European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 18, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse V Quot kit. A. Coastal construction at Salerno Italy has devoured nearly All available land. A amps Sharon Kilday c conservationists fight for a piece of the Mediterranean a a it a it of >1-22 a /tt22 Quot or z<z2? it m by Marlise Simons the new York times along the Mediterranean shores of Salerno Italy Beauty and mild weather once Drew Royalty and inspired Goethe and f. Scott Fitzgerald. That was a time when the Blue and Green vistas were rarely interrupted and travelling Here meant getting away from it All. But As europeans make their annual summer trek to the Seaside with campers and Supply trucks jostling for position and drowning out the seagulls it is Clear that Europe s growing Prosperity has left a costly imprint. From the coast of Southern Italy to the French Cote d Azur around to the beaches of Southern Spain years of unrelenting construction of condominiums hotels Golf courses and roads have razed Pine forests flattened dunes brought water shortages and encouraged fires. Sea Walls and marinas have helped erode beaches and pushed Birds and fish from their Breeding grounds. Overwhelmed by the drive to customize nature the writer Italo Calvino once remarked of the Riviera Quot Cemen Titis we All have Cement three decades after the modern transformation of the Mediterranean coastline began Many critics Are questioning the results and support is growing for the Long ignored conservationists in their Effort to Stop development from devouring surviving portions of seashore. They know that it is late and that their task will be difficult. No other Region in Europe is such a Magnet for tourists or has the same Luster of Sun and Glamour amid the Man made trappings of wealth and prestige. Quot today Many people Don t like an empty landscape Quot lamented Fulco Pratesi head of Italy s Branch of the world wildlife fund. Quot they see it As a void that must be dismayed by the failure of governments to act environmentalists in Italy France and Spain Are taking on the coast s millionaire developers at their own game. By collecting Money they plan to Purchase As Many wetlands dunes and beaches As possible to protect them from italian world wildlife organization says it has already bought 45,000 acres of land much of it along the coast of Tuscany. Quot we buy Small pieces one after another Quot said Pratesi who is an architect. Quot speculation has made the coast very very expensive. We want the government to buy big stretches. But it is not much interested in nature in France conservatoire do littoral a government sponsored foundation has bought about 300 Miles of waterfront along the main Mediterranean Shore and along wetlands and the coast of Corsica. Quot the pressure on the coast is extraordinary and the spaces Are shrinking fast a Jean Claude Bonnafe a foundation official said adding that More than 75 percent of the Cote d Azur is now heavily urbanized As is almost half the coast of the Languedoc Region. In Southern Spain conservationists have scored a temporary Victory in the Battle to save the Donna National Park an Atlantic coastal area North of Gibraltar that has. Files amps Monaco hotels pleasure boats and Little free space. Already been invaded by hotels Villas and greenhouses yet is still one of Western Europe s largest nature reserves. With support from the european Community and after Public demonstrations conservationists have won postponement of a plan to build a 32,000-room luxury resort on the Borders of the fragile wetlands near the Mouth of the Guadalquivir River. While demand for new tourist development still seems largely unabated Public attitudes Are beginning to change. In a recent French poll 80 percent of those surveyed said greater government Protection of the coastline was needed. At a conference in Paris mayors and hotel operators debated the question Quot is development improving life on the coast or strangling it Quot they have ample cause for concern. With the european Community demanding regular reports on the state of beaches and swimming water the local authorities Are increasingly required to close polluted beaches. Sea Walls made to protect buildings and roads often cause erosion because deflected Waves dig away at the Sand. Every Spring Many towns and hotels must pay the i High Cost of trucking in Sand to remake beaches. The environmentalists fight on the Mediterranean is rarely Over preserving wilderness because there is Little. This sea Basin has been near civilization s Center of Gravity and been inhabited for More than 30 centuries. The ancient forests Are gone As their Best Trees were always used to build the galleons that made War or roamed the world. Homesteaders took the rest. The conservationists Are fighting mostly for manhandled but still Green spaces. The fight has t been easy. The construction frenzy shows that today s settlers and vacationers clearly enjoy the coasts Urban Bustle. With More Money and Leisure time than Ever before Many europeans now assume the right to a second Home and a Long vacation by the Seaside. This year about 100 million people Are expected to visit the coasts of Italy France and Spain. The number is expected to double in 10 years. France s tourist income on the mediterranean1 coast alone is More than $5 billion a year. Tourism is particularly vital to the Economy of Spain where foreign visitors increased from 6 million in 1960 to 52 million in 1990. Last year the Industry earned $18 billion mostly from coastal tourism and tens of thousands of spaniards were employed in the task of turning the Costa brava Costa Blanca and Costa Del sol into Concrete realms of High rises and highways. Those Are jobs that conservationists could not replace. Quot tourism will maintain and even increase employment As technology is cutting Back Many jobs Quot said Luis Callejon president of s National hotel owners association. Quot besides i prefer to feed a family rather than keep alive a 24 stripes Magazine july 18, 1991 and
