Lithuania is a small Northern Europe country. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania has a territory 1.5 times smaller than Portugal and has a estimated population of 3.2 millions. Lithuania has became a member of the European Union in 2004, after that territories of the European Natura 2000 network was established in Lithuania to protect wild fauna and flora of our country.
Lithuania’s landscape had been formed in the last Ice Age. Our country’s most precious treasure is quiet and untouched by human activities corners of nature. The system was started to be created in 1992. Nowadays protected areas cover 15,3 % of the territory of Lithuania. Types of protected areas founded in Lithuania are: regional and national parks, strict nature reserves, reserves, biosphere grounds. I will try to describe history, present situation and plans for future of Curonian Spit (Kuršių Nerijos) national park.
Curonian Spit national park is located in the west of Lithuania, between the Baltic Sea and Curonian Lagoon, it covers 264,74 km2. Land occupies 37% of the area of the park (70-74% forest), east of the park is surrounded by the Curonian Lagoon (16% of the area) and from the west by the Baltic Sea (47% of the park area). The Spit is a peninsula that separates the Baltic Sea and the Curonian Lagoon in a slightly concave arc for 98 km from the Kaliningrad Peninsula to the town of Klaipeda. Curonian spit national park was established in 1991 to preserve valuable natural and cultural landscape of Lithuanian seaside with a unique complex of the highest moving sand dunes in Europe and the ethno-cultural heritage. Curonian spit is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
This unique corner is extremely fragile: sand dunes are under constant threat from natural forces (wind and tide). It is at the high risk of violations of the Curonian spit and even extinction. The moving sandy surface of the Curonian spit was planted by trees, but during wars most of them were destroyed. The wind drifted free sand, and from the 16th to the 19th centuries 14 fishermen’s villages were buried under it. The spit reclaimed massive protection and stabilization works began in the 19th century and still continue until now. Nowadays forest covers 6.731 hectares, including 3.556 hectares of Scotch pine and 1.874 hectares of stunted pine stands.
During Soviet period, there has been restriction for tourists in Curonian Spit: in one year could receive no more than 100,000 visitors (including one day tourists). Nowadays there are no restrictions, but more tourists are coming – in summer season their can be 11,000 – 12,000 visitors at the same time. According to specialists of UNESCO World Heritage committee, Lithuania should prepare a tourism strategy which will evaluate visitors and transport flows in Curonian spit.
In 2010, 16th of July in the Curonian spit (Kuršių Nerijos) national park was carried out monitoring of visitors flows. For preparing the methodology for the observation, organizers consulted with specialist of different fields: the Curonian national park employees, botanists, geologists. They recommended that the flow of tourists should be assessed in the Pranidzio dune, because it is the most intensive visited. For observation were selected degraded, average and healthy state habitats of white and grey dunes. The results show that intensively visiting of both white and grey dunes is more damaged. Good conditions habitats during observation (in 6 hours) visited 0-27 visitors and degraded – from 3 to 118.
Trial monitoring of the flow of visitors was carried out in the beach of protective dune in Nida. The main function of protective dune – to build up the sand and do not let it go to the depth of the spit. Because of the big number of visitors in protective foredune and appearance of deflationary pits, the dune is starting to become shorter and narrower. In the future this can be the reason for bigger problems. Due to the unregulated flow of tourists over the past decade deserted a lot of white and grey sand dunes. Before the observation of visitors, a variety of different conditions dune fields was researched and researchers have not found truly healthy white sand dune sample.
What local government is doing to preserve this amazing corner of nature? Because landscapes are particularly sensitive, visitors are not allowed to disassemble the dunes, not put up tents, build fires, walk around the areas of nature reserves, with the exception of specially equipped trail. In “Grobstas” and “Nagliu” reserves is forbidden to walk all over their territory. Tourists can stay at guest houses or in the local residents ones.
To sum up, Curonian spit (Kuršių Nerija) is a unique corner of nature in Europe, which must be protected and saved for other generations. In my opinion, local government should apply strict strategy concerning the number of tourists and transport, also some strict rules must be set about path and roads in the spit.
Brigita Saikeviciute
[Artigo de opinião produzido no âmbito da unidade curricular “Economia Regional” do 3.º ano do curso de Economia (1.ºciclo) da EEG/UMinho]
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