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1、Mapping the Impact of Blue Tourism in the Mediterranean:Vulnerability Assessment of Coastal and Marine EcosystemsMapping the Impact of Blue Tourism in the Mediterranean:Vulnerability Assessment of Coastal and Marine DestinationsThis report was prepared for IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation(I

2、UCN-Med)by the European Topic Centre for Spatial Analysis and Synthesis University of Malaga(ETC-UMA).Main authorsChristoph Schrder,Antonio Snchez(ETC-UMA)CoordinatorArnau Teixidor Costa(IUCN-Med)ReviewersGiulia Costa i Domingo,Rosario Galn Cordero,LucaPrieto Fustes(IUCN-Med)ContributorsGiulia Bales

3、tracci(eco-union),Marie-Alize Kuhn(IUCNMed),Pilar Marn(IUCN-Med),AlbertoMartn(IUCN-Med),Catherine Numa(IUCN-Med),AngeloSciacca(IDDRI)Layout Alain ChevallierDateSeptember 2024Cover photoSeadam/DreamstimeRecommended citationIUCN&ETC-UMA.(2024).Mapping Blue Tourism:Vulnerability Assessment of Mediterra

4、nean Coastal and Marine Ecosystems.BlueTourism Initiative.www.BlueTourismInitiative.orgThe IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation worksto bridge gaps between science,policy,management and action in order to conserve nature and accelerate the transition towards sustainable development in the Medit

5、erranean.The European Topic Centre on Spatial Analysis andSynthesis(ETC-UMA)is an international research centre within the University of Malaga supporting since2011 the development of knowledge to feed evidence-based policy.MEET Network(Marie Mathilde)1 Mapping Blue Tourism:Vulnerability Assessment

6、of Mediterranean Coastal and Marine EcosystemsThis publication was produced with the financial support of the French Facility for Global Environment(FFEM)and the France-IUCN Partnership.The contents of this report and its annexes do not reflect the official opinion of the FFEM and the France-IUCN Pa

7、rtnership.Responsibility for the informa-tion and views expressed therein lies entirely with the authors.No particular commercial entity,service or product that may be involved in,or be a result of the Blue Tourism Initiative,is endorsed by public or non-profit project partners.This report builds on

8、 the report published under the Interreg MED Programme DestiMED PLUS project,developed by ETC-UMA for IUCN-Med and CPMR,Protected Areas Vulnerability to Tourism Pressure Map.GIS data on Posidonia has been provided by:Golder,University of Corsica,French Biodiversity Office,Mediterranean Posidonia Net

9、work.Reproduction of this publication for educational or other non-commercial purposes is authorised without prior written permission from the copyright holder provided the source is fully acknowledged.Reproduction of this publication for resale or other commercial purposes is prohibited without pri

10、or written permission of the copyright holder.This report has received support fromThe Blue Tourism Initiative project partnersThe IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation receives support fromThe Blue Tourism Initiative is supported by MEET Network(Green Traveller)Mapping the Impact of Blue Touris

11、m in the Mediterranean:Vulnerability Assessment of Coastal and Marine Ecosystems2 3 About the Blue Tourism InitiativeThe Blue Tourism Initiative is a global multi-stakeholder innovation program focused on the environmental management,governance,and planning of coastal and maritime tourism in three m

12、arine regions:the Mediterranean,the Western Indian Ocean and the Caribbean.The project supports the participatory development of sustainable blue tourism initiatives through policy actions and a multi-stakeholder approach to inform the scalability of sustainable blue tourism in other regions.The obj

13、ectives of the Blue Tourism Initiative are to:1.Assess the blue tourisms current global and regional situation,focusing on challenges and opportunities,and recommend directions for sustainable blue tourism development.2.Support and monitor the implementation of sustainable blue tourism initiatives i

14、n the Mediterranean,Western Indian Ocean,and the Caribbean.3.Integrate sustainable blue tourism management and governance at the regional policy level,share best practices,and raise awareness among key local,national,and regional stakeholders.The Blue Tourism Initiative is implemented by the Institu

15、te for Sustainable Development and International Relations(IDDRI)and think-and-do tank Eco-Union(lead partners);the International Union for Conservation of Nature Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation(IUCN-Med)in the Mediterranean;Coastal Oceans Research and Development in the Indian Ocean(CORDIO Eas

16、t Africa)in the Western Indian Ocean and the Caribbean Natural Resources Institute(CANARI)in the Caribbean.The initiative is co-funded by the French Global Environmental Facility(FFEM).Mapping the Impact of Blue Tourism in the Mediterranean:Vulnerability Assessment of Coastal and Marine Ecosystems4

17、SummaryMapping the vulnerability of Mediterranean areas to tourism can help identify where to improve the management and protection of nature.The Mediterranean is both a global biodiversity hotspot and one of the worlds most popular tourism destinations.While tourism relies on a clean and attractive

18、 environment,it can pose significant threats to nature.Ensuring a sustainable tourism sector is therefore vital for healthy Mediterranean ecosystems that can support the livelihoods and wellbeing of communities that depend on them.Protected and conserved areas,when effectively managed,are a key tool

19、 to safe-guarding nature in areas that are under increasing pressure from tourism.Understanding which areas in the Mediterra-nean are most vulnerable to tourism can help identify priority areas for strengthened management and protection in line with the global target to effectively protect 30%of coa

20、stal and marine areas by 2030,and increase ocean resilience.This report provides a spatial assessment of the vulnera-bility of the Mediterranean region to tourism activities linked to coastal and marine areas(i.e.blue tourism)pre and post COVID-19,including:1.Cumulative impacts of blue tourism on se

21、nsitive Medi-terranean ecosystems.2.Impacts of leisure boat activity on the seagrass species Posidonia oceanica.3.Impacts of marine traffic on cetaceans(whales,dolphins,porpoises)in the Pelagos Sanctuary.Areas of high vulnerability were identified by finding over-laps between areas under pressure fr

22、om tourism,important areas for biodiversity and protected areas.Vulnerable areas are those that are important to biodiversity,exposed to high tourism pressures and not protected.Vulnerability to blue tourism in the Mediterranean is driven by high cumulative pressures in some regions,and by a low pro

23、tection of ecologically sensitive areas in others.The European Western Mediterranean is experiencing high levels of cumulative tourism pressures both on land and at sea,due to factors like the amount of built-up area,the number of arrivals,the tourism demand,the number of golf courses,the cruise tra

24、ffic or the marina port moorings.Pressures from tourism are higher on land in the Northern Adriatic and Italian AdriaticSeaLevantine SeaTunisian Plateau/Gulf of SidraWestern MediterraneanAlboran SeaIonian SeaAegean Sea05001000 KmSource:ETC-UMA,2023;Marine Ecoregions,Spalding et al.,2007ETRS 1989 LAE

25、A ETC-UMAEcological vulnerability to tourism by NUTS3 or equivalent region in 2022Ecological vulnerabilityArea influenced by lack of dataMarine EcoregionsVery lowLowModerateHighVery highAbstract:Vulnerability is calculated based on the percentage of Key Biodiversity Areas(KBAs)and the cumulativetour

26、ism pressure in each region.Percentage of KBAs not protected,with respect to the region,are classified into fivegroups,from very low to very high,according to the following thresholds:lower than 10%,10 to 17%,17 to 30%,30 to50%and higher than 50%.Theses classes and those of cumulative pressure are c

27、ombined into a weighted sum andthen reclassified in five vulnerability categories.!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(

28、!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(

29、!(!(#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*

30、#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*AdriaticSeaLevantine SeaTunisian Plate

31、au/Gulf of SidraWestern MediterraneanAlboran SeaIonian SeaAegean Sea05001000 KmSource:ETC-UMA,2023;Marine Ecoregions,Spalding et al.,2007ETRS 1989 LAEA ETC-UMAEcological vulnerability to tourism in Mediterranean Sea waters in 2022Marine EcoregionsProtectedNot protectedProtected areas not IABEcologic

32、al vulnerability hotspotsImportant Areas for Biodiversity(IABs)Abstract:Vulnerability is calculated based on the coverage of protected areas(PAs)and Important Areas forBiodiversity(IABs)and the cumulative tourism pressure in the Mediterranean Sea waters.PAs and IABs coverage isreclassified in scores

33、,1 and 2 respectively.These classes and those of cumulative pressure are combined in andreclassified into vulnerability classes according to a vulnerability matrix.IABs include:Key Biodiversity Areas(KBAs),Important Shark and Ray Areas(ISRAs),Important Marine MammalAreas(IMMAs),Critical areas for th

34、e orca population of the Gibraltar Strait and Gulf of Cdiz,Biosphere Reserve,Cetaceans Critical Habitat,Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Areas(EBSAs),Particularly Sensitive SeaAreas(PSSAs),Proposed Sites of Community Importance,and World Heritage Sites.Very highHighModerateLow#*Protec

35、ted area!(Not protected arearegions around Lazio,while in the Southern Aegean and Cyprus pressures are mainly marine.Outside Europe,Tunisia stands out as having high pressure from tourism on land.Some areas exposed to high tourism pressure coincide with unprotected ecologically sensitive areas,makin

36、g them particularly vulnerable.On land,highly vulnerable areas can be found on both ends of the Mediterranean from the Spanish regions of Cdiz and Mlaga to the Turkish regions of Antalya and Hatay.Other vulnerable areas are also found in Girona and Menorca(Spain),in the Annaba Province(Algeria)and i

37、n the Trieste province(Italy).Some European Union(EU)countries have high vulnera-bility despite their relatively high levels of protection due to high tourism pressure.Conversely,the high vulnerability in some non-EU Eastern and Southern Mediterranean coun-tries that are(for now)exposed to lower lev

38、els of tourism,is explained by a lower share of ecologically vulnerable areas under protection.Trkiyes coastline is notably vulnerable to tourism likely due to the relatively low number of protected areas in the countrys coastal areas.At sea,hotspots of high vulnerability can be found along the Span

39、ish Alboran Sea,Western Mediterranean and Aegean Sea.Some highly vulnerable areas overlap with protected areas in the French and Italian coastal areas in the Ligurian Sea,or the Patara Special Environmental Protection Area of Trkiye.Most of the remaining vulnerability hotspots fall outside protected

40、 areas.The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on Mediterranean tourism vary across regions.However,the sector shows clear signs of recovery and intentions to keep growing beyond pre-pandemic levels.MEET Network(Rossella Ongaretto)Summary5 The following general conclusions and recommendations can be dr

41、awn from this mapping analysis:Conservation actions at the local and regional level should be informed by the identification of hotspots for vulnerability of key habitats and tourism pressures.EU countries should work towards reducing pressures and managing impacts from tourism.Non-EU countries shou

42、ld increase the protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures(OECMs)to ensure important biodiversity areas are effec-tively managed ahead of tourism developments.Consistent and harmonised tourism data should be made more available at the Mediterranean level,including non-tradi

43、tional(e.g.vacational)rental markets.Specific measures are needed to:Reduce leisure boat traffic on seagrass meadows and ensure appropriate anchoring practices,inside and outside protected areas.Protect cetaceans from ship collisions within the particularly sensitive area in the North-Western Medite

44、r-ranean,including voluntary speed reductions,increased reporting,improved information on whale aggregations for seafarers and traffic restrictions.Posidonia oceanica meadows are under increasing pressure from leisure boat activity Posidonia oceanica is a seagrass species,unique to the Medi-terranea

45、n,which delivers important ecological and societal benefits including providing habitat,sequestering carbon and protecting coastlines.Despite their value,Posidonia oceanica meadows are threatened by several pressures including anchoring from leisure boats linked to tourism.Overall,Posi-donia oceanic

46、a meadows are exposed to higher leisure boat traffic than the rest of territorial waters.Leisure boat traffic is highest in summer and has been on the rise since 2017 with a marked increase after the pandemic.Posidonia oceanica within protected areas are exposed to higher traffic.However,in EU count

47、ries,traffic levels in protected and unprotected areas are similar in summer,and higher in unprotected areas in winter.Collisions with tourism-related vessels threaten whale species in the Northwest MediterraneanThe area around the Pelagos Sanctuary in the Northwest Mediterranean is important for en

48、dangered cetaceans,hosting 70%and 50%of the Mediterraneans fin and sperm whales respectively.The area is also covered by a web of busy shipping routes,sometimes crossing protected areas,which are mainly linked to key tourism destinations.Collisions with vessels often result in the death of whales.Mo

49、reover,marine traffic can disrupt cetaceans communication and pollute their habitats.Most ship strikes with cetaceans in the Pelagos Sanctuary area have been recorded from the 1980s to 2000s with a peak of 38 records in the decade of the 2000s.In the 2010s,records dropped to around 11 strikes per ye

50、ar.DreamstimeMapping the Impact of Blue Tourism in the Mediterranean:Vulnerability Assessment of Coastal and Marine Ecosystems6 Summary 4Index 6List of figures,tables,and photos 7Acronyms 81.Introduction 92.Assessment questions 103.Methodology 113.1.Overall approach 113.2.Selection and definition of

51、 drivers and indicators 113.3.Data review and collection 123.3.1.General approach used for mapping and data integration 123.3.2.Data review 123.3.3.Data collection 133.4.Indicator calculation 133.4.1.Ready to use indicators 133.4.2.Tourism offer and demand indicators by NUTS3 and km2 133.4.3.Marinas

52、 and recreational shipping,number of moorings 143.4.4.Density of golf courses(per NUTS3)143.4.5.Built-up areas in the coastal buffer 143.5.Combined pressure 153.5.1.Land cumulative tourism pressure indicator 153.5.2.Sea cumulative tourism pressure indicator 153.6.Important areas for biodiversity and

53、 protected areas layers 163.7.Vulnerability analysis 163.7.1.Land vulnerability analysis 163.7.2.Sea vulnerability analysis 164.Results 174.1.Individual tourism pressure maps 174.1.1.Tourism offer 174.1.2.Tourism demand 184.1.3.Tourism activities 214.1.4.Tourism induced pressures 224.2.Cumulative to

54、urism pressure map 224.2.1.Terrestrial cumulative tourism pressure map 224.2.2.Marine cumulative tourism pressure map 244.3.Mediterranean coastal and marine tourism vulnerability map 254.3.1.Ecological vulnerability to coastal tourism pressure 254.3.2.Marine vulnerability map 284.4.Specific assessme

55、nts on the ecological vulnerability of Mediterranean coastal andmarine tourism 304.4.1.Vulnerability of Posidonia oceanica 304.4.2.Vulnerability of marine megafauna 354.4.3.Pre-COVID/Post-COVID patterns of tourism-related pressures 375.Conclusions&recommendations 416.References 437.Appendices 447.1.

56、Data list 447.2.Indicator cards 49Indicator cards template 497.3.Large driver and pressure maps 57IndexList of figures,tables,and photos7 List of figures,tables,and photosFigure 1.Methodological approach 11Figure 2.Estimated number of establishments per km2 17Figure 3.Estimated number of bed-places

57、per km2 18Figure 4.Density of golf courses as a percentage of totalsurfacearea 19Figure 5.Estimated nights spent at tourist accommodationperkm2 19Figure 6.Estimated arrivals at tourist accommodation per km2 20Figure 7.Number of cruise passengers per port 20Figure 8.Marina port capacity in moorings p

58、er km of coastline 21Figure 9.Density of leisure boat activity in hours per km2 22Figure 10.Percentage of coastal built-up area 23Figure 11.Cumulative tourism pressure by NUTS3 or equivalent administrative units 23Figure 12.Cumulative tourism pressure in Mediterranean Sea waters 24Figure 13.Ecologic

59、al vulnerability to tourism(terrestrial)25Figure 14.Cumulative mean pressure values versus vulnerability score per country 27Figure 15.Share of protected and non-protected Key Biodiversity Areas per country 28Figure 16.Ecological vulnerability to tourism in Mediterranean Sea waters 29Figure 17.Trend

60、 of total pleasure craft traffic in the Mediterranean Sea from 2017-2022 30Figure 18.Annual trend of total pleasure craft traffic in the Mediterranean Sea:(a)Winter,(b)Spring,(c)Summer 2022 31Figure 19.Trend of total pleasure craft traffic within protected and non-protected Posidonia meadows (2017-2

61、022)32Figure 20.Trend of total pleasure craft traffic within protected and non-protected Posidonia meadows in the EU(2017-2022)33Figure 21.Trend of total pleasure craft traffic in hours/year per country(2017-2022)33Figure 22.Summer fin whale density vs.summer traffic intensity 36Figure 23.Summer fin

62、 whale density,risk collision zones and recorded collisions 36Figure 24.Change in the number of tourism establishments(2019-2022)37Figure 25.Change in the number of bed places(2019-2022)38Figure 26.Change in the number of arrivals(2019-2022)39Figure 27.Change in the number of nights spent in tourist

63、 accommodation establishments(2019-2022)39Figure 28.Change in cruise passengers per port(2019-2022)40List of tablesTable 1.List of tourism-related drivers and indicators identifiedfor the analysis 12Table 2.High pressure regions(cumulative tourism pressure)22Table 3.Major tourism pressure in regions

64、 with very high levelsof vulnerability 26Table 4.Traffic relative to marine area(hours/km2)34List of photosPhoto 1.Tourists in Paseo Martimo de Pedregalejo in Mlaga,Spain 9Photo 2.Tourists on a leisure boat near Lastovo Island,Croatia 14Photo 3.Marina in the Pontine Archipelago,Italy 15Photo 4.Beach

65、 on Karpathos Island,Greece 16Photo 5.Catamaran in Mediterranean 21Photo 6.“La Fontanilla”beach in Marbella,Spain 25Photo 7.Mediterranean beach with Posidonia seagrass 30Photo 8.Sailing near Kornati Islands,Croatia 35Photo 9.Snorkelling near Loinj Island,Croatia 41List of figuresMapping the Impact o

66、f Blue Tourism in the Mediterranean:Vulnerability Assessment of Coastal and Marine Ecosystems8 AcronymsACCOBAMS Agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans of the Black Sea,Mediterranean Sea and Contiguous Atlantic AreaEBSA Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine AreaEEA European Environment

67、AgencyEMODNet European Marine Observation and Data NetworkETRS European Terrestrial Reference SystemEUROSTAT Statistical office of the European UnionGADM Database of Global Administrative AreasGIS Geographic Information SystemGISCO Geographic Information System of the COmmissionIAB Important Area fo

68、r BiodiversityIMMA Important Marine Mammal AreaISRA Important Shark and Ray AreaIUCN International Union for the Conservation of NatureIWC International Whaling CommissionKBA Key Biodiversity AreaLAEA Lambert Azimuthal Equal AreaMENA Middle East and North AfricaMEOW Marine Ecoregions of the World MP

69、A Marine Protected AreaMSFD EU Marine Strategy Framework DirectiveNUTS(2/3)Nomenclature of territorial units for statistics(level 2 and 3)OSM OpenStreetMapPA Protected areaPSSA Particularly Sensitive Sea AreaUNWTO United Nations World Tourism OrganisationWDPA World Database on Protected Areas1.Intro

70、duction9 1.IntroductionMore than any other sector,tourism is responsible for the movement of people across the globe.Tourism is also one of the worlds largest and fastest-growing economic sectors,responsible for 9%of the global gross domestic product(GDP)and for the creation of 1 in 11 jobs worldwid

71、e(WTTC,2024).Tourism is of major importance to European econo-mies,but a damaged environment could undermine tourism in the future,since tourism needs a clean and attractive envi-ronment.Hence,the relevance of tourism is not only limited to its economic impact,but it also has important effects on th

72、e social and environmental sphere.This is particularly true for marine and coastal tourism,and especially in the Mediterranean.As widely known,the Medi-terranean region is one of the major global biodiversity and climate change hotspots and,at the same time,the worlds leading tourism destination in

73、terms of both international and domestic tourism.The constant increase in tourist arrivals,coupled with tourism-related infrastructure and activities,pose important pressures on the coastal and marine environ-ment and livelihoods,even after the tourism crisis resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.The

74、 effective management of existing protected areas and the protection of non-protected ecologically sensitive areas are key aspects to mitigating pressures on the environment and ensuring sustainable pathways for both ecosystems and human livelihoods.This is particularly true for Blue Tourism,i.e.coa

75、stal and marine tourism,which is very concentrated in space and time.Coastal tourism refers to beach-based tourism and recreational activities,including swimming,sunbathing,and surfing,alongside other activities taking place on the coast and for which the proximity of the sea is advantageous,such as

76、 coastal walks or wildlife watching.Meanwhile,mari-time tourism refers to predominantly water-based activities,such as sailing,yachting,cruising and other nautical sports(Tonazzini et al.,2019;Balestracci&Sciacca,2023).In this context,the Blue Tourism Initiative(2023-2026)promotes a holistic vision

77、of maritime and coastal manage-ment in line with worldwide efforts to deliver the 2030 Agenda and with the target to protect 30%of the Earths land and sea surface by 2030 established under the Global Biodiversity Framework1.The initiative supports exchanges of knowledge,good practices,projects and e

78、xperiences between three major marine regions sharing similar challenges related to coastal and maritime tourism:the Mediterranean,the Western Indian Ocean and the Caribbean.It aims to improve the governance of coastal and marine tourism to ensure sustainable,inclusive,and resilient development,and

79、address the associated envi-ronmental,health,socio-cultural and economic challenges.Within the Blue Tourism Initiative,the IUCN Centre for Medi-terranean Cooperation(IUCN-Med),with support from IDDRI and eco-union,will support evidence-based policymaking in 1 The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity

80、 Framework(GBF)was adopted by the Convention on Biological Diversity during its fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties.This framework supports the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and sets out an ambitious pathway to reach the global vision of a world living in harmony wi

81、th nature by 2050.Photo 1.Tourists in Paseo Martimo de Pedregalejo in Mlaga,Spain Turismo Costa del SolMapping the Impact of Blue Tourism in the Mediterranean:Vulnerability Assessment of Coastal and Marine Ecosystems10 the Mediterranean region,especially in the framework of the Barcelona Convention

82、and other cooperation programmes such as Interreg Euro-MED,Interreg NEXT MED,WestMed,etc.Additionally,IUCN-Med will lead the implementation of three pilot initiatives in Morocco,Tunisia,and Lebanon.The present report supports the activities that are being developed under the Blue Tourism Initiative

83、by providing a spatial assessment of the vulnerability of the Mediterraneans coastal areas to pressures stemming from blue tourism,with a specific focus on the role of protected areas in mitigating these pressures.This was done by analysing the overlap of tourism pressures and the biodiversity prote

84、ction in place.The scope of the study was to conceptualise and design a so-called“Mediterranean Coastal and Marine Tourism Vulnerability Map”and to provide recommendations for improvement.The results of the study show spatially explicit patterns of tourism pressures at different levels of detail(fro

85、m NUTS2 to 1 km grid)and provide a first version of the Mediterranean Coastal and Marine Tourism Vulnerability Map.This mapping exercise highlights the interplay between tourism pressure and biodiversity sensitivity and protection.It evidences areas in the Pan-Mediterranean region where mitigation o

86、f tourism pressures is of high importance to reduce vulnerabilities and improve ocean resilience.The report first summarises the assessment questions that guided the study and provides a methodological overview,including a description of the data and methods used for the processing of indicators.The

87、 second part of the report anal-yses and assesses the results of single and combined tourism pressures at the Mediterranean level.2.Assessment questionsThis study was guided by a set of main assessment questions from a general perspective of the cumulative tourism pres-sures on ecologically sensitiv

88、e areas,to more targeted anal-yses of the interplay of specific pressures and ecosystems or species.To analyse the terrestrial and marine ecological vulner-ability in the Mediterranean,we focused on the following question:How do cumulative tourism pressures affect protected areas and important areas

89、 for biodiversity?For more targeted assessments,we focused on specific species and tourism pressures:How do tourism activities,offer or demand,affect specific species,spatially and temporarily?Recreational boat traffic versus Posidonia oceanica.Marine traffic versus marine megafauna in the Pelagos S

90、anctuary.Finally,we looked at the different levels of tourism pres-sure before and after the COVID-19 pandemic comparing the changes in the levels of tourism pressure indicators between 2019 and 2022.3.Methodology11 3.Methodology3.1.Overall approachThe approach followed in this study used geospatial

91、 data and spatial analysis techniques to highlight pressures arising from tourism,overlay them with Important Areas for Biodiversity2(IABs)and assess different degrees of vulnerabilities both inside and outside Marine Protected Areas(MPAs).The basic idea of this approach is to analyse and assess in

92、a spatially explicit way where high intensities and densities of tourism activities overlap with marine protected areas and where sensitive coastal and marine environments are exposed to high degrees of threats.Figure 1 shows a schematic overview of the studys meth-odological approach.The individual

93、 tourism pressure indica-tors were combined to produce a combined tourism pressure map.This was overlaid with a spatial layer of IABs to identify the vulnerabilities at both the basin and pilot region level.This 2 For this assessment,IABs include the following designations:Key Biodiversity Areas(KBA

94、s),Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Areas(EBSAs),Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas(PSSAs),Proposed Sites of Community Importance,World Heritage Sites,Important Shark and Ray Areas(ISRAs),Important Marine Mammal Areas(IMMAs),Critical areas for the orca population of the Gibraltar Strait

95、 and Gulf of Cadiz,Biosphere Reserves and Cetaceans Critical Habitat.spatially explicit approach allows for the analysis and assess-ment of vulnerabilities at the local scale or at the level of the whole Mediterranean.The following section provides further details on the methodological approach.3.2.

96、Selection and definition of drivers and indicatorsThe drivers and indicators considered as the most relevant for tourism activity in the Mediterranean were mainly identified based on previous work(Abdul Malak et al.,2015),which were valid for this study and could be improved and updated thanks to th

97、e availability of more current,higher quality data.Addi-tional indicators were identified based on new data sources identified through a review of scientific literature on the topic and frequently used data portals(e.g.EUROSTAT,EMODnet,EEA).Eleven indicators,grouped into four driver categories,were

98、selected for final analysis according to their feasibility of calculation(Table 1).Bed places Marina ports Combined tourism pressure mapIndividual tourism pressureImportant areas for biodiversity(PAs,OECMS,KBAs,etc.)Mediterraneantourism vulnerabilitymapGolf coursesTourism arrivalsNights spent Figure

99、 1.Methodological approachMapping the Impact of Blue Tourism in the Mediterranean:Vulnerability Assessment of Coastal and Marine Ecosystems12 3.3.Data review and collectionThe main criteria for including the defined indicators in the analysis were the availability and quality of data.After the defin

100、ition of the indicators,a comprehensive data review was undertaken to ensure the data availability,data quality and fitness for the purpose of the proposed data sources.The required datasets needed to match the following criteria:Spatial coverage(at least full coverage of one of the regional seas).T

101、emporal coverage(i.e.,data available for 2019 and 2022,or as updated as possible in cases with high data scarcity).Spatial explicitness(i.e.,data linked to a data point,grid cell or small administrative unit,not country statistics).The selected driver and tourism indicators were used to structure th

102、e data collection.Data for each indicator were collected,storing a wide range of attributes for each single dataset,including format(raster,vector,table data),resolu-tion,temporal and spatial coverage,data source,availability,gaps and limitations.In addition to these,data related to areas of ecologi

103、cal interest,protected areas,both terrestrial and marine,and Key Biodiversity Areas(KBAs)3,were obtained for the vulnerability analysis.3 Key Biodiversity Areas(KBAs)are sites of global importance to the planets overall health and the persistence of biodiversity in terrestrial,freshwater and marine

104、ecosystems.https:/www.keybiodiversityareas.org/3.3.1.General approach used for mapping and data integrationIn terms of data coverage,the first step was to clearly define the area of interest for the analysis,including the delimitation of coastal areas to be considered.For the assessment,it was agree

105、d to focus on purely coastal regions(NUTS2 or NUTS3 depending on the case and data availability),that is,those that have territory facing the sea within the Mediterranean region,according to the delimitation of the EU Marine Strategy Frame-work Directive(MSFD).The map template was produced to cover

106、the study area and the whole Mediterranean region in an A4 sheet.The templates use a scale of 1:15,000,000 and the European Terres-trial Reference System(ETRS)1989 Lambert Azimuthal Equal Area(LAEA)projection as the standard reference,providing a square shape that maximises the size of the study are

107、as on the maps.As base information,the template uses the Geographic Information System of the COmmission(GISCO)statistical unit at 1:10,000,000,being the most suitable to the scale of the map,and the Mediterranean ecoregions defined by Spalding et al.(2007).Non-EU countries administrative subdivisio

108、ns were based on the Database of Global Administrative Areas(GADM).Equivalent regions to NUTS2 and NUTS3 level were integrated into the mapping template.The template also includes the standard mapping elements(i.e.,legend,north arrow,scale bar)as well as the reference to the source data and a descri

109、ption of the illustrated indicator.Indicators based on statistics at NUTS 2 and 3 level were integrated into the GISCO and GADM layers.For the calcula-tion of geometries(areas,coastline length,etc.),the version with the highest available resolution(1:1,000,000)was used to obtain the best spatial acc

110、uracy.No data areas were identified with the value 999,999,999 to distinguish them from 0 in those cases where this was the real value of the data.EUROSTAT identifies them with the symbol;which cannot be used on numeric fields in the GIS layers.Spatially-explicit indicators produced as raster datase

111、ts were processed at 1 km resolution and snapped to a grid at 1km x 1km resolution.This grid is an extension of the reference grid developed for the whole of Europe by the EEA.The grid is used to record land and sea attributes for each grid cell(human activities,pressures,observations,etc.),as well

112、as information related to the species and habitats found at that location.The data for each cell can then be aggregated for reporting purposes,and pressure analysis generated for any larger spatial unit.In this way,spatially explicit analyses can be generated and the input data underlying these anal

113、yses can be traced back.This was done with the aim of producing spatially compatible data with other datasets,such as those generated by Rodrguez et al.(2015)for the Mediterranean Sea and to ensure spatial continuity to the assessment in the future.The final coordinate system for all data is ETRS 19

114、89 LAEA(EPSG:3035),following the EEA standards.It also fits the technical requirements,as a coordinate system projected in meters instead of degrees is needed to calculate some of the indicators.A full list of the final maps developed during the assess-ment and their description is available in appe

115、ndix 7.3.3.3.2.Data reviewThe data review is based on a comprehensive evaluation process that considers the thematic content of the data,their Table 1.List of tourism-related drivers and indicators identified for the analysisDriverIndicatorTourism offerNumber of bed-places in coastal areas(per NUTS2

116、,NUTS3 and km2)Number of tourism establishments in coastal areas(per NUTS2,NUTS3 and km2)Number of tourism interest sites(accommodation and attractions)(per 1 km pixel)Density of golf courses(per NUTS3)Tourism demandNumber of nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments in coastal areas(per

117、NUTS2,NUTS3 and km2)Number of cruise passengers per portNumber of arrivals(per NUTS2,NUTS3 and km2)Tourism activitiesMarina port capacity(per NUTS3 and km of coast)Density of sailing vessels and pleasure crafts(per 1 km pixel)Density of passenger vessels(per 1 km pixel)Tourism-induced pressuresBuilt

118、-up areas in the coastal buffer(per NUTS3 in the 1 km coastal belt)3.Methodology13 limitations and their relevance.Technical reports and reporting data from national and regional policies and regulations were considered.The data content and its relevance were evaluated across several dimensions:them

119、atic relevance(drivers and pressures covered),format(raster,vector,tabular,etc.),reso-lution and scale(administrative units,grid,point data etc.),reference data used to produce the dataset,etc.The method-ology used to produce the data as well as the uncertainty were considered.Other criteria conside

120、red included whether the data belonged to a reliable source,whether they underwent a validation process or whether they had been used in other relevant studies.Links to policies or reporting obligations were also considered.Data on tourism offer,demand and activities are quite limited in the Mediter

121、ranean region.Available data mainly includes the databases available from EUROSTAT,followed by some EMODnet and EEA indicators,and OpenStreetMap(OSM)data.These data did not allow an analysis of the entire Mediterranean region since its coverage was limited to the European Union and collaborating cou

122、ntries.Data for the rest of the countries and regions were provided by IUCN-Med based on United Nations World Tourism Organisation(UNWTO)databases.Identified sources mostly contain data aggregated by NUTS2 or NUTS3 regions,which require a disaggregation process to obtain spatially explicit tourism i

123、ndicators.3.3.3.Data collectionThe final data collected for the analysis include:Official datasets and statistics from EUROSTAT:GISCO statistical unit dataset containing NUTS regions and territorial land boundaries.GISCO transport network dataset containing port loca-tion.Number of establishments,be

124、drooms and bed-places by NUTS 2 regions(tour_cap_nuts2c).Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments by NUTS 2 regions(tour_occ_nin2c).Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments by NUTS 2 regions(tour_occ_arn2).Passengers embarked and disembarked in all ports by direction-annual data(

125、mar_pa_aa).European Commission datasets:Density of maritime traffic of passenger vessels,sailing vessels and pleasure crafts,produced by EMODnet.Global datasets:GADM,the Database of Global Administrative Areas,providing spatial data for non-EU countries administrative subdivisions.Distribution of to

126、urist attractions and accommodation sites available in OSM(December 2023).Distribution of golf courses available in OSM(December 2023).Copernicus Global Land Cover,including the distribution of urban areas and other land uses/land cover classes.Provided by Copernicus Land Monitoring Service.Distribu

127、tion of protected areas from the World Database on Protected Areas(WDPA),produced by UNEP-WCMC and IUCN.Distribution of protected areas from MAPAMED,the data-base of Marine Protected Areas in the Mediterranean,produced by SPA/RAC and MedPAN.Key Biodiversity Areas(KBAs),provided by Birdlife Inter-nat

128、ional.Distribution of Important Marine Mammal Areas(IMMAs)and Important Shark and Ray Areas(ISRAs),provided by IUCN-Med.Critical areas for the orca population of the Gibraltar Strait and Gulf of Cadiz,produced by the Spanish Ministry of Environment.Marine Ecoregions of the World(MEOW),provided by WW

129、F.Mixed sources:Location of marinas and number of moorings,based on georeferencing and data from P,2024;Plan Bleu,2014;Spanish Federation of Associations of Recreational Marinas,2014;EEA,2014.Produced by ETC-UMA.Databases on tourism offer and demand,including accommodation supply,average length of s

130、tay,domestic tourism,employment,expenditure and income,and arrivals.Produced by UNWTO and provided by IUCN-Med.MedCruise Statistics 2022,MedCruise 2023.3.4.Indicator calculation3.4.1.Ready to use indicatorsReady to use indicators are based on existing datasets that describe the tourism pressure them

131、selves.In these cases,the only processing required was the harmonisation of the spatial data to adjust it to the study area coverage and to ensure the scale and projection matched the one used in the assess-ment.Therefore,it was not necessary to modify the original data,simply integrate and represen

132、t them in the mapping template.If a region had no data for the reference year(2019 and 2022),the most recent available date was used.These ready to use indicators are:Number of bed-places in coastal areas(per NUTS2)Number of tourism establishments in coastal areas(per NUTS2)Number of arrivals(per NU

133、TS2)Number of nights spent at tourist accommodation estab-lishments in coastal areas(per NUTS2)Number of cruise passengers per portDensity of sailing vessels and pleasure crafts(per 1 km pixel)Density of passenger vessels(per 1 km pixel)3.4.2.Tourism offer and demand indicators by NUTS3 and km2Indic

134、ators on density of tourism offer and demand include:Number of tourism interest sites(accommodation and attractions)(per 1 km pixel)Number of bed-places in coastal areas(per NUTS3 and km2)Number of tourism establishments in coastal areas(per NUTS3 and km2)Number of nights spent at tourist accommodat

135、ion estab-lishments in coastal areas(per NUTS3 and km2)Number of arrivals(per NUTS3 and km2)Mapping the Impact of Blue Tourism in the Mediterranean:Vulnerability Assessment of Coastal and Marine Ecosystems14 These indicators are based on statistics on bed-places,tourism establishments,nights spent a

136、t tourist accommoda-tion establishments and number of arrivals and the distribu-tion of tourism interest sites available in OSM.OSM data include coordinates with the location of accom-modation places and tourist attractions.These coordinates were aggregated and counted at 1 km2 using the EEA refer-e

137、nce grid to calculate the number of sites and the percentage of sites with respect to the total of the NUTS3 or equivalent regions in each pixel.Total number of accommodation and attractions were used to produce an indicator on the distribution of tourism interest sites,highlighting those locations

138、with a high concen-tration of points of interest for tourists.The percentage of sites per 1 km pixel was used to disag-gregate NUTS2(EUROSTAT data)and country level(UNWTO data)tourism offer and demand statistics at 1 km2,and then aggregated at NUTS3 to provide statistical estimates at this administr

139、ative level assuming that most bed-places and establishments,nights and tourist arrivals are in areas with high tourism sites density.The results of these estimates were divided by the total area(km2)of each region for a compara-tive value according to their sizes.If some region had no data for the

140、reference year(2022),the most recent available date was used.Data on the number of establishments and bed-places were not available for regions of Albania,Libya and Trkiye.Therefore,they were estimated from OSM accommodation sites data(number of establishments)and the average of bed-places per estab

141、lishment in the Mediterranean region(number of bed-places).These regions were highlighted on the maps as areas influenced by lack of data,where the esti-mates could have a greater margin of error.3.4.3.Marinas and recreational shipping,number of mooringsThis indicator represents the number of moorin

142、gs in marina ports per kilometre of coastline for each NUTS3 or equiv-alent region(e.g.province).The total number of moorings was obtained from the data compiled by ETC-UMA on the location and capacity of the marinas,assigning each port its corresponding NUTS3 code and counting the total number of m

143、oorings.This value was divided by the length of the regions coastline in km.Results show low to high intensive capacity for this activity by region.3.4.4.Density of golf courses(per NUTS3)This indicator represents the surface percentage occupied by golf courses in NUTS3 or equivalent regions as a pr

144、oxy of the potential environmental pressure of this activity.Total extent per region was calculated using OSM data including the loca-tion and delimitation of golf courses.This spatial information was overlaid with the administrative regions to assign the corre-sponding NUTS3 code to golf areas.The

145、indicator was then calculated by summing the coverage dedicated to golf within each region and dividing it by the total area,thus obtaining the percentage of golf courses in each NUTS3 or equivalent region.3.4.5.Built-up areas in the coastal bufferThis indicator represents the percentage of built-up

146、 area in the first 1km of the coastal strip of the Mediterranean region per NUTS3 or equivalent region.Calculations are based on the distribution of urban areas in Copernicus Global Land Cover,year 2019,using a pixel count at 100 m and a buffer of 1 km from the coastline.The indicator was calculated

147、 by adding the total urban area within each region and dividing it by the total area of the regional 1 km coastal buffer,thus obtaining the percentage of built-up area in each case.Photo 2.Tourists on a leisure boat near Lastovo Island,Croatia MEET Network(Naomi Cresswelol)3.Methodology15 3.5.Combin

148、ed pressure3.5.1.Land cumulative tourism pressure indicatorSingle indicators were combined in a cumulative tourism pres-sure indicator to represent the added effect from different sources of pressure.It was only possible to produce this indi-cator at the NUTS3 level due to limitations in the scale o

149、f the data.This,however,offers an indicator that is easy to interpret and communicate.Indicators on built up areas,golf courses,marina port capacity,cruise passengers,tourist arrivals and tourism density,measured as number of beds and establishments,were reclassified in five categories from very low

150、 to very high according to the statistical distribution of values(based on natural breaks).These categories were represented by numbers from 1 to 5,being 1 the minimum pressure value(very low)and 5 the maximum(very high).The indicator on the number of nights was excluded due to lack of data in non-E

151、U countries.However,this indicator may be somewhat redundant with the number of arrivals,so its omission is not predicted to have a serious impact on the results.After the reclassification of values of each individual indi-cator,their combined value was calculated for each NUTS3 region by means of a

152、 weighted sum.Since no specific weights were defined for the individual indicator,the same weight was used for all of them.Therefore,the result is equal to the mean of the values.Results show the cumulative pressure by NUTS3 areas classified into five categories:Very low:0 to 1.00.Low:1.01 to 2.00.M

153、oderate:2.01 to 3.00.High:3.01 to 4.00.Very high:4.01 to 5.00.3.5.2.Sea cumulative tourism pressure indicatorIndicators on density of passenger vessels and sailing vessels and pleasure crafts were integrated with a sum to calculate the total maritime traffic per 1 km pixel.Since the data comes from

154、the same source and is expressed with the same units,this process can be done directly without any additional steps.The resulting layer was reclassified in five categories,from very low to very high,according to the traffic intensity,measured in number of hours with vessel presence in each cell.The

155、pressure categories are based on the total time accu-mulated over a year,so that the interpretation of the result is comprehensive:Very low:presence of vessels is less than 1 hour per day.Low:presence of vessels is between 1 hour per day and 4 months.Moderate:presence of vessels is between 4 and 8 m

156、onths.High:presence of vessels is between 8 months and 1 year.Very high:presence of vessels exceeds one year,being locations of very high traffic intensity with many vessels.Because maritime traffic is concentrated in areas close to the coast,especially around ports,marinas or anchorage sites,most o

157、f the Mediterranean is classified with very low pressure.The rest of the categories are reduced to a small number of pixels at specific points in the region.To improve the interpretation and visualization of the results,a layer of points was generated with the location of cells corresponding Photo 3

158、.Marina in the Pontine Archipelago,Italy MEET Network(Green Traveller)Mapping the Impact of Blue Tourism in the Mediterranean:Vulnerability Assessment of Coastal and Marine Ecosystems16 to the low,moderate,high,and very high pressure classes.The resulting point layer of pressure hotspots was consid-

159、ered the final cumulative indicator for mapping and further analysis.3.6.Important areas for biodiversity and protected areas layersImportant areas for biodiversity(IABs)are defined as those locations with recognised natural,ecological or cultural values associated with biodiversity.For this assessm

160、ent,IABs include the following designations:Key Biodiversity Areas(KBAs),Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Areas(EBSAs),Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas(PSSAs),Proposed Sites of Community Importance,World Heritage Sites,Impor-tant Shark and Ray Areas(ISRAs),Important Marine Mammal Area

161、s(IMMAs),Critical areas for the orca population of the Gibraltar Strait and Gulf of Cadiz,Biosphere Reserves and Cetaceans Critical Habitat.Protected areas(PAs)are a clearly defined geographical space,recognised,dedicated and managed,through legal or other effective means,to achieve the long-term co

162、nservation of nature with associated ecosystem services and cultural values4.Human presence,or the exploitation of natural resources,may be limited in PAs.In this assessment two sources were used to define PA surface:the World Database on Protected Areas(WDPA),for land areas,and MAPAMED,the database

163、 of Marine Protected Areas in the Mediterranean,for marine regions.This distinction is made because MAPAMED carries out an exhaustive validation of the effective levels of protection and management of PAs,which provides a more realistic vision regarding the protection of biodiversity in the Mediterr

164、anean Sea.In the case of land areas,only those PAs from the WDPA reported as Adopted,Inscribed and Desig-nated were included;that is,those that are legally estab-lished.Proposed PAs were excluded from the assessment.For mapping purposes,all geometries overlapping the study area were preserved unalte

165、red to show full coverage of the protected areas and IABs both inside and outside the Mediterranean region.For GIS analysis,data were clipped according to the reference coverage of NUTS3 regions and the Mediterranean Sea.3.7.Vulnerability analysisDue to the unequal spatial unit of land and marine da

166、ta(NUTS3 vs pixels),the different sources for the PAs and the fact that in land areas the only IABs to consider are KBAs(as the rest of the categories are exclusively marine),the method-ology of the vulnerability analysis differs between terrestrial and marine regions.3.7.1.Land vulnerability analys

167、isLand vulnerability was calculated using the cumulative tourism pressure indicator and the surface percentage of IABs(equal to KBAs in the case of land areas)that is not protected inside each NUTS3,following the logic that unprotected IABs are more sensitive to tourism pressures as there is not any

168、 4 IUCN definition of protected areas.This definition is expanded by six management categories.specific regulation to protect biodiversity.This non protection percentage was classified into five numerical classes,from 1 to 5(very low to very high),based on the following thresh-olds:1)lower than 10%;

169、2)from 10 to 17%;3)from 17 to 30%;4)from 30 to 50%;and 5)higher than 50%.Vulnerability was calculated by the mean value of cumulative tourism pres-sure and protected areas percentage classes,assuming that those areas with greater pressure and not protected IABs are more vulnerable.The resulting valu

170、es represent the ecolog-ical vulnerability of terrestrial areas in five categories based on a regular interval:very low(1.00 to 1.50),low(1.51 to 2.00),moderate(2.01 to 2.50),high(2.51 to 3.00)and very high(3.01 to 3.5).3.7.2.Sea vulnerability analysisVulnerability in marine areas was based on the c

171、umulative pressure hotspots extracted from the cumulative traffic indi-cator and the coverage of PAs and IABs.Pressure points are overlaid with the IAB polygons.If they fell within an IAB polygon they were ranked in vulnerability classes from very high to low.Each area belonging to one of the vulner

172、ability classes was finally identified according to whether it fell in a PA or not.Accordingly,areas outside IABs and PAs are considered to have little environmental value and were excluded from the assessment,and the vulnerability can be considered very low or negligible.The resulting point layer r

173、epresents the ecological vulner-ability in marine areas in five categories from very low to very high with a distinction between whether they fall inside or outside of a PA.Photo 4.Beach on Karpathos Island,Greece MEET Network(Merc Mariano Geira)4.Results17 4.Results4.1.Individual tourism pressure m

174、apsBased on the methodology presented above,individual tourism pressure maps were processed and delivered,providing an overview of the distribution of individual tourism pressure in the Euro-Mediterranean basin.The results are presented by category(tourism offer,demand and activities).4.1.1.Tourism

175、offerTourism offer refers to all the products and services that are available to satisfy the needs and wants of tourists including tourist companies,hotel infrastructure,accommodation capacity,quality and diversity of tourist services,transport,restaurants,etc.In our study,we focus on the offer repr

176、e-sented by the following indicators:Number of bed-places in coastal areas.Number of tourism establishments in coastal areas.Density of golf courses.The first two pressure indicators rely on official statis-tics and represent the actual offer in terms of accommoda-tion capacity and hotel infrastruct

177、ure.As in most studies on regional scales,second home residences,private tourism apartments(e.g.Airbnb offer)and other types of non-conven-tional accommodation have not been included due to a lack of consistent and harmonised data.There are already a series of studies considering non-conventional to

178、urism accommo-dation at the local level,mostly centred in urban areas(e.g.Serrano,Sianes&Ariza-Montes,2020;Hbscher et al.,2020),but harmonised Mediterranean data are not available yet.Since these accommodation types are becoming increas-ingly important in the tourism sector across the region,they sh

179、ould be studied in further research if a harmonised way of reporting on them becomes available at large scales.The study(and the cumulative indicator)uses the tourism offer density of both indicators,i.e.,the number of establish-ments and bed places per km2 of the NUTS3 territory or equiv-alent regi

180、on.Density is a good way of illustrating the territorial importance of hotel infrastructure in reference to the regional context.Since density is linked to the spatial dimension of the region,very small(urban and metropolitan)regions tend to have higher tourism density.Some coastal and mountain regi

181、ons also have a high tourism density.The maps of both indicators show very high densities in specific areas of the Mediterranean.The distribution of tourism establishments(Figure 2)shows clear territorial differences linked to different models of hotel infrastructure.The Adriatic coastal regions of

182、Italy and Croatia as well as the Western Mediterranean coast of Italy from Genova to Napoli are characterised by high and very high tourism establish-ment densities.In addition,there are some single regions like Corfu,Rhodes and Malta that also show very high values.This situation is different to th

183、e distribution of the density of bed places(Figure 3).Even though the list of very high densities also includes these regions(e.g.Corfu,Malta,Venice,Rimini,Napoli,Tunis and Palestine),there are several Estimated number of tourism establishments per km2 by NUTS3 or equivalent region in 2022*AdriaticS

184、eaLevantine SeaTunisian Plateau/Gulf of SidraWestern MediterraneanAlboran SeaIonian SeaAegean Sea05001000 KmSource:Number of establishments,bedrooms and bed-places by NUTS 2 regions(tour_cap_nuts2c),EUROSTAT,2022;UNWTO,United Nations World Tourism Organization,2023;Marine Ecoregions,Spalding et al.,

185、2007ETRS 1989 LAEA ETC-UMANumber of establishments km2Marine EcoregionsAbstract:Map representing the number of tourism establishments per km2in Mediterranean countries indicating thecapacity of regional tourism infrastructure.Estimation made from a disaggregation of data at NUTS2(EU countries)or nat

186、ional level(non-EU countries)based on the distribution of accommodation sites available in OpenStreetMap.Countries without data were estimated according to the number of accommodation sites.*Last year reported formost non-EU countries and certain regions of France,Spain and Turkey is 2021(2019 for E

187、gypt and Montenegro).0.01-0.100.11-0.250.26-0.500.51-1.001.01-7.85Area influenced by lack of dataFigure 2.Estimated number of establishments per km2Mapping the Impact of Blue Tourism in the Mediterranean:Vulnerability Assessment of Coastal and Marine Ecosystems18 regions with medium and high densiti

188、es of bed places where the density of establishments is medium to low,such as on the French Riviera,the Spanish mainland coast and the Balearic Islands.This suggests that these regions have very high bed capacities per establishment.Golf-related tourism(Figure 4)is a very important sub-sector in ter

189、ms of spatial extent in the coastal regions of Portugal,Spain,Malta and France,particularly in Cdiz,Mlaga,Alicante,Girona,Bouches-du-Rhne and Var,all of which show very high to high levels of nights spent(see section 4.1.2)and tourism offer(Figure 2,Figure 3).Other regions(Italy,Western-Balkan count

190、ries,Greece and Cyprus)show moderate to very low coverage,with some exceptions such as Rome,Rimini,Gorizia,Trieste,Malta as well as Tel Aviv,Tunis,Monastir and Tanger.Tunisia,in general,shows a high level of golf course density in its coastal areas.This spatial distribution of the presence of golf c

191、ourses in the Mediterranean is alarming given the high water require-ments of this type of infrastructure(Salgot et al.,2012)and the increasing urbanisation often linked to golf course developments.4.1.2.Tourism demandTourism demand is well represented by tourism arrivals and number of nights spent.

192、Particularly,the indicator on the number of nights spent is one the most indicative variables to understand the real demand for resources for tourism purposes(Figure 5).Unfortunately,the lack of available data in the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean,as well as in several Western Balkan countries,h

193、ampers a full picture of Estimated number of bed-places per km2 by NUTS3 or equivalent region in 2022*AdriaticSeaLevantine SeaTunisian Plateau/Gulf of SidraWestern MediterraneanAlboran SeaIonian SeaAegean Sea05001000 KmSource:Number of establishments,bedrooms and bed-places by NUTS 2 regions(tour_ca

194、p_nuts2c),EUROSTAT,2022;UNWTO,United Nations World Tourism Organization,2023;Marine Ecoregions,Spalding et al.,2007ETRS 1989 LAEA ETC-UMANumber of bed-places km2Abstract:Map showing the number bed-places in per km2Mediterranean countries indicating the capacity ofregional tourism infrastructure.Esti

195、mation made from a disaggregation of data at NUTS2(EU countries)or nationallevel(non-EU countries)based on the distribution of accommodation sites available in OpenStreetMap.Countrieswithout data were estimated according to the number of accommodation sites.*Last year reported for most non-EU countr

196、ies and certain regions of France and Turkey is 2021(2015 for Egypt).0.1-56-1516-5051-100101-1,522Area influenced by lack of dataMarine EcoregionsFigure 3.Estimated number of bed-places per km2the situation.In any case,major destinations such as Mallorca,Venice,Rimini,Napoli,Istria(Croatia),Corfu an

197、d Rhodes could be highlighted as hotspot areas of tourism demand.The pattern reveals,once again,a heavy concentration of tourism demand on the coastal strips of all Mediterranean regions.The indicator on tourism arrivals completes this picture with some interesting patterns(Figure 6).Trkiyes most to

198、ur-istic region,Antalya(TR),stands out in the Levantine Sea.Despite being a large territory,tourism arrival density is very high.On the other side of the Levantine Sea,the metropolitan region of Tel Aviv(ISR)is also among the very high densities.In the Aegean Sea,only the Island group of Kalymnos,Ka

199、rpa-thos,Kos,Rhodes(GR)has very high densities.The other Islands,including Crete,have high or medium densities.In the Ionian Sea the high densities are concentrated on the Greek islands of Zakynthos and Corfu as well as in Malta.The regions with highest values in the Adriatic Sea concentrate in the

200、northern part of this regional sea,including Istria in Croatia,and Trieste,Venice,and Rimini in Italy.Finally,in the Western Mediterranean,there are a few Italian regions linked to both bigger cities and tourism hotspots,i.e.,Napoli and Roma,as well as La Spezia and Livorno,respectively.In addition,

201、the Spanish regions of Girona,Barcelona and the Balearic Islands,as well as the Alboran region spanning coastal areas of Spain and Morocco,are notable for their high densities of tourist arrivals.Tunis,the capital area of Tunisia also stands out in this group of Mediterranean regions with high touri

202、st arrival densities.It is worth noticing that regions in Tunisia,Israel and Lebanon stand out in the context of the Middle East and North Africa(MENA)countries with medium to high densities.The 4.Results19 AdriaticSeaLevantine SeaTunisian Plateau/Gulf of SidraWestern MediterraneanAlboran SeaIonian

203、SeaAegean Sea05001000 KmSource:Density of golf courses by NUTS 3 or equivalent regions,ETC-UMA based on OpenStreetMap data,2023;MarineEcoregions,Spalding et al.,2007ETRS 1989 LAEA ETC-UMAAbstract:Map representing the surface percentage occupied by golf courses in NUTS3 or equivalent regions as aprox

204、y for the potential environmental pressure of this activity.Density of golf courses by NUTS 3 or equivalent regions in 2023,expressed as surface percentage of the region occupied by golf coursesPercentage of golf courses 00.001-0.050.06-0.100.11-0.500.51-0.80Marine EcoregionsFigure 4.Density of golf

205、 courses as a percentage of total surface areaFigure 5.Estimated nights spent at tourist accommodation per km2Estimated nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments per km2 by NUTS3 or equivalent region in 2022AdriaticSeaLevantine SeaTunisian Plateau/Gulf of SidraWestern MediterraneanAlboran

206、 SeaIonian SeaAegean Sea05001000 KmSource:Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments by NUTS 2 regions(tour_occ_nin2c),EUROSTAT,2022;Marine Ecoregions,Spalding et al.,2007ETRS 1989 LAEANumber of nights km2 ETC-UMANo dataMarine Ecoregions5,001-28,038Abstract:The map shows the number of nigh

207、ts spent at tourist accommodation establishments per km2inMediterranean countries.Estimation made from a disaggregation of data at NUTS2 based on the distribution ofaccommodation sites available in OpenStreetMap.15.1-250251-500501-1,5001,501-5,000Mapping the Impact of Blue Tourism in the Mediterrane

208、an:Vulnerability Assessment of Coastal and Marine Ecosystems20 AdriaticSeaLevantine SeaTunisian Plateau/Gulf of SidraWestern MediterraneanAlboran SeaIonian SeaAegean Sea05001000 KmSource:Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments by NUTS 2 regions(tour_occ_arn2),EUROSTAT,2022;UNWTO,United Nati

209、ons World Tourism Organization,2023;Marine Ecoregions,Spalding et al.,2007ETRS 1989 LAEA ETC-UMAEstimated arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments per km2 by NUTS3 or equivalent region in 2022*Number of arrivals km2No dataMarine Ecoregions1.85-501,001-17,610Abstract:Map showing the number of

210、 tourists arrivals per km2in Mediterranean countries indicating the demand ofregional tourism infrastructure.Estimation made from a disaggregation of data at NUTS2(EU countries)or nationallevel(non-EU countries)based on the distribution of accommodation sites available in OpenStreetMap.*Last year re

211、ported for most non-EU countries and certain regions of France and Turkey is 2021(2015 for Egypt).51-250251-500501-1,000Figure 6.Estimated arrivals at tourist accommodation per km2AdriaticSeaLevantine SeaTunisian Plateau/Gulf of SidraWestern MediterraneanAlboran SeaIonian SeaAegean Sea05001000 KmSou

212、rce:Passengers embarked and disembarked in all ports by direction-annual data(mar_pa_aa),EUROSTAT,2022;MedCruise Statistics 2022,MedCruise,2022;Marine Ecoregions,Spalding et al.,2007ETRS 1989 LAEA ETC-UMAAbstract:Map representing the number of cruise passengers in Mediterranean ports in 2019,includi

213、ng both thosewho start/end a cruise and those who are on excursion.Number of cruise passengers*per port in 2019*Including both those who start/end a cruise and those who are on excursionNumber of passengers(thousand passengers)!(No activity or no data!(!(!(!(!(1-5051-250251-500501-1,0001,001-3,142Ma

214、rine EcoregionsFigure 7.Number of cruise passengers per port4.Results21 whole Southern Adriatic and many Greek regions are among very low and low densities.Furthermore,a more specific demand indicator at cruise ports(Figure 7),the number of cruise passengers,reveals a high pressure on urban environm

215、ents in major cruise ports in Mallorca,Barcelona,Valencia,Genova,Civitavecchia,La Spezia,Olbia,Palermo and Messina to name just the major cruise ports.While the number of ports in the Western Medi-terranean and the Alboran Sea is relatively limited with a high concentration in major ports,the Adriat

216、ic,Ionian and Aegean Seas are characterised by a high number of small ports.The numbers in the Levantine Sea and in North Africa are compar-atively low,even though there is an important presence of Tunisian ports in the network.4.1.3.Tourism activitiesThe indicators for tourism activities represent

217、very specific tourism-related pressures with localised impacts on resources such as coastal dynamics(marina ports),seabed habitats and species(pleasure crafts)and mammals(passenger vessels).Marina ports capacity(number of moorings per coastline of NUTS3,Figure 8)highlights a high density in the nort

218、h-western Mediterranean(from Barcelona until Nice)and in the northern Adriatic.Apart from these marina port hotspot areas,there are only a few other areas with elevated density of moorings,such as in the Berkane Province(Morocco).There are a number of marina ports along the North African and the Lev

219、antine coasts,but the density of moorings with reference to the coastlines is low overall.!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(

220、!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(

221、!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(

222、!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(

223、!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(

224、!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(

225、!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(

226、!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(

227、!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(

228、!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(Marina port capacity b

229、y NUTS 3 or equivalent regions in 2023AdriaticSeaLevantine SeaTunisian Plateau/Gulf of SidraWestern MediterraneanAlboran SeaIonian SeaAegean Sea05001000 KmSource:P,2022;Plan Bleu,2014;Spanish Yachting Port Federation,2014;EEA,2014;Marine Ecoregions,Spalding et al.,2007ETRS 1989 LAEAMoorings per km o

230、f coastline ETC-UMAMarine EcoregionsNo data or no activityAbstract:The map shows the number of moorings in marina ports per kilometre of coastline for each NUTS3 orequivalent region.Marina port locations are displayed as red dots.1-1011-2526-5051-100101-271!(Marina ports locationFigure 8.Marina port

231、 capacity in moorings per km of coastlineMarina port developments have major impacts on coastal ecosystems and coastal dynamics,and they generate major impacts on the surrounding waters from leisure boat tourism,including anchoring.These direct pressures are well illus-trated by the density of the p

232、leasure craft indicator(Figure 9).This indicator shows very high densities in coastal regions within the area of the Pelagos Sanctuary as well as between the islands Corsica and Sardinia.The Spanish coast,and especially the Balearic Islands,concentrate a lot of sailing and pleasure boat traffic.Furt

233、hermore,the Croatian coast as well as the Greek Aegean Islands are other areas of high densities.Finally,there is a stream of traffic flows between the marina ports of Cyprus and those in Israel.Little traffic is reported on the North African coast,with some exceptions in Tunisia.Photo 5.Catamaran i

234、n Kornati National Park,Croatia MEET Network(Javier Zapata)Mapping the Impact of Blue Tourism in the Mediterranean:Vulnerability Assessment of Coastal and Marine Ecosystems22 4.1.4.Tourism induced pressuresThe final pressure indicator the study looked at are built-up areas in the coastal buffer area

235、 of 1 km.Even though this indi-cator covers all built-up areas and does not discriminate only tourism-related development,it does provide insights into the state of coastal land take and land degradation that affect coastal habitats that are sensitive to this kind of pressure.The overview map(Figure

236、 10)shows the percentage of built-up area in the first kilometre of the coastal strip of the Mediterranean region by NUTS3 or equivalent units.As expected,the Spanish,French and Italian coastal strips,linked to the most mature tourism regions in the Mediterra-nean,are heavily affected by built-up ar

237、eas.The coastal strip of Lebanon,Israel and Palestine show similar values.Finally,some regions like the Province of Algier,Al Jifarah and Tripoli(Libya)and Al Iskandariyah(Egypt)concentrate a high built-up share.The eastern Adriatic and Ionian Sea,as well as most of the Aegean regions,hove overall m

238、edium to low shares of built-up area.4.2.Cumulative tourism pressure mapFollowing the methodology described earlier,the different indicators of tourism pressures were combined to come up with a cumulative tourism pressure map and assess its distri-bution and characteristics.Density of sailing vessel

239、s and pleasure craft in 2022,expressed astotal time of vessels presence throughout the year per pixel(hours/km2)AdriaticSeaLevantine SeaTunisian Plateau/Gulf of SidraWestern MediterraneanAlboran SeaIonian SeaAegean Sea05001000 KmSource:EMODnet Human Activities,Vessel Density Map,2022;Marine Ecoregio

240、ns,Spalding et al.,2007ETRS 1989 LAEA ETC-UMAMarine EcoregionsAbstract:The map represents the degree of pressure based on the intensity of sailing vessels and pleasure crafttraffic in the Mediterranean Sea(year 2022).The map is based on AIS data aggregated at 1km2 by EMODnet andexpressed as total ti

241、me with presence of vessels in each cell throughout the year.The indicator provides an estimateof the amount of pollution vessels produce(via fuel leaks,oil discharge,waste disposal,etc.),under the assumptionthat traveling ships primarily affect their immediate waters.Density of sailing vessels and

242、pleasure crafthours/km2 High:55,337Low:0 Figure 9.Density of leisure boat activity in hours per km24.2.1.Terrestrial cumulative tourism pressure mapThe terrestrial cumulative tourism pressures(Figure 11)show a clear concentration of high and very high pressures in the European coastal regions of the

243、 Western Mediterranean and Alboran Sea as well as the northern Adriatic Sea.The regions of Rome,Napoli and Barcelona are by far the ones with highest pressures,linked largely to tourism offer and demand,particularly arrivals and cruise passengers.At a second level,the following highly pressured regi

244、ons can be found in the different regional seas:Table 2.High pressure regions(cumulative tourism pressure)EcoregionCountry and regionWestern MediterraneanSpain:Cdiz,Mlaga,Alicante,Mallorca,GironaFrance:Bouches-du-Rhne,Var,Alpes-Maritimes Italy:Savona,Genova,La SpeziaTunisia:TunisAdriatic SeaItaly:Ve

245、nice,Gorizia,TriesteSlovenia:Obalno-krakaCroatia:Istarska upanijaIonian SeaGreece:CorfuMalta4.Results23 Percentage of built-up area in the 1km coastalbelt by NUTS3 or equivalent region in 2019AdriaticSeaLevantine SeaTunisian Plateau/Gulf of SidraWestern MediterraneanAlboran SeaIonian SeaAegean Sea05

246、001000 KmSource:ETC-UMA,2023,based on Copernicus Global Land Cover 2019;Marine Ecoregions,Spalding et al.,2007ETRS 1989 LAEA ETC-UMAAbstract:The map shows the percentage of built up area in the first 1km of the coastal strip of the Mediterraneanregion by NUTS3 or equivalent region in 2019.Values wer

247、e calculated by a 100m pixel count for the Built-up classof the Copernicus Global Land Cover.Coast belt is shown with a distance of 25km for mapping reasons.Percentage of built-up areaMarine Ecoregions50%Figure 10.Percentage of coastal built-up arean mn mn mn mn mn mn mn mn mn mn mn mn mn mn mn mn m

248、n mn mn mn mn mn mn mn mn mn mn mn mn mn mn m n mn mn mn mn mn mn mn mn mn mn mn mn mn mn mn mn mn mn mn mn mn mn mn m n mn mn m n mn mn mn mn mn mn mn mn mn mn mn mn mn mn mn mn mn mn mn mn mn m n mn m n mn mn mn mn mn mn mn mn mn mn mn mn mAdriaticSeaLevantine SeaTunisian Plateau/Gulf of SidraWest

249、ern MediterraneanAlboran SeaIonian SeaAegean Sea05001000 KmSource:ETC-UMA,2023;Marine Ecoregions,Spalding et al.,2007ETRS 1989 LAEA ETC-UMACumulative tourism pressure by NUTS3 or equivalent region in 2022*Cumulative pressureAbstract:Map representing the cumulative tourism pressure based on the combi

250、ned sum of the indicators ontourists arrivals and tourism intensity measured in number of beds and establishments,marina port capacity per kmof coast,density of golf courses,cruise passengers in ports,and percentage of built-up areas in the first kilometer ofcoastline.Total pressure is expressed in

251、five categories from very low to very high.Cruise activity is marked with aflag in those regions where it occurs.*Built-up indicator data is from 2018.Very lowLowModerateHighVery highArea influenced by lack of dataMarine Ecoregionsn mCruise activityFigure 11.Cumulative tourism pressure by NUTS3 or e

252、quivalent administrative unitsMapping the Impact of Blue Tourism in the Mediterranean:Vulnerability Assessment of Coastal and Marine Ecosystems24 As can be seen from Table 2,the only region in the non-European countries with high tourism pressures is the Tunisian capital region,Tunis.In the southern

253、 and eastern shore of the Mediterranean,the regions with relatively high tourism pressures are Tanger(Morocco),Ceuta,Melilla(Spain)in the Alboran Sea,Algier(Algeria)and Nabeul(Tunisia).In the Western Mediterranean Sea,they are Palestine,Tel-Aviv and Haifa(Israel),Mount Lebanon,Beirut and North(Leban

254、on)as well as Antalya(Trkiye).On the European side,the areas with lowest levels of tourism pressures are the Greek and Turkish regions in the northern Aegean Sea,most coastal regions in Central Greece and Thessaly,Aetolia-Acarnania in Western Greece,and the Albanian coastal regions.The low level of

255、major tourism infra-structure,including cruise port capacities or airports,leads to limited tourism arrivals and tourism-related activities.4.2.2.Marine cumulative tourism pressure mapOn the marine side,the hotspot clusters are based on the indi-cators of density of marina ports and of leisure boati

256、ng activ-ities.The cumulative pressure of these indicators is clustered in the following areas(Figure 12):Southern Aegean,around the Athens region in Greece and including the Greek and Turkish coast in the Aydn Subregion.Malta and Corfu(Greece)in the Ionian Sea.Central and Southern Adriatic coast of

257、 Croatia around Zadar,Split and Dubrovnik.The French and Italian Riviera,from Marseille to La Spezia,coinciding with the Pelagos Sanctuary.!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!

258、(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!

259、(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!

260、(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!

261、(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!

262、(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!

263、(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!

264、(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!

265、(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(AdriaticSeaLevantine SeaTunisian Plateau/Gulf of SidraWestern MediterraneanAlboran SeaIonian SeaAegean

266、Sea05001000 KmSource:ETC-UMA,2023;EMODnet Human Activities,Vessel Density Map,2022;Marine Ecoregions,Spalding et al.,2007ETRS 1989 LAEA ETC-UMACumulative tourism pressure in Mediterranean Sea waters in 2022(based on maritime traffic)Abstract:Map representing the cumulative tourism pressure in Medite

267、rranean Sea waters based on the intensity ofmaritime traffic of passengers vessels and pleasure craft.Traffic intensity was produced using AIS data aggregatedat 1km2 by EMODnet and expressed as total time with presence of vessels in each cell throughout the year(hours/km2).Pressure hotspots are high

268、lighted on the map,being classified as:1)low;areas with cumulativepresence of vessels from one hour a day to 4 months(1 quarter);2)moderate;areas with cumulative presence ofvessels between 4 and 8 months(1 to 2 quarters);3)high,areas with cumulative presence of vessels between 8months(2 quarters)and

269、 one year;4)very high,areas where there is a cumulative presence of vessels exciding oneyear,being locations of very high traffic intensity.Marine EcoregionsDensity of marine traffic(hours/km2)High:56,591Low:0 Marine traffic pressure hotspots!(High!(Moderate!(Low!(Very highFigure 12.Cumulative touri

270、sm pressure in Mediterranean Sea watersSpanish coast from Barcelona to Cdiz,and the Balearic Islands(Mallorca,Ibiza).Cyprus.While the maritime tourism pressure areas in the Adriatic,Aegean and Levantine Sea do not coincide with the NUTS regions with high or very high terrestrial pressures,this is th

271、e case in the marine areas on the French and Spanish coast.Looking at both maps,the combined cumulative maritime and terrestrial tourism pressure in the Western Mediterranean becomes evident,highlighting the need for actions to prevent degradation of both terrestrial and marine ecosystems.There is n

272、ot such a coincidence in the Northern Adriatic regions nor in Italian areas around Lazio where terrestrial pressures are much higher than the maritime tourism pres-sures.On the other hand,in the Southern Aegean or Cyprus,the maritime pressure hotspots do not coincide with terres-trial ones.In the re

273、gions and countries on the southern and eastern shore of the Mediterranean,both terrestrial and mari-time tourism pressures are generally low with some excep-tions for terrestrial pressures as we have seen in the previous section.4.Results25 4.3.Mediterranean coastal and marine tourism vulnerability

274、 mapHigh levels of tourism pressure alone can be a significant issue for various environmental aspects.Tourisms impact on its terri-tory is manifold such as the increased use of resources(e.g.water,land)and a potential source of air and water pollution and solid waste.This combined potential impact

275、threatens the environments and peoples health in specific regions.The higher the level of pressure,the higher the vulnerability of the territory.This is linked to one of the factors of vulnerability,the exposure.In addition,vulnerability to tourism pressure is also defined by an areas adaptive capac

276、ity and sensitivity,i.e.,an ecologically resilient area that is well conserved,with high biodiversity and well connected to its surrounding ecosystems,is less vulnerable than ecologically sensitive areas with inade-quate conservation status and high degrees of fragmentation.Hence,it is crucial to un

277、derstand where the high levels of coastal and marine tourism pressures overlap with ecolog-ically sensitive areas,both protected and non-protected,to focus management improvements and protection to those areas.Our mapping was set up to do exactly this exercise and provide an evidence-based spatial r

278、epresentation of highly vulnerable areas in the Mediterranean.4.3.1.Ecological vulnerability to coastal tourism pressureAs described in section 3.7.1,the vulnerability to coastal tourism pressure of coastal ecosystems was calculated using the cumulative tourism pressure indicator and the surface per

279、centage of IABs which are not protected inside each NUTS3.Areas with high pressure values and high shares of non-protected IABs are more vulnerable than those with high shares of protection,assuming that unprotected IABs are more sensitive to tourism pressures as there is not any specific regulation

280、 to protect biodiversity.Hence,very high levels of vulnerability are linked to very high cumulative pressure levels and high shares of non-pro-tected IABs in a region.High vulnerability is defined as over-laps of low share of KBAs without protection with very high tourism pressures as well as high s

281、hares of KBAs with low protection level and high coastal tourism pressures.The resulting map(Figure 13)provides a very detailed overview of ecological vulnerability to coastal tourism pres-sures(i.e.,terrestrial tourism demand,offer and activities)in Mediterranean regions.AdriaticSeaLevantine SeaTun

282、isian Plateau/Gulf of SidraWestern MediterraneanAlboran SeaIonian SeaAegean Sea05001000 KmSource:ETC-UMA,2023;Marine Ecoregions,Spalding et al.,2007ETRS 1989 LAEA ETC-UMAEcological vulnerability to tourism by NUTS3 or equivalent region in 2022Ecological vulnerabilityArea influenced by lack of dataMa

283、rine EcoregionsVery lowLowModerateHighVery highAbstract:Vulnerability is calculated based on the percentage of Key Biodiversity Areas(KBAs)and the cumulativetourism pressure in each region.Percentage of KBAs not protected,with respect to the region,are classified into fivegroups,from very low to ver

284、y high,according to the following thresholds:lower than 10%,10 to 17%,17 to 30%,30 to50%and higher than 50%.Theses classes and those of cumulative pressure are combined into a weighted sum andthen reclassified in five vulnerability categories.Figure 13.Ecological vulnerability to tourism(terrestrial

285、)Photo 6.“La Fontanilla”beach in Marbella,SpainTurismo Costa del SolMapping the Impact of Blue Tourism in the Mediterranean:Vulnerability Assessment of Coastal and Marine Ecosystems26 Regions with very high levels can be found in both extremes of the Mediterranean basin,i.e.,in the Spanish regions o

286、f Cdiz and Mlaga in the Alboran Sea and in the Turkish provinces of Antalya and Hatay in the Levantine Sea.In addition,very high vulnerabilities are to be found in Girona and Menorca(Spain),the Annaba Province in Algeria and the province of Trieste(Italy).Apart from the high share of non-protected e

287、cologically sensitive areas(KBAs),these regions are characterised by high tourism pressures,namely:Table 3.Major tourism pressure in regions with very high levels of vulnerabilityRegionMajor tourism pressureCdizHigh%of built-up areaVery high concentration of golf coursesVery high number of cruise tr

288、afficMlagaVery high%of built-up areaVery high concentration of golf coursesHigh number of arrivalsHigh density of tourism demand(nights spent)AntalyaHigh%of built-up areahigh concentration of golf coursesVery high number of arrivalsHigh density of tourism demand(nights spent)GironaHigh%of built-up a

289、reaVery high concentration of golf coursesHigh density of marina port mooringsVery high number of arrivalsHigh density of tourism demand(nights spent)MenorcaHigh%of built-up areaVery high number of arrivalsVery high density of tourism demand(nights spent)TriesteHigh%of built-up areaVery high concent

290、ration of golf coursesHigh density of marina port mooringsVery high number of arrivalsHigh density of tourism offer(bed places,establishments)High density of tourism demand(nights spent)Several other coastal strips with high shares of KBAs with low protection levels and high to very high levels of t

291、ourism pressures are found in the Catalonian coast(Spain),the French Riviera,Italian provinces close to Rome and the northern Adri-atic(e.g.Venice),the eastern Algerian province,several prov-inces in eastern and western Libya and on the Levantine coast from Egypt(with some exceptions)up to north Leb

292、anon.The most striking concentration of highly vulnerable regions is on the Mediterranean coast of Trkiye,from Hatay up to Izmir in the Aegean Sea.This high vulnerability in the Turkish coastal provinces is especially linked to the large number of KBAs in its territories without legal protection.Thi

293、s reflects the very low coverage of protected Turkish land area which is only 6.95%(WDPA)5,with almost none of these protected areas covering coastal areas.The general pattern of tourism vulnerability can be summarised as follows:the high vulnerability in EU regions is linked to very high combined t

294、ourism pressure values.Even though the protection level is relatively high in most of them,the combined pressure level sets these regions on the list of most vulnerable regions.On the other hand,the high to very high vulnerabilities in the Eastern and Southern Mediterranean countries is related to t

295、he very low protection level in these regions.Even though tourism pressure is not(yet)high,the overall protection level is so low that any additional pressure stemming from tourism activities or others would cause substantial impacts.The coastal regions in Trkiye are very relevant cases that are hig

296、hlighted in the map as they show both medium to high levels of cumulative pressures and very low levels of protec-tion of their ecologically sensitive areas.The analysis of the Turkish regions invites to review the overall performance of Mediterranean countries with regards to both the share of prot

297、ection of their KBAs and the cumu-lative pressures and vulnerability mean values in their coastal areas.To start with,there is a huge difference in the share of protection of Key Biodiversity Areas between countries.Figure18 provides this overview.All EU countries plus Albania and Egypt have more th

298、an 50%of their KBAs under some type of protection while the remaining non-EU countries do not reach this level of protection,with critical situations of protec-tion levels under 25%such as in Algeria,Israel,Lebanon,Libya,Palestine,Syria and Trkiye.Figure 14 provides an overview of the mean values of

299、 cumulative pressures and vulnerability per country.A few key findings can be highlighted:Most of the EU countries,except for Greece,have higher mean pressure levels than vulnerability levels,based on the fact that ecologically sensitive areas are usually under protection to a higher degree.On the c

300、ontrary,non-EU countries,including those in the Euro-Mediterranean area,such as Montenegro,Bosnia and Herzegovina and Albania,have higher vulnerability mean values than pressure values,except for Palestine.Some countries show very large differences(more than 1point)between mean pressures and vulnera

301、bility values,such as Algeria,Egypt,Libya,Syria and Trkiye,all of them with higher vulnerability than pressure values.Only Malta has much higher pressure than vulnerability values.Highest mean vulnerability values(2.5)are found in Israel,Lebanon,Slovenia6,Spain and Trkiye.Highest mean pressure value

302、s are present in:Croatia,France,Malta,Slovenia and Spain.5 https:/ 6 For Slovenia,it should be noted that these values only refer to a small coastal strip in one region.4.Results27 AlbaniaAlgeriaBosnia and HerzegovinaCroatiaCyprusEgyptFranceGreeceIsraelItalyLebanonLibyaMaltaMontenegroMoroccoPalestin

303、eSloveniaSpainSyriaTunisiaTrkiye0,00,51,01,52,02,53,03,5Vulnerability score meanCumulative pressure meanSource:AuthorsFigure 14.Cumulative mean pressure values versus vulnerability score per countryMapping the Impact of Blue Tourism in the Mediterranean:Vulnerability Assessment of Coastal and Marine

304、 Ecosystems28 4.3.2.Marine vulnerability mapVulnerability in marine areas was based on the cumulative pressure hotspots extracted from the cumulative traffic indi-cator and the coverage of PAs and IABs7.Pressure points are overlaid with the IAB polygons and if they fall into an IAB polygon they are

305、ranked in vulnerability classes from very high to low.Each area belonging to one of the vulnerability classes is further classified according to whether it falls in a PA or not.Areas outside IABs and PAs are considered to have little environmental value and are excluded from the assessment,and the v

306、ulnerability can be considered very low or negligible.The resulting point layer represents the ecological vulner-ability in marine areas in five categories from very low to very 7 IABs include:Key Biodiversity Areas(KBAs),Important Shark and Ray Areas(ISRAs),Important Marine Mammal Areas(IMMAs),Crit

307、ical areas for the orca population of the Gibraltar Strait and Gulf of Cdiz,Biosphere Reserve,Cetaceans Critical Habitat,Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Areas(EBSAs),Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas(PSSAs),Proposed Sites of Community Importance,and World Heritage Sites.high,with the

308、indication whether it is covered by a figure of legal protection or not(Figure 15).The resulting map(Figure 16)shows the hotspots of ecological vulnerability in the marine environment in the Mediterranean.The hotspots of very high vulnerability are concentrated along the Spanish coastline both in th

309、e Alboran Sea(coast of Cdiz and Mlaga)and the Western Mediterranean(Alicante,Valencia,Castelln,Tarragona,Mallorca).The second clus-tering of high vulnerability areas lies in the French and Italian coastal areas around the Ligurian Sea from Toulon to La Spezia.The third cluster of very high vulnerabi

310、lity hotspots can be found in the Aegean Sea with one hotspot in the marine areas around Athens and another hotspot in the marine water of the Mula Province where some of Trkiyes largest holiday resorts lie,such as Bodrum.While the Spanish hotspots and most of the hotspots in the Aegean Sea are not

311、covered by protected areas,the hotspot areas in the Ligurian Sea coincide with the Pelagos Sanctuary 020406080100AlbaniaAlgeriaBosnia and HerzgovinaCroatiaCyprusEgyptFranceGreeceIsraelItalyLebanonLibyaMaltaMontenegroMoroccoPalestineSloveniaSpainSyriaTunisiaTrkiyeCountry KBAs not protected Country KB

312、As protected Source:AuthorsFigure 15.Share of protected and non-protected Key Biodiversity Areas per country4.Results29!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!

313、(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!

314、(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(!(#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#

315、*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*A

316、driaticSeaLevantine SeaTunisian Plateau/Gulf of SidraWestern MediterraneanAlboran SeaIonian SeaAegean Sea05001000 KmSource:ETC-UMA,2023;Marine Ecoregions,Spalding et al.,2007ETRS 1989 LAEA ETC-UMAEcological vulnerability to tourism in Mediterranean Sea waters in 2022Marine EcoregionsProtectedNot pro

317、tectedProtected areas not IABEcological vulnerability hotspotsImportant Areas for Biodiversity(IABs)Abstract:Vulnerability is calculated based on the coverage of protected areas(PAs)and Important Areas forBiodiversity(IABs)and the cumulative tourism pressure in the Mediterranean Sea waters.PAs and I

318、ABs coverage isreclassified in scores,1 and 2 respectively.These classes and those of cumulative pressure are combined in andreclassified into vulnerability classes according to a vulnerability matrix.IABs include:Key Biodiversity Areas(KBAs),Important Shark and Ray Areas(ISRAs),Important Marine Mam

319、malAreas(IMMAs),Critical areas for the orca population of the Gibraltar Strait and Gulf of Cdiz,Biosphere Reserve,Cetaceans Critical Habitat,Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Areas(EBSAs),Particularly Sensitive SeaAreas(PSSAs),Proposed Sites of Community Importance,and World Heritage S

320、ites.Very highHighModerateLow#*Protected area!(Not protected areaFigure 16.Ecological vulnerability to tourism in Mediterranean Sea watersentirely.In addition,there is one hotspot area of vulnerability on the Turkish coast which is covered by the Special Environ-mental Protection Area of Patara.This

321、 distribution is linked to the fact that most areas with high vulnerability are a conse-quence of coastal activities such as recreational boating close to urban areas.In most parts,these areas surrounding urban areas do not overlap with legally protected areas.Furthermore,there are several hotspots

322、of high vulner-ability along the Spanish coast(Costa Daurada,Balearic Islands),the French Cote dAzur,in southern Sicily and Malta as well as in a couple of marine areas in Trkiye,namely Fethiye and Antalya,and a hotspot in Tel Aviv(Israel),most of which do not fall in protected areas.Interestingly,t

323、here are not any significant hotspots in the Adriatic or Ionian Sea nor in the marine areas of North Africa and the Levantine coast(except for Tel Aviv)which mirrors the relatively low intensity of leisure boat activities in these areas.The regional overview is further discussed with an assess-ment

324、of the pressure of leisure boat activities on a specific habitat in the Mediterranean,Posidonia oceanica,that is discussed under section 4.4.1.Mapping the Impact of Blue Tourism in the Mediterranean:Vulnerability Assessment of Coastal and Marine Ecosystems30 4.4.Specific assessments on the ecologica

325、l vulnerability of Mediterranean coastal and marine tourism4.4.1.Vulnerability of Posidonia oceanica A dedicated assessment was done on the vulnerability of Posidonia oceanica regarding tourism-related activities such as leisure boating intensity and marine port density.The spatio-temporal patterns

326、of these activities were analysed and overlaid with occurrences of Posidonia oceanica meadows to estimate the potential impact on this specific habitat.Posidonia oceanica is a key habitat due to the multiple ecosystem services it provides,such as carbon sequestration,coastal protection,and habitat p

327、rovision.Its extent of about 19,482 square kilometres in the Mediterranean Sea has been under pressure over the last decades due to harmful fishing practices and the impact of anchoring/berthing,particularly of leisure boats close to the main tourist centres around the Mediterranean.Our analysis foc

328、uses on this latter pressure due to its close relation to Blue Tourism.As part of this anal-ysis,we look both at the Posidonia oceanica meadows inside protected areas(approximately 33%)and outside protected areas.The main source of data comes from Mediterranean-wide maritime traffic information on p

329、leasure crafts(EMODNET),which has been available daily since 2017.These data show clear seasonal and interannual patterns(Figure 17).The graphic shows that pleasure craft traffic is a seasonal activity linked to the summer months and that its intensity has been increasing since 2017 with a substanti

330、al increase after the pandemic.As data is expressed in units of time per square kilometre,we cannot know if it is due to a higher number of vessels or a longer stay at sea(or both).The spatial overview of pleasure craft activities across the Mediterranean(Figure 18)shows patterns linked to the main

331、touristic areas:In the Western Mediterranean:Balearic Islands and coast of Valencia,French and Italian Riviera and Corsica.The Croatian coastline in the Adriatic Sea.The Greek coast both in the Ionian and Aegean Sea.Source:AuthorsJ-17F-17M-17A-17M-17J-17J-17A-17S-17O-17N-17D-17J-18F-18M-18A-18M-18J-

332、18J-18A-18S-18O-18N-18D-18J-19F-19M-19A-19M-19J-19J-19A-19S-19O-19N-19D-19J-20F-20M-20A-20M-20J-20J-20A-20S-20O-20N-20D-20J-21F-21M-21A-21M-21J-21J-21A-21S-21O-21N-21D-21J-22F-22M-22A-22M-22J-22J-22A-22S-22O-22N-22D-22Total pleasure craft trafic in the Mediterranean(hours/months)0500 0001 000 0001 5

333、00 0002 000 0002 500 0003 000 000These hotspots of maritime leisure traffic relate strongly with regions with the highest numbers of moorings in marina ports.The temporal dynamics provide the following patterns:During the low season,vessels seem to stay close to their ports of origin(higher activity where there is greater capacity of moorings).During the high season,vessels spread to other areas o