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Coasts are areas rich in plant and animal life, much of it vulnerable and unique. Over 60% of the world's human population lives within 100Km of the coast. About 90% of the fish to supply the world's fisheries are caught within 100Km of the coast. Ports provide the route for most of the trade in food, minerals, manufactured products and energy. The coast is the most popular tourism destination.
How can all of these things exist together? Only wise management can provide the answer. |
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The area beside the sea is known as the Coastal Zone. This area is particularly important because there are many plants and animals that depend on the contact between the sea and the land. It is also important to humans as we rely on the coast for building harbours and it is the place where many of us like to spend our holidays. Soils are often fertile in the coastal zone and agriculture flourishes. Harbours have attracted commerce and industry and major cities have grown for many different reasons – administrative centres, ports, tourist resorts, industrial complexes, agricultural centres, and aquaculture and fisheries development. The problem is that many of these uses compete with one another and the natural environment is often the loser! People often fail to realise that there is a limit to the available space for development in the coastal zone, and that any plans need to take into account all users of the space.
The future of many plant and animal communities which inhabit the coastal zone depends on wise decisions about the development of these sensitive areas. There is much evidence of unwise planning along the coastline of the Black Sea due to a number of pressures. Different sectors of public and private administration often carry out their business without consultation with each other, which is not good practice. Coastal zone management is all about helping people to work together to plan for a sensible balance between their immediate needs without compromising the vision of sustaining natural ecosystems now and in the distant future.
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Make a table called “ Coastal animals and plants ” with two columns. One is headed “ I live on land or in rivers and depend on the sea ” and the other, “ I live in the sea and depend on the land ”. Which human activities would make your life impossible? |
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| Pressures in the Coastal Zone |
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The diagram below shows how many different groups of people use the coastal zone for a variety of activities.
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See how many more users you can identify to expand this diagram.
You can make another ring around the circle and note down the possible conflicts between the different users, and the impact each group could have on the coastal zone.
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| And now to the Black Sea … |
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On the next pages you will see some examples of positive and negative management of coastal zones in the Black Sea (they were provided by local teachers). Take a look at them and think of some examples of wise and unwise practices in your own town/region.
Romania :
+ Sewage treatment
Investment in 2 sewage treatment plants (Constanta South and Mangalia), which will improve the quality of the marine water in the shore area .
- Development of infrastructure for tourist resort
Buildings, houses, bars, restaurants in the 2 Mai - Vama Veche area (near the Romanian - Bulgarian border), have been constructed directly on the beach or on the foreshore, without any approval from the local beach management authorities. The effect is the degradation of a very beautiful area of the Romanian Black Sea shore. |
Bulgaria :
+ "Poda" a wetland south of Burgas.
This area on the Via Pontica is a nesting place/temporary habitat for a great number of birds including rare and protected species. The locally-designed management plan provides efficient use of the area as a biosphere reserve/site for scientific investigations, for bird-watching and eco-tourism, fishing, etc.
- "Cabacum" - north of Varna
The combination of a sandy beach and a steep slope behind it creates favourable conditions for landslides. In the region of Cabacum, the slope is used as a recreation zone with private summer-houses and small hotels. Poor drainage for domestic and rain waters combined with several rainy seasons activated severe landslides. Large quantities of soil slid down the hill, damaging the main road and the beach. Most of the private houses and a number of small hotels were ruined or damaged. A program for investments was developed and restoration activities began in 2000-2001 but the available funds are not sufficient to complete this work. |
Russia :
+ Construction of a ring road around Sochi :
In order to minimise the impact of heavy transport along the coast road, and also to lower the level of air and noise pollution in the city, a ring road was constructed around Sochi . Much of it was built by tunnelling under the steep hills rather than damaging the landscape.
- Building materials:
Pebbles and rocks from the beaches are used in the construction of buildings, which destroys the beaches and promotes coastal erosion. |
Turkey :
+ Uzungol-Trabzon.
This place is a natural park, a protected area so this can be viewed as a positive example of coastal zone management. Problems remain however, such as overfishing and tourism (over-population and an increase in the construction of summer houses)
- Trabzon solid waste:
Household garbage is discharged into the sea in Trabzon . The costs of constructing a landfill site for proper disposal are regarded as an excessive burden on the local taxpayers but the value of the sea and its /Resources and amenities has not been taken into full account during planning. |
Georgia :
+ Kolkheti National Park .
The area near Poti includes a wetland and lake ( Lake Paliostomi ) that are considered of global importance for their fauna and migratory birds. They are under great pressure from illegal loggers and fishers as well as legal hunters. Complicating matters further the system is shared between 5 different administrative districts, each with its own policies and priorities. After considerable discussion they appreciated the value of working together and agreed to create a National Park with its own management plan.
- Kulevi oil terminal:
This was constructed without official permission and the necessary studies to determine its impact on the natural environment. There were strong protests by environmental organisations when they discovered that the huge project was underway. The Georgian Government ordered the construction to be stopped when the irregularities were discovered but work had almost been completed. |
Ukraine :
+ Tiligul liman (30km east of Odessa ).
The liman (lagoon) is approximately 80km long, up to 4.5 km wide and 21m deep. It has natural and economic significance, being a centre for recreational activity, aquaculture and wildlife, together with natural resource extraction such as sand for building. It has attracted large number of visitors and the nearby construction of 40,000 summer houses. By gradually bringing together all of the people concerned with its future and explaining the principles of Coastal Zone Management, a plan is emerging that will allow for a balance between development and conservation.
- Odessa waste-water treatment:
The lack of treatment of sewage has long been a problem in Odessa and bathing beaches have often been closed in summer in order to protect local people from illness. Though management of existing disposal facilities has improved in recent years, a long-term solution is still needed if the coastal zone is to be enjoyed by all. |
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| What does coastal zone management involve? |
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Coastal zone management is a process of bringing together representatives of all of the groups of people involved in the problems and their possible solutions and the jointly developing and implementing a plan. That sounds easy on paper but in reality can be very difficult as it may involve changing people's economic interests or personal influence. On the other hand, when people fully appreciate how vulnerable the coast is (and that their own future is at risk) they are more willing to cooperate. Somebody has to take charge of organising the plan (often an inspired person in the local government); then the basic steps in the process are:
- To identify the groups of people who should be involved (often known as the stakeholders ) and to ask them to send representatives to a series of meetings.
- To jointly identify the human pressures on the coastal zone and the environmental, social and economic interests that are affected.
- To agree on a vision for the future of that part of the coastal zone.
- To look at all the practical things that can be done to achieve the vision and to decide which of them should be done first, by whom, when, and how they should be paid for - this is the management plan .
- To make everybody aware of the plan and to agree who will check that the plan is working and update it in the future.
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| The moral maze – protected areas - what do you think? |
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There are many species and habitats that are very vulnerable to human presence. Seals for example, have virtually disappeared from the Black Sea because they are easily disturbed by humans. Many wetland areas have been lost because they are not regarded as valuable by people and, as a consequence, birds have lost their wintering or breeding grounds. In many parts of the world, protected areas are being created to conserve the diversity of life on the planet. Unfortunately few such areas exist in the Black Sea , partly because there are so many competing interests on the coast and nature cannot speak with a human voice.There are various degrees of protection normally used. Absolute nature reserves exclude all humans except for wardens and some scientists.These areas are surrounded by “buffer zones” where human activity is restricted (especially hunting and new construction).Partial protection is provided through nature parks where people can enter but are obliged to respect the wildlife habitats and keep to prescribed paths and beaches. The sea too requires protected areas: some types of fishing are particularly destructive of the bottom communities only seen by divers. Wherever they are, protected areas need to be big enough for the animals within them to range freely, out of danger, and should not be regarded as zoos – nature should be cared for everywhere but sometimes specially protected . Try to find out where the nearest protected area is to your home. Is it large enough? Who is responsible for it? Do you think it is effective? |
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| Your chance to negotiate a coastal zone management plan! |
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Just along the coast from where you live, there is a town called ‘Everypol' (perhaps you didn't know about it, but close your eyes and make it appear!). Everypol is a town of 200,000 people with a port that exports locally produced steel and imports oil. It also has a fishing industry in Everypol Bay . The Bay is a popular tourist destination for people from the capital and the beaches are crowded in the summer but the sewage treatment plant is insufficient for them all. Just 1km from the city is a wetland area important for migratory birds. It has been declared as a nature reserve. The tourists are sometimes complaining about oil arriving on the beaches as well as the frequent beach closure due to sewage pollution. They would like to move further away from the city centre but tourist facilities are not allowed in the nature reserve. The nature reserve manager is also upset because waste from the factories sometimes finds its way down the streams leading to the wetland and kills many fish and birds. Fisheries are also declining, partly because of all the waste going into the bay and partly because of overfishing. The mayor says that there just isn't enough money to solve the problems but lots of people are building new summer houses.
You will be divided into small groups and given a card by your teacher. It will identify you with one of the stakeholders and tell you something about your role. Conduct a debate to:
• Decide on a common ‘vision' – how you want the bay to look in the future (try not to exclude anyone from the vision)
• How will each of you make changes to reach the agreed vision?
• Where will the money come from and who will make sure the plan is working? |
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