Touristic impact in Barcelona

For many years, the social and environmental impact was not a priority theme of the touristic politics. However, the climate changing and the social factors speed up the pressures over the industry, which vacations business model makes a very intensive utilization of the natural resources. Because of that, the urgency is bigger when the tourism pressure over the resources begins to create a citizenship’s discontentment over this sector. For example, in Barcelona, the municipal poll about tourism perception has indicated that., for the first time, the percentage of people that believe that the number of tourists is enough is bigger than the one that considers that is necessary to attract more tourists. It’s important to remember that that a destination that doesn’t manage well its resources tends to deteriorate faster. But the biggest impact in the touristic sector is the number of cruises docking in Barcelona. A number that is been growing fast and, with that, the environmental impact: the atmospheric and marine waters contamination, the generation of big amounts of waste, the high use of water, the destruction of the marine biodiversity and the contribution to the global warming. Studies made in Barcelona’s port demonstrate that the air contains a high concentration of toxic and carcinogenic substances: 100 times higher than normal. The cruises’ waste that end up in the sea contaminate over 400 km of coast. The fuel used by the cruises contain until 3500 times more sulfur than the diesel used normally in cars. The waves generated when they arrive in the port cause coast erosion. A contamination that perpetuates even when they’re docked, because in order to keep working, they need to keep burning fuel. Catalonia’s department of Territory and Sustainability activated a preventive warning for atmospheric contamination in 40 counties. The majority of these boats use fuel oil because it’s cheaper, though only during navigation, once inside European ports they’re obliged to used oil diesel, that 35 times less sulfur oxide. The Mediterranean’s singularity, that differentiates it from Baltic, the North Sea and the USA coasts, is that it isn’t an Emissions Control Area (ECA). The States themselves need to ask Maritime International Organization to create a ECA. However, when there are few countries implied, like in Baltic and North American is easier to make an agreement. In the Mediterranean, with 22 countries from 3 continents, with crossed interests and conflicts, it’s more complicated, where, by any chance, doors could be closed. The general direction of environmental quality and climate changing will value periodically the atmospheric levels to determinate if a contamination episode is decreed or if it disactivates the preventive warning. At the moment, the protocol has the objective to inform citizens about pollution levels and to ask to priorate the public transportation over the private. In the luminous street signs will also have information and Generalitat already asks the industrial activities. Although this kind of tourism contributing for one of the biggest environmental scourge in Barcelona, the touristic sector is one of the city’s motors that generates 14% of its wealth and about 65 thousand jobs.  

Location

Spain, Barcelona

Environmental impact

• Water pollution
• Land degradation (e.g. drought, soil contamination, erosion and desertification)
• Alteration of landscape aesthetics and built heritage

Ethical/ legal issues

• A clean and prosperous environment and a safe and pleasant habitat
• Opportunities to work and leisure

Information sources & materials

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