For two named coastal areas in Europe:
a) Describe and explain the differences in their environmental quality.
b) Describe and assess the effectiveness of local, national or international policies and strategies used to manage, improve or maintain their environmental quality.
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a.
The environmental qualities of two coastal areas vary to some extent.
The Camargue is part of the Rhone Delta in the South East of France where the Rhone reaches the Mediterranean Sea. The Costa Dorada lies on the Mediterranean coast of Spain roughly between Barcelona and Salou. Just north of Arles the Rhone divides forming the apex of a triangle whose base is formed by 80km of sandy sea coast running east-west along the Mediterranean. The Costa Dorada extends 216 kilometres along the coast, with 786ha of fine sandy beaches, and then goes inland, filled with peaceful towns and farmlands, to the mountains wide areas.
Both areas attract large number of tourists that threaten the fragile environment. The visitors to the Carmague are attracted by the unique collection of flora and fauna that are found in this important Mediterranean wetland. It is the sun drenched beaches that attract millions of tourists to the Costa Dorada. Tourism is a major employer and brings new found wealth to the people and of both areas but at a cost because they affect the traditional lifestyle, the habitats of flora and fauna and an increase in air and noise pollution. Traffic congestion and pollution have dramatically increased because of the new roads that have been built around the areas.
The Camargue and the Costa Dorada have had to put into place plans to manage water supplies and the ecological balance needed to maintain their fragile environments. Like all Mediterranean areas they suffer from a lack of enough water to meet the demands from agriculture, industry, tourism and urban growth. The Camargue is under attack from the continual demand from agriculture, industry and settlement for more space. This threatens the wetlands because it reduces the amount and quality of the water entering the wetlands. There are new threats to the ecosystem of the wetlands because of the growing industries attracting more people who need more land to build houses and more water.
Much of the Camargue is farmland. The wetlands are under threat as more and more water is taken for farming. There has been a loss in the quality of the fresh water because fertilisers used by farmers get washed out into rivers. This encourages the growth of algae, which use up the oxygen in the water, killing off plant and fish life.
The Costa Dorada is a nice place to live and work, and it's experienced a real increase in settlement in recent years. This urban growth has had a big impact on the environment, causing increased air, water and noise pollution, and greater traffic congestion. Farmland is often turned over to developers for building on, as the demand for new housing increases.
b.
Both the Carmague and the Costa Dorada have seen a number of measures to protect their unique environments. These include; for the Carmague:- The Ramsar Convention, EU Nature Conservation Laws and the Regional Natural Parks measures. For the Costa Dorada there is the Blue Flag Scheme to control beaches, the Convention on the Protection of the Mediterranean against Pollution and the influence of the WWF. These schemes have varying levels of success. Those schemes backed by EU law are more successful and effective than ones that are voluntary. In the Costa Dorada there is a similar picture to the Carmague - EU backed strategies, such as the Blue Flag Scheme, have made a huge difference to the environment. In both areas the pressures from local people, backing the WWF guidelines has also effective.
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