Mar Menor – the first ecosystem with legal personality and a UN flagship restoration project

The Spanish saltwater lagoon Mar Menor, once famous for its crystal-clear waters, has gained a new form of protection. As of June 2025, it is one of the UN’s flagship ecosystem restoration projects. This will make it possible to more effectively prevent eutrophication in this area, which is exceptional both for Spain and for Europe as a whole.

What does granting Mar Menor legal personality and additional protection mean?

Winning initiatives in the World Restoration Flagships project receive financial and technological support from the organizers. In the case of Mar Menor, these resources will mainly be used to promote sustainable agriculture and tourism – two sectors that have the most significant impact on the condition of the lagoon’s waters.

Granting legal personality opens up additional possibilities. It is not merely a symbolic gesture, but an effective form of support. This status will provide better protection for the lagoon against unlawful actions. Thanks to this initiative, Mar Menor can now be represented in court proceedings—for example, it can (indirectly, through lawyers and environmental organizations) sue those who contribute to the degradation of its condition.

Recognition of the lagoon’s legal personality also grants it the right to ecosystem continuity and natural evolution, to the conservation and protection of the species living in it, to the restoration of its damaged environment, and to the restriction or cessation of activities that pose risks or harm to this beautiful area.

The initiative to grant Mar Menor legal personality was supported by as many as 640,000 Spaniards. It is the first ecosystem in Europe to receive such a level of legal protection.

Mar Menor then and now

Located in Spain’s Murcia region, the Mar Menor lagoon is one of the region’s most iconic natural landmarks. Years ago, it was an oligotrophic lagoon with exceptionally clear water. Tourists and locals eagerly swam and dived there in search of seahorses.

Unfortunately, over the past few decades, the condition of the lagoon has significantly deteriorated. Mar Menor is surrounded by agricultural land – some of the largest in Europe. Intensive fertilization caused nitrates to enter the waters of the so-called “small sea.” This led to severe eutrophication and a loss of natural biological balance. Additional negative factors included: intensive tourism around the lagoon’s shores, dredging of the lagoon, and climate warming.

The lagoon’s dysfunction was first noticed back in the 1990s. The area was gradually brought under various forms of protection. It became, among other things, a Regional Park, a Natura 2000 area, and was included in the Ramsar wetland network. Despite this, the damaging processes could not be fully prevented. According to scientists, many of the changes are now irreversible.

Hope for Mar Menor lies not only in its inclusion in the World Restoration Flagships project but also in the growing involvement of the local community. Environmentalists, fishers, and some local farmers have pushed the European Commission to intervene over violations of EU law and the improper use of EU funds.

Other UN flagship projects

Alongside Mar Menor, two other areas were included in the World Restoration Flagships project: the coral coast of Mozambique and more than 60 Mexican islands. The winners were announced on June 11, 2025, in Nice, during the UN Ocean Conference.

World Restoration Flagships is a joint initiative of the UN Environment Programme and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Its aim is to halt, prevent, and reverse ecosystem degradation on all continents and in all oceans. The project also aligns with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, which include protecting 1 billion hectares by 2030 – an area larger than China.