School materials

The Southern European Seas (SES) and the impact of tourism

the coastal overpopulation affects the surrounding marine ecosystems (www.sinia-planeta.com)

Almost a third of all the population of the Mediterranean region inhabits lives on the SES coast. This phenomenon is further intensified by seasonal tourism, concentrated increasingly in seaside resorts, where the population along the Mediterranean coast almost doubles during the summer period as the area is one of the most frequent tourist destinations of the world . This over-population of the seaside causes an important and clearly visible degradation of the coastal areas and their marine ecosystems.

• Puzzle côtier
• BBC News - Med threat from 'concrete coasts'
• European Environment Agency
• UN - Recreation and Tourism
• Journal of international Wildlife Law and Policy
• WWF
• Coastal Zone Management
• Freshwater and Tourism in Mediterranean
• Promoting responsible tourism
• Impact of tourism and industries on coastal areas
• The Black Sea
• The Mediterranean Sea
• Marine and coastal environnement