Estimating The Pressures on The Coastal Environment in Libya Through The Indicators of Population, Tourism, and Industrial Development: Case Study The Coastal Area between Gharabolli and Zawia

Abstract

The natural resources in Libyan coastal areas face many pressures as a result of the unwarranted settlement due to the past years of the country's comprehensive development in all sectors, without concern for the environment, resulting in the emergence of some environmental problems pollution, and depletion of natural resources. One of these areas is the coastal area from Gharabolli in the east to Zawia in the west, to know the relationship between man and the environment in the study area during the successive development plans that the country has undergone since the early seventies until 2005. The indicators were guided by the sustainable development of population, tourism, and industry to show this relationship. The population development indicators obtained for the study area continuous increase in population density, despite the negative impact of population increase on natural resources, this increase was accompanied by a positive development in other population indicators. With regard to the indicators of tourism development, it is also without any pressures on the environment and natural resources and their impact due to lack of proper planning of tourist sites and entertainment. Most of the pressures are related to waste disposal problems that deform the coast, or to the establishment of tourist facilities without taking environmental considerations. The indicators of the industry, despite the economic and industrial development, the indicators did not exceed the limits allowed with the emergence of negatives on the different environmental communities in the study area, the absence of the provision of infrastructure services related to the environment such as non-commitment to disposal of various industrial waste and not to carry out environmental impact studies of factories prior to their establishment, which may cause environmental problems in surrounding coastal area.