Coastal Management

 

Management of coastal areas

Coastal areas are extremely important for the economy of a country.  They provide areas of entertainment for both tourists and locals, and other resources to industries such as fishing.

Sometimes different anthropogenic activities taking place on coastal areas exert excessive pressure on the environmental quality of these areas.  It is therefore very important to manage very well the resources found in coastal areas.

In Malta there are both governmental departments and NGOs (Non–Governmental Organisations), which aim at protecting the environment and manage these coastal areas in a sustainable way.  Examples of these NGOs are:

Throughout the years, there has been a great awareness on the management of these coastal areas and there were great improvements in this field.  Malta took part in international conventions, signed international treaties, worked in collaboration with other Mediterranean countries, and designed new laws to protect the environment (Environmental Protection Act)

 

Malta’s strategic actions for the protection and management of its coastal zones (1976- future projects).

 

Marine conservation areas in Malta

At present there are no Marine Protected Areas within the Maltese territory.  However, there are a number of coastal areas, which have been declared as Nature Reserves.  This means that these areas are protected but the sea around them is not.

  Did you know that the amount of petroleum ending up in the ocean is estimated to be 6 million tons per year?

Coastal area declared as nature reserves:

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