A Sustainable Future for the Mediterranean The Blue Plan

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A Sustainable Future for the Mediterranean The
Blue Plans Environment and Development Outlook

• Coastal areas

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The Mediterranean coastal areas
a common good
an endangered area
accounting for 13 of the surface and 33 of the
population (143 million inhabitants) of the
countries
234 administrative units
46 000 km of coastline
many islands 19 000 km of coastline (42 of
the total)
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The Mediterranean coastal areas
a common good
an endangered area

• however
• a sustainable coastal
• management scenario
• is possible

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• An invaluable natural and cultural heritage
• The coastal overdevelopment, a heavy trend
• Unsustainable trends
• New threats
• A sustainable coastal management scenario

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A unique heritage
Sedimentary coasts and their ecosystems
Source Ramade, Plan Bleu, 1997
The  100  Mediterranean historical coastal
sites
Source PAM, Programme des 100 sites, Marseille
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a worldwide reservoir of marine and terrestrial
biodiversity
The eco-region terrestrial biodiversity 10 of
flora species on 1,6 of land area
Marine biodiversity 7 of the species known
worldwide concentrated on 0.8  of the ocean
surface area
Areas with high levels of endemic species
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The coastal overdevelopment, a heavy trend
urban developement
Evolution of the number of coastal cities with
population more than 10,000 inhabitants, from
1950 to 1995
Population in coastal cities 1950-2025
Source Géopolis 98 Attané et Courbage,Plan
Bleu, 2001
20 million more urban inhabitants in the coastal
cities by 2025
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The coastal overdevelopment, a heavy trend

• tourism

Domestic and international tourism in the coastal
regions 1990-2025
312 millions
175 millions
132 millions
137 million more international and domestic
tourists by 2025 compared to 2000
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The coastal overdevelopment, a heavy trend

• infrastructures

Yacht harbours
Roads and airports along coasts
Source Diverses sources statistiques nationales
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The coastal overdevelopment, a heavy trend

• aquaculture

Bass and sea bream, aquaculture production in the
Mediterranean and the Black Sea, 19902000 (1000
tonnes)
Source FAO, Fishtat
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Unsustainable trends

Populations in Frances Languedoc-Roussillon
region 1901-1999
Urban development prospective in the coastal
strip in 1995 and 2025
Source Géopolis 98, Attané Courbage, Plan Bleu
2001
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Unsustainable trends

• coastal water pollution

101 coastal hotspots
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Unsustainable trends

• degradation of coastal habitats and loss of
  biodiversity

Mode of introduction of non-indigenous marine
species and spread of Caulerpa taxifolia
Source EEA 2003 Université Nice-Sophia-Antipoli
s LELM 2002
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Unsustainable trends

• water resources degradation and erosion

Sites with groundwater overexploitation and
saline intrusion
Source RIVM RIZA 1991 J. Margat
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Unsustainable trends

• degradation of fish stocks,

Catches (1000 tonnes) from fishing in the
Mediterranean per area and in total 1970-2001
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New threats

• climate change

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A sustainable coastal management scenario

• objectives

• Protect and enhance the natural and cultural
  heritage

RAMSAR and ASPIM protected wetlands
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A sustainable coastal management scenario

• objectives

• Succeeding in decoupling economic development
  from pressures on the environment
• Relieving the coastal areas of part of its
  pressures and revitalizing the hinterlands
• Regulating the tourism system

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A sustainable coastal management scenario

• conditions

• Developing knowledge
• Disseminating information
• Strengthening regional cooperation and coastal
  areas policies

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A sustainable coastal management scenario

• conditions

• Working at local scale
• Developing participative approaches mobilizing
  all actors
• Formulating projects for territories based on a
  common vision and on indicators
• Integrating the different logic of the
  environment with the development

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A sustainable coastal management scenario

• Keywords

• Protection, enhancement
• Decoupling Activities / Pressures
• Relieving, revitalization, control
• Knowledge, observation, information
• Cooperation, legislation, regulation
• Territory project, participation, indicators

to preserve costal zones, an endangered area
and a common good of the Mediterranean people
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