Tourism and Environment in the Mediterranean The Mediterranean Countries as a whole account for one third of the world intern

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问题           Tourism and Environment in the Mediterranean
   The Mediterranean Countries as a whole account for one third of the world international tourism. In 1990, 72 million international tourists and 62 million domestic tourists visited the Mediterranean coastal region. Although the highest concentration has traditionally been on the northern shores, the trend is towards a more even distribution around the entire basin.
   At the same time, the Mediterranean Region -- characterised by its particular climate -- is considered as a terrestrial biodiversity "hotspot", this being defined as an area of exceptional endemism, having more than 1,500 vascular plants, and where over 70% of the natural habitat has been lost. In fact, the Mediterranean region largely meets these criteria, since it has about 13,000 endemic plants with only very little habitat left. Favourite tourist areas and biodiversity hotspots largely coincide in the Mediterranean coastal regions. This constitutes both an asset and a liability.
   The occupation of coastal areas by tourist infrastructures, including associated urbanisation, roads, marinas, golf courses, secondary homes, etc, leads to destruction of vulnerable terrestrial ecosystems and wetlands. Tourists demand water supply per capita at a higher rate than local inhabitants and at a time of water scarcity, in summer, thus leading to oversized facilities for both supply and treatment. Marine ecosystems suffer from water sports, anchoring, and waste disposal. Forest flies are multiplied by negligence and sometimes by criminal acts.
   These liabilities are however compensated by a major consideration, namely that all Mediterranean countries are heavily dependent on tourism to improve their balance of payments. Hence, the continued destruction of their coastal environments and natural amenities would jeopardise this much coveted tourism development. By 2025, in the case of a weak traditional development scenario, the number of domestic tourists in the Mediterranean region would reach 140 million and the number of international tourists 93 million, whereas in the case of a strong and sustainable development scenario, these figures could reach 220 million and 143 million respectively. The challenge is to make such tourism development sustainable.
   In this respect, a greater attention to biodiversity can be most significant. More coastal ecosystems -- terrestrial and marine -- should be protected and existing protected areas should be strengthened. Management of these areas should include improved facilities for "interpretation" for visitors, including in marine, mountaineering and skiing resorts. More should be made of local biodiversity as a tourist attraction. Combination of cultural and natural elements, for instance in biosphere reserves, should be provided to tourists in the form of properly managed "ecotourism". Traditional agricultural products and crafts of quality should be promoted. If properly established the link between tourism and biodiversity in the Mediterranean constitutes a major asset for the region.

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答案 地中海的旅游和环境问题 地中海各国的旅游业占据了全世界国际旅游业的三分之一份额。1990年,地中海沿海地区吸引了多达7200万名国外游客和6200万名国内游客。一直以来,游客大都集中在地中海北部的沿海区域,但是现在渐渐出现了游人向整个海域均匀分散的趋势。 地中海地区以其特殊的气候著称,是一个具有陆地生物多样性特点的“热区”。所谓“热区”,也就是指具有罕见的地方性特征的地区,拥有1500种以上导管植物,同时已经丧失超过70%的自然生物栖息地。事实上,地中海地区现有13000种地方性植物,生物栖息地几乎丧失殆尽,大体上符合生态热区的定义。而且在地中海的沿海地带,旅游热点恰巧大多也正是生态热区。这既是笔资产,也是笔负债。 旅游基础设施大量侵占沿海土地,其中包括相关的城市化建设、道路、游艇船坞、高尔夫球场和度假屋等,这对脆弱的陆地生态系统和湿地造成了严重的破坏。游客的人均水需求量高于当地居民,夏季是供水紧张季节,因此当地不得不添设特大型供水设备和水处理设备。水上运动、船只停泊和废水处理正在危害海洋生态系统。而由于玩忽职守或犯罪行为所造成的森林大火则成倍增加。 但是地中海各国若要改善收支平衡,都得大大依赖旅游业,这便抵消了人们对破坏大自然行为的顾虑,于是,破坏沿海自然环境和天然优势的行为一直得以继续,从而势必危及该地区令人垂涎的旅游业的发展。倘若沿着这种不健康的方向发展下去,到2025年,到地中海地区旅游的国内游客将只能达到1.4亿人次,国外游客9300万人次;而采用可持续的健康的发展方式,两者分别可望达到2.2亿和1.43亿人次。问题的关键在于确保旅游业发展的可持续性。 谈到可持续性,更加关注生物多样性或许是非常重要的。我们应该为更多的沿海生态系统——包括陆地和海洋的——提供保护措施,并加强对现有保护区的保护力度。这些地区的管理措施应该包括:在海滨、登山和滑雪等度假区配备先进设备,向游客解释生态保护知识;进一步将当地生物多样性的特点发展成为旅游业的一大卖点;在生物保护区等地区将文化和自然要素相结合,以妥善经营的“生态旅游”方式向游客推出;积极推广优质传统农产品和手工艺品。如果能把地中海地区的旅游业和生物多样性合理地结合起来,这将成为该地区的一笔巨大资产。

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