Project for the Preparation of a Strategic Action Plan for the Conservation of Biological Diversity in the Mediterranean Region (SAP BIO) IMPACT OF TOURISM ON MEDITERRANEAN MARINE AND COASTAL BIODIVERSITY Project for the Preparation of a Strategic Action Plan for the Conservation of Biological Diversity in the Mediterranean Region (SAP BIO) IMPACT OF TOURISM ON MEDITERRANEAN MARINE AND COASTAL BIODIVERSITY RAC/SPA - Regional Activity Centre for Specially Protected Areas 2003 Note: The designation employed and the presentation of the material in this document do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of RAC/SPA and UNEP concerning the legal status of any State, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of their frontiers or boundaries. The views expressed in the document are those of the author and not necessarily represented the views of RAC/SPA and UNEP. This document was prepared within the framework of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) concluded between the Regional Activity Center for Specially Protected Areas (RAC/SPA), and BRLingénierie. prepared by: Jean-Denis KRAKIMEL Geograph BRLingenierie BP 4001 - 1105 avenue Pierre Mendes-France 30001 Nimes - France Tel 33 (0)4 66 87 50 29 ; Fax 33 (0)4 66 87 51 03 E-mail: [email protected] ; Web: http://www.brl.fr/brli/ Mars 2003 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Our thanks go first to the Tunis RAC/SPA, which provided the necessary works for this books. We should also like to thank internet and all the local, national and international organisations, ministries, backers, enforcement agencies, NGOs, committees, tour operators, universities, research institutes and also all those people who are just nature-and travel- lovers and so many others, who share the whole world their data, their projects, their experience and their thoughts, and without whom such a labour of compilation, far from being exhaustive, would not have been possible CONTENTS 1INTRODUCTION 1 1.1Background to the study 1 1.2 Documentation 3 2.SITUATION BY COUNTRY 6 2.1.Albania 6 2.2.Algeria 9 2.3. Bosnia-Herzegovina 14 2.4.Croatia 15 2.5. Cyprus 18 2.6.Egypt 22 2.7. France 23 2.8. Greece 30 2.9. Israel 33 2.10. Italy 34 2.11. Lebanon 39 2.12. Libya 40 2.13. Malta 41 2.14.Monaco 44 2.15. Morroco 44 2.16.Slovenia 47 2.17.Spain 49 2.18. Syria 52 2.19.Tunisia 52 2.20. Turkey 55 3. SUMMARY OF THE NATIONAL REPORTS -SOURCES OF IMPACTS AND 59 TOURIST IMPACTS ON HABITATS AND SPECIES 3.1 Sources of impact 62 3.2. Habitats 63 3.3. Species 67 4. ACTION SUGGESTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 77 4.1. Review of National Reports 77 4.2. Policies, regulations and management of space 78 4.3.Integrating natural environment, biodiversity, tourism and land development 80 4.4. Enforcing International Conventions 83 4.5. Trans-border cooperation 84 4.6.Preparing protected areas for tourism 85 5.Annexe 99 5.1. The Bern Convention – Chart of Signatures and Ratifications 99 5.2. Scientific Names of Cited Species 100 5.3. The Traveller’s Code of Ethics® 107 5.4. Bibliography 111 5.5. Terms of Reference 114 TABLES Table 1: Albania – Overview of impacts 9 Table 2: Algeria – Overview of impacts 14 Table 3: Bosnia-Herzegovina – Overview of impacts 15 Table 4: Croatia – Overview of impacts 17 Table 5: Cyprus – Overview of impacts 21 Table 6: Egypt – Overview of impacts 22 Table 7: France – Overview of impacts 30 Table 8: Table 8: Greece – Overview of impacts 33 Table 9: Israel – Overview of impacts 34 Table 10: Italy – Overview of impacts 38 Table 11: Lebanon – Overview of impacts 40 Table 12: Libya – Overview of impacts 41 Table 13: Malta – Overview of impacts 43 Table 14: Monaco – Overview of impacts 44 Table 15: Morocco – Overview of impacts 47 Table 16: Slovenia - Overview of impacts 48 Table 17: Spain – Overview of impacts 51 Table 18: Tunisia – Overview of impacts 56 Table 19: Turkey – Overview of impacts 59 . IMPACT OF TOURISM ON MEDITERRANEAN MARINE AND COASTAL BIODIVERSITY CHAPTER I INTODUCTION IMPACT OF TOURISM ON MEDITERRANEAN MARINE AND COASTAL BIODIVERSITY INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 Background to the study 1.1.1. General framework A number of countries bordering on the Mediterranean basin partly base their development on tourism, particularly seaside tourism, by enhancing the richness of their coastal landscape and ecology. However, this kind of development is not without risk for habitats, biodiversity and landscapes, that is, in the final analysis, for tourism and development. Mediterranean ecosystems are of major ecological interest in comparison with other bio- geographic areas of the biosphere. In particular, thanks to their specific richness, they rank next to tropical ecosystems in terms of biodiversity. 1 The WWF Mediterranean Programme has identified 10 Mediterranean marine and coastal areas that are vital for biodiversity: - The Alboran Sea (Spain, Morocco, Algeria) - The Dalmatian coast (Croatia) - The Gulf of Gabès (Tunisia); the Cyrenaic coast and Gulf of Sirta (Libya) - The Anatolian coast (Turkey) - The Aegean Sea and coast (Greece, Turkey) - The Corsican and Sardinian coasts (France, Italy) - The east coast of the Iberian peninsula and the Balearic Islands (Spain) - The Ligurian-Provençal coast (Italy, Monaco, France) - The southern Tyrrhenian coast (Italy) - The coasts and islands of the eastern part of the Ionian Sea (Albania, Greece). Many people are aware that these coasts and marine areas risk degradation and that their promotion can only be envisaged through a sustainable management approach, as underlined by the Mediterranean Commission for Sustainable Development: “[…] the sustainable management of these coastal areas is a crucial investment for the future of the Mediterranean. However, […] only within a development perspective can environmental problems be effectively managed. Development alone will generate new financial resources and produce the scientific, technical and administrative skills that will permit states, local authorities, enterprises and NGOs to improve their expert capability and their ability to deal with environmental problems. Lastly, improving environment and way of life can only be done by increased public information and education and the involvement of the Mediterranean citizenry, particularly women and children.” The present work is in keeping with this line. 1.1.2. Overview of the terms of reference Details of the study’s Terms of Reference appear in Annex 5.5. This document will deal with the impacts of tourism on coastal and marine biodiversity, and particularly on sensitive species and habitats and protected areas in the Mediterranean, on the basis of the National Reports of participating countries, their main contribution to preparing the SAP/BIO (Strategic Action Plan for the Conservation of Marine and Coastal Biodiversity) in the Mediterranean basin. 1 RAMADE François (1997) IMPACT OF TOURISM ON MEDITERRANEAN MARINE AND COASTAL BIODIVERSITY INTRODUCTION 2 The document is to analyse the present situation, identify problems and submit proposed actions/solutions. 1.1.3. Specially Protected Areas2 The Mediterranean, which is undergoing a demographic growth and an urban development that only increase with time, and is marked by heavy sea traffic and the massive exploitation of its resources, has appeared to be greatly threatened in the last few decades. The ecosystems of coastal areas and the rich and varied specific communities they harbour in small surface areas face the most serious threats. As a mosaic of land and water ecosystems, the coast seems to be an area that is all the more fragile and coveted in that the Mediterranean coastal fringe is narrow and remains the favourite locus of numerous economic activities linked to tourism (water sports, boating) or to the exploitation of natural resources (aquaculture, fishing). The coexistence of these different activities, which often are quite incompatible with each other and the source of many nuisances (pollution, coastal development, erosion, etc.), disrupts the stability of coastal ecosystems and seriously endangers their future preservation. In addition to the ecological problem posed by these changes particularly with respect to biodiversity, the extinction of many species is not without economic consequences (affecting primary production, spawning or nursery grounds, etc.). In the face of such risks, it had become necessary to set up a policy that would integrate sustainable development and environment protection. It had emerged that the conservation of marine and coastal Mediterranean ecosystems would not only ensure optimal management of live resources, but also preserve the overall quality of the marine environment, thus maintaining tourist inflow in areas where this activity was an essential resource and a major developmental asset. In this perspective, various protective legal measures were taken both within the framework of international agreements (Barcelona Convention for the Protection of the Mediterranean against Pollution, the Ramsar Convention for the Preservation of Wetlands, Habitat Directive for the Conservation of Natural Biotopes) and at national level (lists of protected species, setting up of Parks and Reserves, etc.). In 1985 these decisions were expressed in the Genoa Declaration, which provided for the protection of threatened marine species and at least 50 new marine coastal sites. The setting up of Specially Protected Areas (SPAs), initiated in the 1960s in France (setting up of the Port-Cros National Park in 1963), has considerably developed in the Mediterranean region since that period, spurred on by international conventions and supported by numerous orgnisations (UNEP/MAP, IUCN, European Community). Rather than protect a single species, these SPAs are generally more effective in that they both protect a whole range of remarkable species as well as the biotope in which they live and the ecosystems associated with them. In addition, because of their limited geographic area and the specific financial means usually allocated to their management, monitoring is carried out more easily and more effectively in the SPAs than in the case of any given species.