274
R. Sarda . M. Fluvia
Catalan Law of Animal Protection (1989), amongst several orders of protection of particular species such as seagrasses.274
Besides the above considerations, for the territory, the activities which can be a
potential factor of degradation of the coastal zone depend of town council managers.
In the past, the economic development of many towns has led to several problems of
environmental degradation, such as loss of natural habitats by overdevelopment
(Fig. 14.9), soil and water pollution, and resource depletion. Local managers were generally more concerned about the benefits of the urbanized process in the short term,
than in the protection of the quality of the natural environment for their continued
success in the long term. Today, most local managers are much more conscious of the
necessity to protect the environment. However, they need to fight stronger than ever
because there is still the idea that everybody can get part of the value of a natural public good into a personal cash flow, as it has been occurring in the past following the
id& of the "business as usual" kind of management. In addition, the draft of the new
"Ley del Suelo" (Land-use Legislation), which is actually under study in Spain, is a potential danger for the environment since it means the reclassification of the land which
can open again the free access to speculative activities. This law transforms many of
the declared non-urbanized land in urbanized territory, except the spaces specially
protected by the PEIN, the Coastal Law, and the municipal ordination plans. In this
context, public action to control unacceptable developments would be necessary and
the activities of non-governmental agencies can have more importance than ever demonstrating the worries of a significant part of the population to these practices.
14.5
Concluding Remarks: The Need of a More Integrated Approach
The need for sustainable tourism it is now widely recognized. Tourist managers and local
administrators will need to face a double challenge in the future, namely the encouragement of tourist ac~ivities and the preservation of the environment under the directresses
given by documents of supranational authorities such as Agenda 21, the European Community (Tzoanos 1992; CEC 1993), or the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP;
Mediterranean Action Plan, MAP). Local tourist development could not be done without the inclusion of protective measures for the environment. In many cases, even in our
"educated" societies, however it will result very difficult to convince local entrepreneurs
thatcertain projects are not friendly to the environment, and that public losses are much
more important that private earnings because the economical value of biological resources
are difficult to express in monetary terms (pristine beaches such as Castell (Palam6s)
have more intrinsic values than the urbanized surroundings, delicate vital areas such
as the saltmarshes of Pals are necessary to conserve many local resources, beaches such
as Fanals (Lloret de Mar) need to preserve its integrity behind spectacular marinas).
As several authors have outlined, a number of key elements should be addressed:
a A longer-term perspective on policy making, as sustainable tourism is a goal which
cannot be reached immediately;
b A recognition of the interdependence of economic and environmental systems; and
c A concern with biological limits within which human activities need to stay (Stanners
and Bordeau 1995).
R. Sarda . M. Fluvia
Catalan Law of Animal Protection (1989), amongst several orders of protection of particular species such as seagrasses.274
Besides the above considerations, for the territory, the activities which can be a
potential factor of degradation of the coastal zone depend of town council managers.
In the past, the economic development of many towns has led to several problems of
environmental degradation, such as loss of natural habitats by overdevelopment
(Fig. 14.9), soil and water pollution, and resource depletion. Local managers were generally more concerned about the benefits of the urbanized process in the short term,
than in the protection of the quality of the natural environment for their continued
success in the long term. Today, most local managers are much more conscious of the
necessity to protect the environment. However, they need to fight stronger than ever
because there is still the idea that everybody can get part of the value of a natural public good into a personal cash flow, as it has been occurring in the past following the
id& of the "business as usual" kind of management. In addition, the draft of the new
"Ley del Suelo" (Land-use Legislation), which is actually under study in Spain, is a potential danger for the environment since it means the reclassification of the land which
can open again the free access to speculative activities. This law transforms many of
the declared non-urbanized land in urbanized territory, except the spaces specially
protected by the PEIN, the Coastal Law, and the municipal ordination plans. In this
context, public action to control unacceptable developments would be necessary and
the activities of non-governmental agencies can have more importance than ever demonstrating the worries of a significant part of the population to these practices.
14.5
Concluding Remarks: The Need of a More Integrated Approach
The need for sustainable tourism it is now widely recognized. Tourist managers and local
administrators will need to face a double challenge in the future, namely the encouragement of tourist ac~ivities and the preservation of the environment under the directresses
given by documents of supranational authorities such as Agenda 21, the European Community (Tzoanos 1992; CEC 1993), or the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP;
Mediterranean Action Plan, MAP). Local tourist development could not be done without the inclusion of protective measures for the environment. In many cases, even in our
"educated" societies, however it will result very difficult to convince local entrepreneurs
thatcertain projects are not friendly to the environment, and that public losses are much
more important that private earnings because the economical value of biological resources
are difficult to express in monetary terms (pristine beaches such as Castell (Palam6s)
have more intrinsic values than the urbanized surroundings, delicate vital areas such
as the saltmarshes of Pals are necessary to conserve many local resources, beaches such
as Fanals (Lloret de Mar) need to preserve its integrity behind spectacular marinas).
As several authors have outlined, a number of key elements should be addressed:
a A longer-term perspective on policy making, as sustainable tourism is a goal which
cannot be reached immediately;
b A recognition of the interdependence of economic and environmental systems; and
c A concern with biological limits within which human activities need to stay (Stanners
and Bordeau 1995).