@techreport{Schröder2024,

title = {Mapping the Impact of Blue Tourism in the Mediterranean: Vulnerability Assessment of Coastal and Marine Ecosystems},

author = {C. Schröder and A. Sánchez-Espinosa and A. Teixidor and G. Costa and R. Galán and L. Prieto and G. Balestracci and M.A. Kuhn and P. Marín and A. Martín and C. Numa and A. Sciacca},

url = {https://www.etc.uma.es/wp-content/uploads/Mapping-the-Impact-of-Blue-Tourism-in-the-Mediterranean-web.pdf},

year  = {2024},

date = {2024-09-03},

abstract = {The IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation with the support of ETC-UMA in the framework of the Blue Tourism Initiative, has released a comprehensive report entitled “Mapping the Impact of Blue Tourism in the Mediterranean: Vulnerability Assessment of Coastal and Marine Ecosystems.” This groundbreaking report reveals how tourism is affecting the Mediterranean’s coastal and marine ecosystems and provides actionable recommendations to promote sustainable blue tourism practices.



The spatial assessment identifies highly vulnerable regions in the Mediterranean, focusing on cumulative tourism pressures and the lack of protected ecologically sensitive areas. Regions such as Cádiz and Malaga in Spain, Antalya and Hatay in Türkiye, Girona and Menorca, Annaba Province in Algeria, and Trieste Province in Italy face high tourism pressures and low protection levels. Even regions with relatively high protection levels still experience significant tourism pressures, while Eastern and Southern Mediterranean countries with low protection levels are extremely vulnerable.



Among its key findings and highlights, we can find the threats to Posidonia oceanica, a unique Mediterranean seagrass, which is under significant threat from leisure boat anchoring. This vital habitat, covering approximately 19,482 square kilometers, provides essential ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration, coastal protection, and habitat provision. The report highlights the pressures from harmful fishing practices and anchoring, especially near major tourist centers. The analysis shows a seasonal increase in leisure boat traffic, with a notable rise in the post-pandemic period.



The report also addresses the threat of vessel collisions with whales in the Northwest Mediterranean. This area is critical for fin whales, hosting up to 70% of the Mediterranean population and significant feeding grounds. It also supports around 50% of the Mediterranean sperm whale population during the summer. The heavy maritime traffic, including goods shipping, passenger transport, and cruise tourism, significantly increases the risk of ship strikes.},

keywords = {Biodiversity, Conservation and management, Environmental conservation, Marine protected areas, Mediterranean sea, Pressures, Tourism, Transboundary management},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {techreport}

}

@techreport{Giulietti2018,

title = {ETC/ULS Report 01/2018: Tourism and the Environment - towards a reporting mechanism in Europe},

author = {S. Giulietti and F. Romagosa and J. Fons Esteve and C. Schröder },

url = {https://www.eionet.europa.eu/etcs/etc-uls/products/etc-uls-reports/etc-uls-report-01-2018-tourism-and-the-environment-towards-a-reporting-mechanism-in-europe},

year  = {2018},

date = {2018-01-01},

urldate = {2018-01-01},

institution = {European Topic Centre  on Urban Land and Soil Systems (ETC/ULS)},

abstract = {This report is the result of more than four years of joint work between the EEA, ETC/ULS, and the EIONET expert group on tourism and environment as a contribution to explore the feasability of monitoring environmental impacts of the sector and its sustainability trends.



The first part of the report (‘Tourism in multiple contexts‘) draws an overview of tourism as a complex socio-economic sector, that has many policy and social interlinks. The second part (‘Key tourism trends in Europe’) is mainly based on the use of indicators -which were developed during the same period- that show the tourism-environment interplay.



The indicators also address the driver–pressure–state–impact–response (DPSIR) analytical framework. Indicator-related assessments in the report are also complemented, for specific aspects, by information provided by a scientific literature review, as well as with national case studies from different European countries.



The third part of the report (‘Towards an integrated European information system on tourism’) argues the need for developing the environmental dimension under an integrated tourism reporting mechanism for Europe.},

keywords = {Tourism},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {techreport}

}