WEAKNESSES:

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• An urban pressure that minimizes or urbanizes the super-tidal areas

• Lack of coordination between administrations: lack of a comprehensive master plan for the Bay

• Strong pressure from port activity.

• A possible overcrowding of recreational aquatic activity, with a particular focus on areas of necessary environmental protection.  

• The lack of agreed protocols for the preservation of marine flora: lack of anchoring maps, excessive cleaning of the sand (particularly outside the summer season, eliminating the tidal cord and minimizing the fauna associated with the material deposited by the intertidal zone), etc..

• The proliferation of invasive species.
   

THREATS:

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• Climate change (sea level rise, coastal erosion,  etc).

• Strong tourism and port competition vs ecology

• The erosion suffered by the beach due to the change in marine dynamics (receding of the beach)

• The erosion of the surrounding green areas by the invasion of sand and the effect of the tides.

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OPPORTUNITIES:

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• The current of awareness that runs through the world in favor of the protection of the oceans

• The commissioning of a  Comprehensive Master Plan for the Bay of Santander.

• Financing European funds

• The leadership of the EU in the preservation of the health of the oceans: implementation in all municipalities and public bodies of international and European standards of environmental management systems, such as Regulation 1221/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council, of 25 February November 2009, concerning the voluntary participation of organizations in a Community Environmental Management and Audit System (EMAS)

• Advertising from the Government of Spain and from other public and private bodies of Royal Decree 239/2013, of April 5, which establishes the rules for the application of Regulation 1221/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council, regarding the voluntary participation of organizations in a community EMAS environmental management and auditing system, compared to other unofficial environmental and tourism quality labels

• Citizen awareness campaigns on the responsible use of the coastline carried out by local agencies and close to the city of Ciudaddano.

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STRENGTHS :

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• Unique natural and scenic environment that provides great visibility, having been recognized as one of the most beautiful bays in the world.

• The development of a SCI for the area of the Puntal and mouth of the Miera River, 2006

• Inclusion of different spaces in the NATURA 2000 NETWORK .

• The different urban planning regulations of the riverside municipalities that reflect the need to protect natural spaces, as well as the development of their urban regulations for this purpose.

• The commitment of the Santander City Council since 2008, implanted and maintaining the European Regulation 1221/2009 EMAS on all its beaches.

• The implementation and maintenance of the  international standard, on the urban beaches of Santander, of the international standard ISO 13009/2016  of Tourist Quality for the sustainable and responsible management of the beaches.

• A growing commitment on the part of the Bay's stakeholders for its conservation: for example, with projects such as  of the green ring of the Bay as the Nature and Man Foundation,  or from companies such as B ahía de Santander for promoting the importance of protecting the birds that live in the Bay (in particular the osprey)  or as  Bahía Zero promoting ecological transport solutions within the Bay.