ENVIRONMENTAL
DEGRADATION IN ALMERÍA
The
Province and city of Almería are important areas of the Mediterranean basin
with respect to their cultural heritage and environmental values.
Desertification
is the environmental problem here. As a
result of the favourable climatic factors, it
has been place for civilizations since Prehistoric times. These
polpulations have been using the natural environment (mining, shepherding,
permanent agriculture...) with a slow but continuous destruction of the natural
resources in these vulnerable Semi-arid ecosystems.
In
addition, the recent and dramatic landscape transformation has resulted in the
destruction of natural habitats and their component species.
In the last
50 years, the area of the city has increased from about 2.5 Km2 to
about 10 Km2 . The municipal
territory occupies 296.21 Km 2. The present population is 193,000.
The urban
area supports 200 vascular plant species, including varieties of palm trees (Phoenix
dactilifera) from North Africa, Jacaranda, Ficus, Tetraclinis
articulata, Anthirrinum hispanicum and the invasive ornamental species Pennisetum setaceum. The typical urban
habitats in the city contain ten important natural or semi-natural coastal,
scrub and grassland habitats of plant communities.
This urban
development is responsible for the landscape deterioration, the increasing in
energy and water comsumption, in atmospheric pollution and solid urban waste
and loss of green areas.
The
predominant traditional agriculture system of family farms has been replaced by
intensive agriculture, greenhouse and built development. This activity is
depleting the aquifers, increasing the marine intrusion and raising salt levels
in the soil. That is how this area becomes desertified.
On top of
this, the current development model based in the tourism demand increases the
consumption, the pressure on natural resources, the landscape alteration and
the loss of cultural identity.
In order to
palliate this negative impact on the natural protected areas , different
measures have to be adopted for the preservation of the ZEPA (Zonas de Especial
Protección para las Aves) areas and Natural Protected Places( Sierra Alhamilla,
Desierto de Tabernas,Cabo de Gata-Níjar, Parajes Naturales de Alborán) and the
high ecological value of plant and animal species and habitats they include.
http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-0-387-89684-7_1?no-access=true
http://www.botanical-online.com/animales/fauna_urbana.htm
http://www.xtec.cat/~rsanto/esp/index-esp.htm
http://aves.desdeinter.net/espespaA.htm
http://www.iucnredlist.org/about
http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/184948/0
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