lasting impact on rural hinterlands which suffer from depopulation and economic
decline (Li et al. 2019). 92% of the EU territory is considered to be rural,
3 while only
28% of the EU population lives in this area.
4 The main rural sectors (agriculture,
forestry and other nature-based industries) have constantly increased their capital to
labour ratio, leading to a decrease in employment rates, thereby making urban and
coastal areas more attractive from an economic standpoint, and pushing rural
populations to migrate to these areas. The constant population growth and higher
concentration of economic activity in the coastal zones give rise to an intensification
of anthropogenic pressures on the rich but fragile coastal and marine ecosystems.
Moreover, poor management and use of the natural resources inland further
increases the environmental stresses over these ecosystems.
7.1.2 Inland Impacts on Coastal and Sea Regions
The source-to-sea continuum considers the land and the sea as a single component,
i.e. from land to fresh water, delta, estuarine, coastline, near shore and ocean,
connected through flows of waters, including sediment, pollutants, materials, biota
and related ecosystem services (Granit et al. 2017). The sea, the coastal area and its
hinterland form a single, unique ecosystem. The sea and coastal areas being the
natural continuity of inland areas, land-based ecosystems and sea-based ecosystems
are intrinsically linked, with one not only benefiting from the other but also
impacting it and vice versa. Today, marine and coastal resources are increasingly
jeopardized by upstream activities on land and along rivers.
Inside a river basin, land-based activities (agriculture, forestry, heavy industry
and urbanization) inevitably impact coastal areas and marine water due to
unsustainable land use, soil degradation and pollution of inland fresh water. As
such, coastal areas are particularly vulnerable as they are subject to both land-based
and marine-based human pressures (Halpern et al. 2008). Land-sourced pollution
(high levels of nutrients loads) related to poor agricultural practices and continual
urban development (i.e. inadequate urban sewage system) lead to marine ecosystem
degradation, harmful algae blooms and eutrophication in coastal water (Howarth
et al. 2002; DeGeorges et al. 2010; Le Moal et al. 2019). Waste production inland
also has a severe effect on the coast and the sea, in the form of increased marine
litter – approximately 8 million tons of plastic enter the ocean from land-based
sources annually,
5 and constitutes more than 80% of marine litter; modelling the
drift patterns of floating marine litter shows that the plastic pollution of almost every
3 EU strategic guidelines for rural development, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/FR/TXT/
PDF/?uri¼CELEX:32006D0144&from¼EN
4 Statistics on rural areas in the EU, 2017 https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.
php/Statistics_on_rural_areas_in_the_EU
5 SIWI Policy Brief ‘Transboundary waters: cooperation from source to sea’
7 Increasing Land-Sea Synergies and Coastal-Rural Collaboration for a Healthy. . .
107
decline (Li et al. 2019). 92% of the EU territory is considered to be rural,
3 while only
28% of the EU population lives in this area.
4 The main rural sectors (agriculture,
forestry and other nature-based industries) have constantly increased their capital to
labour ratio, leading to a decrease in employment rates, thereby making urban and
coastal areas more attractive from an economic standpoint, and pushing rural
populations to migrate to these areas. The constant population growth and higher
concentration of economic activity in the coastal zones give rise to an intensification
of anthropogenic pressures on the rich but fragile coastal and marine ecosystems.
Moreover, poor management and use of the natural resources inland further
increases the environmental stresses over these ecosystems.
7.1.2 Inland Impacts on Coastal and Sea Regions
The source-to-sea continuum considers the land and the sea as a single component,
i.e. from land to fresh water, delta, estuarine, coastline, near shore and ocean,
connected through flows of waters, including sediment, pollutants, materials, biota
and related ecosystem services (Granit et al. 2017). The sea, the coastal area and its
hinterland form a single, unique ecosystem. The sea and coastal areas being the
natural continuity of inland areas, land-based ecosystems and sea-based ecosystems
are intrinsically linked, with one not only benefiting from the other but also
impacting it and vice versa. Today, marine and coastal resources are increasingly
jeopardized by upstream activities on land and along rivers.
Inside a river basin, land-based activities (agriculture, forestry, heavy industry
and urbanization) inevitably impact coastal areas and marine water due to
unsustainable land use, soil degradation and pollution of inland fresh water. As
such, coastal areas are particularly vulnerable as they are subject to both land-based
and marine-based human pressures (Halpern et al. 2008). Land-sourced pollution
(high levels of nutrients loads) related to poor agricultural practices and continual
urban development (i.e. inadequate urban sewage system) lead to marine ecosystem
degradation, harmful algae blooms and eutrophication in coastal water (Howarth
et al. 2002; DeGeorges et al. 2010; Le Moal et al. 2019). Waste production inland
also has a severe effect on the coast and the sea, in the form of increased marine
litter – approximately 8 million tons of plastic enter the ocean from land-based
sources annually,
5 and constitutes more than 80% of marine litter; modelling the
drift patterns of floating marine litter shows that the plastic pollution of almost every
3 EU strategic guidelines for rural development, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/FR/TXT/
PDF/?uri¼CELEX:32006D0144&from¼EN
4 Statistics on rural areas in the EU, 2017 https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.
php/Statistics_on_rural_areas_in_the_EU
5 SIWI Policy Brief ‘Transboundary waters: cooperation from source to sea’
7 Increasing Land-Sea Synergies and Coastal-Rural Collaboration for a Healthy. . .
107