Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
1997). As a consequence, the pressures from the natural environment are being
compounded by
• large-scale pollution by oil spills
• the development of harbours
• increasing shore erosion caused by sediment processes are interrupted by building on
the coastline (Gössling 2001)
• high levels of freshwater removal which is causing salt-water to encroach upon the
water-table
• increasing impacts from tourism and recreational activities: approximately 100 million
tourists visit the European coastline annually, a figure which could rise to 230 million
by 2030.
Some of the visible signs of environmental deterioration include water pollution and the
rise of algal blooms. This problem is exacerbated by sewage pollutants (see Daby et al.
2002) where nutrient enrichment leads to algal blooms. In the Mediterranean between
1900 and 1990 there was a 75 per cent loss of sand dunes in France and Spain due to sand
loss. As A.T.Williams et al. (2001) suggest, visitor pressure increases dune degradation
and vulnerability highlighting the need for close monitoring of impacts and changes in
dune morphology. This is a clear indication of the scale of the problem in relation to
tourism which is sand and beach dependent. How has the geographer contributed to the
wider understanding, analysis and debates associated with coastal environments for
recreation and tourism?
The physical geographer (e.g. May 1993) has examined the geomorphological
characteristics which underlie the creation of existing coastal environments. In the case of
the Cape coastline in South Africa, Burns et al. (1990) indicated the need to develop
tourism according to sound environmental principles. They argued that the physical
characteristics of soft shorelines need to be recognised, and near-shore and aeolian
sediment transport regimes must be understood and quantified. This highlighted the
active nature of the littoral zone of coastlines, so that long-term shore erosion can be
reduced to create recreational environments. What emerges from much of the literature
on beach erosion, particularly dune erosion, is that intervention is a costly strategy. In the
case of Florida, 'there has been a tendency to build so close to the shoreline as possible:
Florida is no exception. Such actions have destroyed dunes, wetlands and beaches which
formed protective barriers against storms and floods' (Carter 1990:8). In an historical
analysis of coastline destruction in Florida, Carter (1990) examined the speed of
environmental degradation where
The first shoreline buildings were beach houses in the dunes. Very often
the seawardmost dunes were lowered or removed altogether to give a
view of the sea. Very soon, house owners became aware of shore-line
changes, especially natural erosion, and began to protect against it. Much
of this protection was unapproved, unsightly and ineffective. Along the
east coast, bulkheads and groynes were common after 1925, yet by the
mid 1930s, much of the duneline was destroyed…. It quickly became
clear that such an approach was exacerbating erosion, and there was
mounting pressure for official assistance…Florida became a natural
