Coastal sand dunes under siege : a guide to conservation for environmental managers

Abstract

Coastal regions have for centuries been of benefit to humankind. Worldwide, human populations exploited the littoral and adjoining seas as a consequence to its relatively rich resource base. Particularly in an enclosed sea as the Mediterranean, demographic growth has had a marked effect on the region's resources. In recent decades, intensive shipping-related activities, industrial and infrastructural development, and other anthropogenic activities located close to the coast have led to an increased degradation of coastal ecosystems. The Maltese Islands are no exception and although numerous dune systems were obliterated during colonial times as a result of major developments along various parts of the coast, remaining sand dunes were further degraded during the decades that followed independence. This occurred, primarily, as Malta began to transform itself into a tourist destination. Since sand dunes are much dependent on a variety of factors that lie further afield from the beach zone per se, they are among the most vulnerable coastal assemblages with respect to stability. For this reason, even topographical modifications of inland landscapes may have a severe negative influence on dune dynamics, consequent to alterations or disruptions of sediment fluxes. Sadly, only a few dune assemblages remain in the Maltese Islands, with Ramla l-Ħamra being, so far, the best example, while others vary from highly impoverished to mere remnant sites. [ text extracted from Foreword section written by Professor Charles J. Farrugia, Chairman, Maltese National Commission for UNESCO ]