Environmental Problems

There is a wide array of environmental problems associated with tourism in the Lake District.

Aside from common problems with litter, there exists footpath erosion, lakeside erosion and air pollution.

The increased number of cars damages the air from car exhausts and also from people parking on grass verges, damaging the ground parked upon.

Environmental Problems

Footpath erosion occurs because of the sheer number of people using popular routes.

According to the Park Authority, four million people walk an average of 6km each year.

The pressure of peoples feet damages plants and soil, making soil erosion possible.

Environmental Problems

These issues are worst in honey pot or popular areas, which also suffer from the stress of overcrowding, parking problems and second homes.

Solutions for Environmental Problems Show visitors how they can be responsible

tourists with events, leaflets, information centres, guided walks and events, signs and websites.

Encourage visitors to leave their cars behind and use greener travel, like bikes, buses, boats and trains.

Support outdoor activities that don’t damage the countryside and harm wildlife.

Solutions for Environmental Problems Encourage visitors to buy local products and

food. Run green business schemes to encourage

businesses to recycle, reduce energy, conserve water and be sustainable.

Ask local communities for their views and ideas by setting up forums, groups and consultations.

Reduce erosion caused by visitors by creating and repairing footpaths.

Solutions for Environmental Problems Use planning policies to control the spread of

buildings in built-up areas development. Encourage green energy-efficient buildings

with planning policies and grant funds. Encourage small-scale renewable energy

schemes like woodchip boilers and solar panels, with planning policies and grant funding.

Lake District

Limitations of an area

About The LocationThe Lake District covers 2292 squarekilometres and 885 square miles.

It has a total of 14 lakes

Its also very mountainous, including 6 verylarge ones with the highest peak at 3210Feet.

WeatherTemperatures are cool in summer due to the

altitude ( every 1000 metre increase in

altitude, temps decrease by 6 degrees)

The Lake District is on the West coast, in

Winter, temps are mild due to the warming

effects of the North Atlantic Drift.

WeatherRainfall is high throughout the year, due tothe mountains forcing the air up, causingmore rainfall as well as being located next tothe coast.

Increased cloud cover occurs due to themountains, this then reduces the amountof sunshine hours.

The SoilSoils are very thin and highly acidic. Due to

this they can only support limited vegetation.

Due to the high amounts of rainfall, leaching

occurs, taking out the nutrients from the soil.

The SoilDue to the soils state, crops could not be

grown here. Forestry is the main form of

industry. Around 11% of the National Park is

made up of forestry.

This is because the trees can cope with poor

soils and can survive as they can sook up the

nutrients again which were lost from leeching.

FarmingSheep farming is the main type of farming in

the Lake District due to it being such a steep

location.

Cattle could not get up and down the steep

slopes and could not cope with the altitude

up on the mountains.

FarmingMachinery could also not get up the steep

slopes to attend the soils, meaning that the

only suitable solution is sheep farming.

“Herdwick sheep” are the most common

type of sheep to be found in the Lake

District.

FarmingDairy and arable farming is found on the valley floor andfringes of the park. Soil is thicker here and of betterquality to support the cattle.

However, the soil becomes waterlogged here which meanscrops are losed or cant be grown.

Due to the poorer quality of land, farmers need to farm alarger area to make it viable or diversify their activities tobring in additional income.

Loss Of Young Expertise

Due to low price salaries and expensivehousing, the Lake District is not appealing toyoung people. The young brought up hereare moving away and the young from otherareas do not want to move here.

This means that the Lake District is loosing theyoung generation, which are vital to carry out theWork.

Unable to modernise

Modern communication like speedy internet

connections, cannot occur. The Lake District

cannot get broadband as no access can be

gained anywhere within the mountainous area.

This means that the young could not even work at

home and communicate work to the office or

attend video confrensing as they get no access.

Disasters

On 19th November 2009, flooding occurred the area.314.44mm fell within 24 hours. 6 bridges collapsed and theother 1800 had to be checked before they could be usedagain. 1600 homes and businesses were completelydemolished.

Due to this natural disaster, tourism dropped as the placeso was so badly damaged. Local businesses went intofinancial difficulties and others had to rebuild their businessfrom scratch.

What Caused The Disaster

The severe flooding occurred due to an

Atlantic weather front becoming almost

stationary over Northern Ireland, Cumbria

and South West Scotland. The rain was

intensified by the effect of the mountains

forcing the air up.

Atlantic Effects

All year round, there is high amounts of

rainfall due to prevailing westerly winds

across the Atlantic, pitching up huge

amounts of moisture. As the air hits the Lake

District hills, it is forced up to rise where it

cools and the moisture condenses to form

rain.

Honey Pot Sites

And related conflicts

Honey Pot Sites

Honey pot sites are particularly popular visitor attractions which bring tourists to the area in large numbers. They are frequently used by cities or countries to manage their tourism industry. The use of honey pot sites can protect fragile land from major cities while satisfying tourists.

One example of this is the construction of local parks to prevent tourists from damaging more valuable ecosystems further from their main destination. Honey pots have added benefit of concentrating a large number of income-generating visitors in one place, thus developing that area, and in turn making the area more appealing to tourists.

However, honey pot sites can also bring about consequences such as overcrowding, litter, crime and strain on facilities and transport networks.

Bowness-on-Windermere

The main honey pot site in the Lake District is Bowness-on-Windermere, there are many conflicts caused by tourism in this area:

The town can become congested with cars and tourists, causing pollution and conflict with local people.

Walkers can cause conflict with local farmers by dropping litter and leaving gates open.

Conflicts (continued)

Tourists can buy second homes in this area which can push property prices up to the point where locals cannot afford them.

If pathways are frequently used by the many tourists in these areas they can be damaged.

Large numbers of visitors create air, noise, litter and water pollution.

Farmland is used to build tourist facilities e.g. campsites

Conflicts (continued)

Conflicts between different recreational activities e.g. motorbikes and cyclists on minor roads. Also, conflicts caused by jet skis and sailing on lochs