authorities
in an impossible position.
So why are Barcelona's beaches disappearing.
The construction of Barcelona's port in the mid-18th century
created two, of what would become nine, city beaches.
The beaches were small and relatively gravelly,
far from the sandy expanses they became.
Those beaches didn't appear until Barcelona was chosen
to host the 1992 Olympic Games.
The city used thousands of tonnes of sand
to expand its beachfront,
helping to transform it into the tourist capital it is today.
It's estimated that the beaches generate an income of about €60m per year,
In the greater Barcelona area.
But in the last 20 years the rate of erosion has accelerated to a point
that it is now threatening the very existence of Barcelona's beaches.
While the city itself has many other attractions beyond its beachfront,
for nearby coastal towns, the beaches are the main draw.
And without them, they face a rapid decline.
The only thing stopping that that from happening
is lots of this.
The artificial nature of Barcelona city beaches
and the worsening effects of the climate crisis on the region's other beaches,
means they have to undergo an annual maintenance.
Otherwise little by little,
they would revert to the gravelly strips they once were,
or erode, shrinking or disappearing completely.
The process involves replenishing sand that's been washed away in the winter.
By dredging sand from within the breakwaters, estuaries and ports
and in some cases importing sand from other areas.
But the rate of erosion, due to rising sea levels and winter storms,
made worse by the climate crisis,
is making the practice of repairing beaches, almost futile.
Overall Catalonia's beaches have lost 25% of their sand since 2015.
When Storm Gloria hit Spain's east coast in January 2020,
157,100 cubic metres of sand was lost,
of which less than half has been recovered.
Such loses has seen the central government spend €5.3m.
Ensuring that Catalonia's costal defences.
But the money was largely spent on breakwaters and sea walls,
not on buying or replacing sand.
In 2010 the Spanish government sent 700,000 cubic metres of sand
to Barcelona's nine city beaches, 70% of which has disappeared.
So the Catalan government is now opposed to dumping any more sand,
which it describes as a waste of money.
There is another factor that could spell the end for Barcelona's beaches,
which is that the practice of enhancing or repairing beaches
is now widely seen as environmentally damaging.
The Catalan government's department for climate action
is now proposing measures that work with nature,
such as dune recovery.
But natural solutions are not possible for every situation.
in Altafulla, 60 miles south of Barcelona,
attempts have ended without success.
Creating dunes there required more sand than was available
and only part of the beach was suitable.
So, with no viable solutions currently available
and with a lack of government support,
the local council had been left in an impossible position.
€50,000 has been set aside to buy sand,
to protect the beaches for the tourist season.
But at €8 to €10 per cubic metre,
it's clear that the approach is a little more than a stopgap.
As the climate crisis continues
to put pressure on many coastal environments and economies,
many more communities will find themselves facing
the very difficult situation that Barcelona is currently facing.