Fiona Govan, The Telegraph 29 Jan 08;
It has survived wars, disease and famine, but the spread of residential tourism across its natural habitat may prove too much for the spur-thighed tortoise.
Small populations of Testudo graeca survive in only two small pockets in Spain; the national park of Doñana in Andalusia and a strip of as yet unspoiled coastline between Almeria and Murcia in the southeast.
But now one of the last remaining stretches of undeveloped coast on the Spanish Mediterranean is falling prey to the same kind of mass construction that has buried the Costa del Sol under a layer of concrete.
Environmentalists fear a new 5,000 acre development, that promises to be one of the largest purpose built tourist resorts in Europe, heralds the end of the protected species of tortoise.
"The development will destroy one of the last unspoiled corners of the coastline of the Murcia region - an area of incalculable environmental value - and will endanger the survival of the protected spur-thighed tortoise," said a statement from environmentalist group Ecologists in Action.
They are protesting against plans by the regional government to allow the construction of Marina de Cope, a development that when completed will include 9,000 holiday homes, hotel accommodation for 20,000 guests, five golf courses and a 2,000 berth marina.
Jose Pablo Ruiz Abellán, the regional head of tourism for Murcia, claimed the initiative was a necessary step for the region to become an "international reference point for quality tourism".
The project near the town of Águilas controversially encompasses land that forms part of a Natural Park and was protected until the regional government introduced an amendment to allow the construction to go ahead.
"Taking steps backward in the protection of natural spaces cannot be allowed in any civilized country," claim organisers of the campaign to Save Cabo de Cope Natural Park.
Of the threat to the survival of Spain's tortoises, Ruben Vives, the Murcian regional secretary for Ecologists in Action, told Spain's El Pais newspaper: "This species' habitat is very reduced, so its ecological value is huge.
"The key to their future lies in how much habitable surface they have, and this area keeps shrinking due to land declassifications, new roads, agriculture and so on. So right now, the tendency is for them to disappear."
The construction process itself causes great harm to the reptiles with many crushed by the mechanical diggers.
Even those that survive the process are likely to face further problems. Because they are cold-blooded, slow-moving animals, a road represents a much bigger obstacle to them than to swifter and more robust animals such as deer or boar.
"When groups become isolated from the main population due to a project that cuts through their terrain, they often simply die out," said Mr Vives, underscoring that even though the EU Habitats Directive has set aside protected land for them, these areas are insufficient and unconnected.
This could mark the end of a species that, although not indigenous to Spain, has for centuries made its home here, according to Christian Wiesner, a vet and tortoise specialist who works out of the Mediterranean coast.
"This area is ideal because they are extremely well adapted to the arid climate, supporting long periods of water deprivation and food scarcity," said Mr Wiesner.
"Mediterranean tortoises have already disappeared from most of their original biotopes; almost none are left in France and Italy due to human pressure, and they can only survive in remote and sparsely populated areas. One of these important residual habitats, Águilas, is now about to be destroyed."
