Posted on March, 01 2001
The Mediterranean plays host to 220 million tourists annually, a figure projected to increase to 350 million in twenty years.
This projected increase could lead to uncontrolled development of the entire Mediterranean basin, degrading the unique natural and cultural wealth of the region.
New form of tourism needed
WWF believes that a new form of tourism must be introduced in the Mediterranean to ensure that the decline of nature is halted and reversed.
WWF is therefore urging the tourism industry, from tour operators to local decision-makers, to commit to responsible tourism development in the region. At a minimum this means adequate protection of the key areas for biodiversity conservation, no development in the most critical places within these areas and beneficial development to local communities.
"The tourism industry has to reduce its impact on nature, if we want to save the Mediterranean's unique heritage. By wrecking the valuable environment on which it depends, the tourism industry will be the ultimate loser," said Peter DeBrine, Tourism Officer at WWF's Mediterranean Programme Office.
According to an analysis presented today by WWF, in 2005 France, Italy and Spain will see a continued increase in tourism pressure while countries such as Morocco, Tunisia, Greece, Turkey and Croatia will experience a massive surge of new tourism development.
Biodiversity loss
In particular, many of the areas that WWF has identified as the most important for nature in the Mediterranean are threatened by such tourism development, which may result in most of these areas loosing their invaluable biodiversity by 2020.
"The Mediterranean is the leading tourist destination in the world, it is also one of the most important regions for its outstanding biodiversity and cultural features. Trends shown in WWF's analysis suggest that the impacts will be devastating and irreversible." Peter DeBrine added.
Currently, mass tourism is one of the main drivers of coastal and marine degradation in the Mediterranean.
Mass tourism causes enormous transformation of entire areas leading to soil erosion, increased pollution discharges into the sea, natural habitat loss, increased pressure on endangered species and heightened vulnerability to forest fires. It puts a strain on water resources, an already thorny issue in the Mediterranean (for instance, an average Spanish dweller uses 250 litres of water per day while the average tourist uses up to 880 litres). It also often leads to cultural disruption and deterioration of attractive landscapes.
Through inappropriate development practices, once pristine locations have been damaged, sometimes beyond repair.
WWF is challenging the tourism industry to create a new model to halt this trend. WWF believes that there should be no further development in the absence of careful planning that includes a network of protected areas capable of safeguarding the region's biodiversity and the sustainable use of natural resources (land, water, energy).
For further information:
Anne Rémy: Communications Manager, WWF Mediterranean Programme Office: mobile tel: +39 333 75 16 873 email: aremy@wwfmedpo.org
Jörn Ehlers: Chief Press Officer, WWF Germany: mobile tel: + 49 1 71 544 01 44, email: ehlers@wwf.de
Notes to editors
� The 13 key marine and coastal areas identified by WWF as very important to biodiversity: Alboran sea (Spain, Morocco, Algeria); Balearic Islands (Spain); Liguro-Provençal coast (France, Italy, Monaco); Corso-Sardinian coast (France, Italy); Southern Tyrrhenian coast (Italy); Dalmatian coast (Croatia); Eastern Ionian coast and islands (Albania, Greece); Aegean sea (Greece, Turkey) and South Western Anatolian coast (Turkey); Cilician coast (Turkey) and Cyprus coast; Cyrenaica (Lybia); Gulf of Sirte (Libya); Gulf of Gabes (Tunisia); Algero-Tunisian coast (Algeria, Tunisia).
� B-Roll is available on request