From the green soup to the crystal sea: A tax proposal to revert the eutrophication of the mar menor in COVID-19 times

Abstract

Considering that the eutrophication of the Mar Menor has health, environmental and economic consequences for the Region of Murcia, which promise to worsen with Covid-19; that one of its main causes lies in the excessive use of artificial fertilizers for agricultural activity and that Tax Law can be an effective mechanism to modify human behavior, our purpose is to determine how the regional tax system can help to reverse the eutrophic situation of the Mar Menor. For these purposes we will see the link between tax measures and the protection of the environment; we will analyze the way in which other countries have implemented these measures to tax artificial fertilizers and, finally, we will evaluate the different alternatives in the Region of Murcia for applying measures to modify current agricultural practices and the role that Environmental Taxation plays..