Dr. Assaf Rosenthal
Direct link to this page: https://www.hayadan.org.il/medzihum090705.html
The Mediterranean Sea is a junction of three continents and as such is the largest enclosed sea in the world, around 20 million people live on its shores (up to a distance of 150 km). Every summer the number doubles when "sun worshippers" wash the beaches en masse.
After more than 25 years of treaties, agreements, plans and good intentions, most of the beaches to which tourists flock are disappearing, being covered with concrete for the "benefit" of the tourism industry. The same attraction of millions of "sea and sun worshippers" indirectly causes the destruction of the sea.
Until about fifty years ago, the Mediterranean Sea was alive and pulsating, whales, turtles, many species of fish, seaweed beds, seals, all of this could be seen in vast areas. As a result of the accelerated tourist development, the beaches were covered with concrete which harms the turtles' nesting cycle. Millions of sandwich eaters are millions of garbage throwers and probably in most cases the garbage ends up in the sea and harms the flora and fauna there
Around the tourism industry and adjacent to it, settlements and industrial plants develop, and the industrial pollution poisons the waters of the sea and everything in it.
During the peak season of tourism, there are no garbage facilities and the sewage is under pressure and the excess flows into the sea
In addition to the garbage produced by tourism that reaches the sea, the Mediterranean Sea absorbs about 10 billion tons every year
Industrial wastewater and municipal wastewater.
It is expected that in 2020 there will be about 350 million tourists to the seashores, for whom recreational facilities will be built and the beaches will become an urban landscape. Already today, from the Straits of Gibraltar through the "sun coast" in Spain to Málaga, one city is growing along the coast, continuing on the coasts of France and Italy, according to the current rate, by 2020 half of the 46 thousand km of the Mediterranean coast will be built. 75% of the beaches between Spain and Sicily and the variety of species along them are already destroyed. Later, the coasts of Syria, Israel and Egypt were "deducted" in the last thirty years from the majority of the marine population - living and growing all this for the sake of tourism
In dry countries: Spain, Greece, and of course here, the tourist pressure demands. Supply of fresh water, a native resident uses about 250 liters of water per day, a tourist uses double and even four times the amount! Which is already causing a lack of tourist areas today. A lack of drinking water affects and affects the local population like this, in the hotels along the coast swimming pools are filled and in the hinterland the farmers do not have enough water for irrigation.
Loss and damage to habitats in the sea and on its shores has brought to the brink about 500 species, about 500 species that are in danger of extinction. Less than 5% of the Mediterranean coast is officially protected. In practice the area is much smaller. If the policy does not change, if there is no cooperation between all the countries, if there is no cooperation that will lead to the cessation of the destruction of the beaches and the improvement and improvement of the conditions in the water, in a short time the Mediterranean Sea will turn into a pool of stale water.
In Spain, they understood the problem they ran into, and today they are planning to move the hotels away from the beaches, and to restore the natural beaches in Mallorca. They are already destroying hotels that were built too close to the beach with the purpose and intention of restoring the beaches to their attractiveness.
Despite the damage, about 20 species of whales and dolphins and two species of turtles still exist. The monk seal is almost gone. The chance of saving the environment is low but it exists
One step towards saving the sea is the declaration of a reserve, about 84 thousand square kilometers between the Italian coast - the French Blue Coast and Sardinia. This is the first marine reserve in the Northern Hemisphere that is spread over more than one country's territory, i.e. an international marine reserve. In the summer, thousands of dolphins and whales congregate in the area, and to protect them, France and Italy are working to prevent the discharge of waste water, to stop fishing in trawl nets, and to regulate tourist traffic to watch the marine mammals, a traffic that, when not regulated and directed, causes a disturbance.
Many of the tourist sites and beaches were developed by foreign entities, that is, not from the country where the development took place, the best and best-known example is in the "Sun Beach" in Spain, where most of the projects belong to Germans,
In other words, the income from tourism that destroys the beaches does not stay in Spain. Therefore, one of the strong motives for healthy development is that the hotels and tourist facilities will belong to the local residents, when they know that proper development will give a future guarantee of income, they will have more chances that the development will be sustainable.
WWF, the World Organization for the Protection of Nature, concentrates its efforts to protect beaches and seas in destinations that stand out as future tourist destinations: Croatia, Turkey, Tunisia and Libya, with the organization guiding the authorities for tourism development that will not harm the beaches and the sea, as well as a directive to prevent harm to the marine population, by stopping fishing Wild with predatory and hurtful methods.
The "hot" destinations today are the beaches of Turkey and Croatia, these two countries must learn from the failed experience of Spain, which for twenty years "sold its beaches cheaply" to entrepreneurs from all over Europe and today is looking for solutions to the environmental disaster that is also turning into a tourist slump. It would be true if the development of tourist destinations would take into account the simple fact that tourists come to a destination that has attractions, so that they continue to come, it is important to develop so that the attractions are not harmed. Usually this involves high development expenses, but in the long run the expense to prevent environmental damage is worthwhile
With us: on 20/6 the project "Clean Beach" will be officially opened. The announcement of the opening of the project with the sound of "answers and bells" should give the impression that the Ministry of Environmental Quality has the intention to treat the filth on our shores. Regarding the filth and pollution on the shores of the Sea of Galilee and the Gulf of Eilat, we (the Israelis) have exclusive copyright on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, which we share with about twenty countries, and according to the ministry, 60% of the pollution on the beaches originates from the public's contribution and 40% comes from the sea. Even if the numbers are correct, it is worth remembering that
The sea does not breed plastic bags, bottles, cans, and not even tar, all of these originate from human activity, an Israeli share.
The environmental problems on our coasts are intensifying and intensifying because of the relative density and because of the irresponsible behavior of authorities, factories, and also the public who use the beaches and the sea have a considerable contribution. Despite the laws and regulations, many of the beaches are not open to the public and a large part of the "open" ones are for direct or indirect payment on some of the beaches "infrastructures" established by the Authority cause pollution and harm, therefore the statement about the opening of the project "Clean Beach" is certainly not sufficient and does not touch even part of the problem as with us As in Spain, the problem is not only dirt.
But above all, a scandalous attitude bordering on criminality towards one of the most important resources at our disposal
A natural resource that is at our disposal, for our use we do not have the permission to destroy it, therefore, to start a solution, see a proposal in the list about the Mao forest.
A compilation of Dr. Assaf Rosenthal's articles on the Hidan site
https://www.hayadan.org.il/BuildaGate4/general2/data_card.php?Cat=~~~207716047~~~218&SiteName=hayadan
