Tourism, pollution threaten way of life

Press, 23 March 1988, Page 16

Tourism, pollution threaten way of life

I H. ' The natural glories, of Spain, Tunisia, Yugoslavia and Greece feature in! tonight’s final' of “The First Eden”' (7.30 on One). ' For thousands of yehrs, ! unaffected by the rise hnd I fall of empires] the ordin- . ary people of the Mediterranean have worked | the , land and fished the seas i in much! the same way as their ancestors did before ' them. I |■ i | j. ' 'I • ' L i But in recent years this simple existence has been under threat from both, the annual tide! of tourism, which overwhelms the villages each!summer, and the increaking levels of industrial and urban wastes which 'find their way into the Mediterranean. | 1 : I To combat this threat, the Mediterranean nations unitedtb . try to restore the health of their common sea. Progress,! although slow, has been made. The beaches are not as polluted) as they once wrere; fishing ihas been sensibly ! restricted; the use |of spearguns >has! been controlled. J i. | I '! I In some; remote and little-known places the glories and splendours of the ancient Mediteq ranean | can i still be found. I. in the great bird colonies' of Lake Ichkeul near Tunis; in the Rhodian j Valley, where millions of butterflies spend the winter; in; the mountains of Corsica and Sardinia, where there are still ancient pines and rare salamanders; in the swamps of the Camargue, where wild horses and wandering bulls still live. It seems that I at last! the 1 people who live in the world’s' oldest, humanised, landscape are learning to care for and cultivate] the rich garden that man took over so 1 long ago. ,| j "Our I World”, returns to the 7.30 p.mJ Wednesday slot from next |week.||