Mass Tourism Threats In The Mediterranean Sea Europe Tour |
Posted: November 11, 2018 |
Mediterranean Sea is located in south of the Europe continent which many countries border touched with this sea like Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Coratia, Turkey, Slovenia, Albania, Montenegro, Cyprus, Malta and many more European countires. Tourists can visit beautiful Mediterranean sea edges of these countires. Wehen come tourists to Europe tour who can not skip Mediterranean Sea beaches which located Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Coratia, Turkey, Slovenia, Albania, Montenegro, Cyprus, Malta countires. These beaches and other beautiful natural lands on this sea which attract tourists. The Mediterranean is one of the most important regions in the world for its outstanding biodiversity features. The Mediterranean sea is the region with the second highest percentage of endemic species -species living only in this part of the world - because 20% of all marine species can only be found in this basin. Tourism occurs in environmentally fragile areas rich in biodiversity, its impact on the environment is significant. Thought inappropriate practice and development, tourism is a largest industry with impacts on the world, especially on Mediterranean coastlines. The Mediterranean region is the leading tourist destination. Of the total 46,000 km of coastline, 25,000 km is urbanized and have already exceeded a critical limit. International tourist arrivals in 1999 totaled 219.6 million (4.7% increase over 1998). Projections show that this figure could reach 350 million by 2020. Spain, France, Italy, and Greece receive almost 80% of Mediterranean tourism. The Mediterranean is under threat due to the inappropriate practice and development associated with mass tourism. The growth of tourism development in the region damages landscapes, cause soil erosion, put pressure on endangered species, further strain available water resources, increase waste and pollution discharges into the sea and lead to cultural disruption. Land and landscape Construction related to tourism development (hotels, airports, roads, vacation homes) causes the greatest negative impact to the fragile coastal and marine ecosystems in the Mediterranean. Intensive tourism development on coastal fringes has already caused major damage to coastal ecosystems. For example, three-quarters of the sand dunes on the Mediterranean coastline from Spain to Sicily have disappeared mainly as a result of urbanisation linked to tourism development. In Italy over 43% of the coastline is completely urbanized mainly linked to tourism development, 28% is partially urbanized and less than 29% is still free of construction. Species As a major cause of the loss of natural habitat, tourism has a very direct negative impact on biodiversity, directly affecting rare and endangered species. Over 500 plant species in the Mediterranean are threatened with extinction and are under intense pressure from tourism development in some overbuilt destinations. In Greece, sea turtles have had their coastal nesting grounds disturbed and destroyed by tourism development and tourist behavior. Tourism's impact on the critically endangered Mediterranean monk seal has been particularly devastating. The biggest impact has been from the loss of its habitat. The monk seal needs suitable cave and beach habitats in order to breed successfully - areas that are exploited by the tourism industry. Without dramatic changes, the current tourism pressure will likely drive the species to extinction. Freshwater During the summer months water supplies are exacerbated by tourist flows for use in hotels, swimming pools and golf courses. For example, an average Spanish City dweller uses approximately 250 litres of water per day, while the average tourist uses 440 litres. This number increases to 880 litres if the tourist uses accommodations with swimming pools and golf courses. Periodic water shortages already exist in many regions and are likely to spread and increase. Pollution and wastes The Mediterranean Sea receives 10 billion tonnes of industrial and urban waste per year with little or no purification. The production of wastewater and solid waste in tourist areas often exceeds the carrying capacity of local infrastructures due the high seasonal demand. Pollution also negatively affects water quality in beach areas and drinking water supplies. The human health implications can be severe. The cause and effect for tourism is also great, as tourism contributes to all forms of pollution (water, waste and atmosphere) and is adversely affected by the impact of pollution on the natural resources they rely upon. Social and cultural impacts Tourism provides causes disturbance to the local way of life as well as to social structures, and can adversely affect traditional practices that contribute to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. It utilises the physical environment for profits that are mainly directed out of the country, creating adverse impacts on livelihoods and lack of benefit sharing with the local people who will bear tourism related costs to both the human and natural environment. http://www.goavision.com Additional resource use conflicts occur between tourism and local populations as they compete for limited resources of water, sanitation, energy and land uses. Results Overall, the analysis shows increasing tourism activity throughout the Mediterranean region in 2005. Some areas will continue to experience very high tourism activity like the Cote d'Azur in France and the Costa Brava in Spain while others areas will stabilise or possibly even decrease as in the case of Balearic Islands and the northern Adriatic coast of Italy. http://www.urmilatravels.com Countries, such as Turkey, Croatia, Morocco, Tunisia and Greece, tend to present a far more dynamic growth patterns than the more mature destinations with tourism activity spreading along their coastlines. Website: http://www.europesafar.com
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