Physical background, demography, tourism, mineral resources and land-use

Abstract

In August 2001, the above team was assigned the responsibility to compile the section concerning the use of land resources for this second State of the Environment Report for the Maltese Islands (SoER 2002). As for the first edition of the SOER, this section includes data on the population structure and demography of the Maltese Islands, data on tourism trends and on non-renewable resources, with a major emphasis on quarrying and resource exploitation, apart from the more general land-use issues. In this second edition of the SOER, this section will deal with the following topics: The Maltese Islands, Geology, Climate, Geomorphology and Landscape, Population, Tourism, Mineral Resources, Land, Land-Use and Land Cover. Each of these topics will be evaluated, giving the current state of affairs and, where possible, comparing the current situation with that in 1997/1998, extrapolating trends and possible responses to the pressures evident today. Indicators for the major aspects of each topic are also proposed for future comparison purposes. In order for the data presented in this report to be more readily comparable with eventual future reports (as well as with trends in other countries), a list of sustainability indicators is also provided. It is important that the reader reviews also the relevant data presented in the first SOER (Axiak et al., 1999a) when using data presented in this report since, in many cases, direct reference and comparisons are made with the first report and only in this way can trends in the quality of the environment be gauged.