The littoral is the area (the place) which is at the edge of a Mer, of a Océan, of a Lac. According to the definitions selected, the littoral extends from a few hundreds of Mètre S with several Kilomètre S on both sides of the limit ground-water.

The majority of the men lives on the littorals, those are favourable with various flows (commercial exchanges, displacements…).

Characteristics

The proximity of water develops a particular environment: dune S, Roller S, rock coasts of which some with cliffs, Estuary S, beaches, coasts marshy… Microclimate S and ecosystems écotoniaux are specific littorals.

The zones estuariennes, the sandy coasts or rock, the wetlands and the maritime Marshes, very often presents, in addition to their ecological attractions and Landscape rs, economic interests .

Threats and vulnerabilities

Several factors contribute to weaken the littoral: natural sensitivity to marine erosion, but also the increasing anthropic pressures; (Urbanisation, pollution, Densité S increasing of population, development of the activities tourist Industrie lles and ), which can exacerbate the natural geomorphological movements (in particular retreat of the feature of coast, rise of the sea, displacement of tablecloths or the salted bevel which can involve a Salinisation, etc) and the occurrence of the phenomena ic Climat extremes related to the climate change (thermal storms, pluviometry, shocks which exacerbate erosion). The retreat of the cliff S high-Normans and Picardy, of 6 m on average over the period 1966-1995, in is an illustration, like the degradation of the coral reefs in Outre-mer or the decline of the Mangrove… The littorals are also exposed to the return of pollutants via the Embrun S or the oil slicks for example.

Littoral and maritime tourism

Maritime tourism is that which developed the most at the 20th century, not without negative impacts, with in particular the concreting and the artificialisation of the littoral.

Starting from the ports, developed maritime tourism and of pleasure, for an estimated turnover of 72 billion d'€ 2004 for Europe, according to the ESPO (European Organization of the Community seaports), in its contribution to the green book of Europe, the ecotourism experiencing a fast development, and the pleasure (+ 5 with 6%/an in Europe
European Union Recreational Marine Industry Group (EURMIG), contribution to the green book of the Européenne
malgré Commission its cost and the lack of place in the ports) continues to grow, as well as cruising (+ 10%/an, the cruising ships all being almost built in Europe. These figures come from the representatives of these branches of industry would be to put out of balance with the social-environmental costs and the ecological Empreinte high of certain forms of tourism; The shipyards gained 43% in productivity but lost 36% their employment, and the impacts of the artisanal déconstruction of the asbestos-covered ships or not in the poor countries only are seldom taken into account, just as to become to it pleasure boats (plastic, paintings toxic, batteries, etc), in particular thanks to the aquiculture which develops, also with certain negative impacts on the environnement.

Littoral and urbanization

In the world and in Europe, the littoral communes and back-countries have a rate of urbanization and Périurbanisation generally much higher than the average. Thus at the beginning of the 21st century, nearly 25% of the Canadian and approximately 55% of the inhabitants of the USA live already in coastal areas (CEQ, 1997; EC., 1999) and in the USA the coastal population grows four times more quickly than that of the interior. Everywhere in the world, in fact often coastal towns hold the record of urban growth (ONU/CEC; Commission for Environmental Co-operation, 2000). For example, in 2003, they represented in France 10,5% of the surfaces lately built, on 4% of the territory only. In fact the littoral back-country now unchokes the coast and contributes more to the Périurbanisation and the ecological Fragmentation of the territory, while also contributing to the phenomenon known as of luminous Pollution.

Littoral and environment

On a worldwide scale, some entities were created to control the maritime transport and to limit of them the Risque S or for a better management of certain zones (OSPAR, HELCOM…). In Europe, the Parent directive on water defines indicators and objectives qualitative and quantitative detailed for the monitoring and the levels to be reached in the coastal water levels from here 2015. Certain more industrial, urbanized zones and/or bottleneck are more vulnerable: for example 600 ships transporting of the people and/or dangerous substances and/or pollutants circulate or pass each other each day in the strait of the Pas-de-Calais. At the end of 2006, they individually are still not followed by satellites and the backup facilities would miss if there were a serious accident. (Three small oil slicks are announced at least each year, in the strait, whose authors generally are not found or are not continued).

The Séquelles of war are consisted the deposits of immersed old ammunition. Whereas OSPAR and the European commission were alerted on this point, this problem is not dealt with in the green Book of 2006. It however seems to be a question of a main risk: At least 140 sites of immersed ammunition or Explosif S were declared near the littoral by France at Commission OSPAR. They are for certain close relations of sites of breedings of Huître S and moulds (e.g.: Cancale, Quiberon in France). In the Baltic and Handle/the North Sea, they are often in fishing zone (more than 400 fishermen were victims of accidental contacts with Yperite in Baltique
Sources: commission OSPAR, 2005 and Commission of Helsinki (HELCOM, 2004,2005,2006)). Certain deposits are close to sites of aquiculture (e.g.: Baltic salmon of Bornholm in , high near tens of thousands of tons of Ammunition S comparable to dangerous waste and poisons, and which are degraded ineluctably, some losing already of their contents). Certain deposits are close to nuclear plants (of which largest of Europe with Gravelines, in the North of France), in contact with nuclear waste immersed (Fosse of Casquets in the north of the Normandy) or with the harbor due industrial energy (ex: 35.000 T of ammunition of 1914-1918 including 12.000 charged with the Yperite and the Chloropicrin immersed on at least 4 ha, to a few hundred meters in the north of the port (methane tanker) of Zeebrugge in Belgium and with some pitch-stirrers of the beach.

Such Décharge S underwater also exists on the littorals of the the United States, the Canada, the Japan, the Australia and other areas of the world. The marine currents at the time of Storm S or Tsunami S already were able to bring back these ammunition on the beaches and in a case near a Nuclear plant.

Littoral and sustainable development

Several countries and areas supported integrated development schemes of the littoral, estuary or sea, more or less implemented and evaluated.

The Parliament and the Council Europeans adopted on May 30th 2002 the Recommendation 2002/413/CE relating to the implementation of a strategy of Gestion integrated of the coastal areas (GIZC) in Europe (requesting a first assessment from the Member States in February 2006, and the follow-up of objective indicators and scientifically founded to supervise and compare sustainable development (DD) on the littoral. A European Group of expert on the GIZC was created since 2002, composed (in 2007) of the 20 coastal Member States and two States candidates, with a sub-group " Indicators and données" (GT-ID) working as of February 2003. The program INTERREG “ DEDUCE ” ( Sustainable development of the European coasts ) , returned in 2007 an evaluation of 27 of these indicating S. France contributed to it via IFEN, with its Observatoire of the littoral, just as Observatorio of Sostenibilidad (for the Department of the Environment of Spain). More. Europe works out in 2007 proposals for a Directive marine, and another on the floods within the framework of the future European maritime Policy drawn in a green Book entitled Towards a future maritime policy of the Union: a European vision of the oceans and seas . The EU prepares also a European Network of data of observation and monitoring (EMODNET) which should integrate the marine and littoral aspects.

The objectives of a more durable fishing envisaged by the European Union are not achieved. They can seem contradictory with the priority given to economic and technical competitiveness, while at the same time the demand for fish continues to grow. Whereas a climatic crisis and Pétrole are announced, in 2006 (green Book), the EU still posts her will to develop the Maritime transport and her port S, as key elements of the chain Logistique which connects the Single European market to the mondialized economy, with a bearable development objective, but while omitting to take into account the fact that these ports, certain nuclear plants littoral could be soon very affected by a possible rise the accelerated of the oceans and by lack of clean energy, sure and renewable.

Europe studies the possibility of retaining indicators and levels of durability for its littorals. In France, the '' Observatoire of the littoral '' of the IFEN follows and updates a certain number of indicators measuring the evolution of the French littoral taking into consideration Sustainable development.

The concept of the “wild third” (33% of the territory of the coastal areas of France must be protected at ends from nature conservation) was proposed in Europe by the Academy of the littoral.

Littoral and right

the international law , including the Right of the sea delimits the Territorial water or relates to the right and the Maritime security with littoral implications.

In Europe, several European directives relates to the fishing at sea, the maritime security. In France, the Loi littoral tries to control the littoral urbanization. Various international conventions, charters, declarations relate to the littoral.

In France , the Loi on the development of the rural territories instituted in 2005 a National council of littoral (CNL), installed on July 13rd, 2006. It gathers 72 members named for five years (parliamentary, elected territorial collectivities of metropolis and overseas, representatives of the socio-professional mediums, personalities of the civil society and representatives of the public corporations concerned). It is a place of day before, exchanges and proposals, which will be able to be based on the data of the Observatory of the littoral, within IFEN.

See too

External bond

  • green Book on the maritime policy of the European Union (2006)
  • Report/ratio EEA on the evaluation of the integrated development of the European littoral (" The changing faces off Europe' S coastal areas" , published on July 3rd, 2006) and summarized.
  • Gate SIG of the French littoral (Observatory of the littoral)
  • Gate of program DEDUCE
  • Report/ratio interreg DEDUCE, presents 45 European indicators of follow-up of sustainable development on the littoral, as well as the methods and limits of calculations.
  • the site dedicated to the management of Breton coastal spaces
  • Resources DIACT (France) concerning the littoral
  • Marevita (Site devoted to the illustration of the Biodiversity marine (fauna, flora) of the Atlantic littorals and the Handle)
  • the Atlantic littoral, file Futura-sciences

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