. Earth Science News .
FLORA AND FAUNA
French beauty spot seeks to stem surge of nature-seeking tourism
By Sandra LAFFONT
Marseille (AFP) March 23, 2021

With the pandemic pushing people increasingly outdoors in search of nature, one of France's most popular natural attractions has found itself a victim of its own success.

Huge traffic jams, chaotic parking, ever larger crowds, litter and the trampling of flora have forced the Calanques National Park to act.

As well as introducing new restrictions, the park no longer hesitates now trying to put off visitors from coming at certain busy times.

Last week, its board of directors decided to test-drive a tool for alerting people in real time when parts of the park are too crowded in a bid to persuade them to turn back.

The use of quotas for areas of the park will also be considered.

About three million people last year visited the calanques, a series of narrow, steep-walled inlets along the southern Mediterranean coast where turquoise waves crash on to jagged white cliffs.

That's up from at least two million the previous year, the park, near France's second city of Marseille, said.

"The calanques' numbers are huge and maybe a bit higher than elsewhere because we are close to a big city," the park's director Francois Bland told AFP.

Among recent scenes he described to AFP was a narrow 50-metre (164-foot) stretch of beach at one of the bays, obscured by up to 1,200 people, with queues to access the water.

In another spot, there was an incessant ballet of passing boats, he said.

"We have to act quickly and take measures to regulate so we can change people's habits and how they use the park," Bland said.

- Turn back -

Some new rules have already been introduced to curb the trampling and erosion of fragile terrain and damage to seagrasses by boat anchors.

Pathways are being designated to keep people from straying.

Kayakers arriving by sea will no longer be allowed to disembark onto the naturally-formed "pavements" of fossilised lithophyllum algae.

It will also be prohibited to drop anchor in certain calanques, while authorised moorings will be restricted to areas that don't threaten the posidonia seagrass on which the local ecosystem depends.

The park has also begun a kind of demarketing strategy by posting dissuasive photos of snarled traffic and over-crowded beaches on its website, albeit not prominently.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature recently warned about the pandemic's impact on nature conservation around the globe.

Bland said he also wanted to see the promotion of other nearby natural attractions in order to spread the tourists around.

- No cars allowed? -

Motivating people to ditch their cars and take public transport or cycle to the park instead is another pressing challenge.

But efforts so far have been slow to get off the ground, as park, city and metropolitan officials shift responsibility back and forth.

The deputy mayor of Marseille, in charge of safety and roads, says it is up to the park and the greater Aix-Marseille-Provence metropolitan area authorities to roll out new options.

"If we want less traffic we have to provide public transportation," Yannick Ohanessian said.

He believes that the city is already doing plenty to restrict the area's access roads, which are closed to cars in the summer and at weekends in May, June and September.

Martine Vassal, president of the greater Aix-Marseille-Provence metropolitan area, told AFP that "everyone agrees we must regulate traffic to the park".

But her preferred strategy focuses on the parking situation, which she described as "anarchical".

Her suggestion: set up a new park and ride system on a nearby industrial site, though the idea is controversial because the terrain is near the park's entrance.

The pressure is on, however, as the park warns that action is now urgent before the summer holidays.


Related Links
Darwin Today At TerraDaily.com


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


FLORA AND FAUNA
Competition leaves a permanent genetic imprint on the brains of songbirds
Washington DC (UPI) Mar 22, 2021
New research suggests a single competitive interaction can leave a lasting genetic impression on the brains of songbirds. Competition for territory, mates and prey drive evolution, but evolutionary changes are often only visible across vast timescales. Scientists at Indiana University wanted to find out how competition inspires genetic changes among individual songbirds. In previous experiments, researchers found frequent competition alters gene expression in the brains of birds, ... read more

Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.



Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

FLORA AND FAUNA
Biden under growing pressure over border 'crisis'

Suspect charged with eight murders in Atlanta shootings

Airbus and Draken Europe team to provide Second Generation UK Search and Rescue capability

Myanmar unrest driving up food, fuel prices: WFP

FLORA AND FAUNA
Hong Kong's fragile coral reefs boosted by 3D printing

Pioneering study gives new insight into formation of copper deposits

Spacepath Communications to provide solid-state amplifiers for US Market

NAV CANADA awards Raytheon UK contract for secondary surveillance radars to manage Canadian airspace

FLORA AND FAUNA
26.5 million Nigerian children lack access to water: UNICEF

The same sea level for everyone

France's EDF says Myanmar dam project halted over coup

Landsat data warns of harmful algal blooms

FLORA AND FAUNA
Army releases Arctic strategy focused on Russia, climate change

Icy ocean worlds seismometer passes further testing in Greenland

Biofluorescent fish documented in the Arctic for the first time

Ancient leaves preserved under a mile of Greenland's ice

FLORA AND FAUNA
Rodent rampage: Mouse plague sweeps Australia's east

Seaweed could reduce levels of methane cows belch into the atmosphere

Insect diversity boosts longterm stability of crop pollination services

Danone sacks chairman after investor onslaught

FLORA AND FAUNA
Evacuations ordered as Sydney's biggest dam overflows after record rainfall

Thousands evacuate as Sydney sees worst floods in decades

False alarm sends Mexicans into street hours after quake

Icelandic volcano subsiding after first eruption in 900 years

FLORA AND FAUNA
French general rejects allegations over army's role in Rwanda

The Sahel: Terror, poverty and climate change

The Sahel: Terror, poverty and climate change

Emblems of a city, the bats of Abidjan face troubled future

FLORA AND FAUNA
Natural soundscapes boost health markers, lower stress

Bones of ancient Mayan ambassador reveal a privileged but difficult life

Humans evolved to be the water-saving ape

Study: Neanderthals could perceive and produce human speech









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.