Box 6A Coastwatch Europe surveys

The coastal surveys coordinated by Coastwatch Europe began in 1987 and ran in six countries as an international survey in 1989. They aim to collect comparable information on the coast, its characteristics and threats, effluent discharges, quality indicators, litter pollution, changes to the 'coastal rim' and destruction of habitats. The surveys are carried out by volunteers guided by regional and local coordinators and instructed by local authority representatives, teachers, wildlife officers and others knowledgable in the field. For the fifth survey completed in September/October 1993 (Coastwatch, 1994), over 100 000 volunteers took part in 21 European countries.

Each year since 1989 the sample size has been over 10 000 survey units (each unit is equal to 500 m of coastline): in 1993 there were approximately 15 000 survey units. Two countries provided more than 50 per cent of the returns: UK (34 per cent) and Spain (26 per cent). The percentage of coastline covered in each country is very variable and has been changing since 1989. In 1993 more than 7.5 per cent of the national coastline of seven countries was surveyed: Ireland (9 per cent), UK (12 per cent), Germany (15 per cent), Spain (16 per cent), The Netherlands (20 per cent), Lithuania (30 per cent) and Poland (55 per cent). Of these countries, all except The Netherlands believe the results to be representative of the accessible part of the coastline.

The Coastwatch information on coastal litter pollution provides the most comprehensive data on this subject available for Europe. A summary follows:

• In 1993, approximately one third of units surveyed were thought to be clean or almost clean from litter; this ranged from 50 per cent in the North Sea to 20 per cent in the Mediterranean. The results from 1989 to 1993 suggest that the general litter situation is worsening in the Baltic States and Poland, while improving marginally in two of the countries surveyed ­ Germany and The Netherlands. In most countries, packaging made of non- or slow-degradable materials, such as plastic and polystyrene, is increasingly found on coasts.
• Litter is divided into large and small categories. The most common large litter item in the 'splash zone' in 1993 was landfill materials and household refuse (Figure 6.3). Of the four large litter categories which increased in 1993, household wastes increased most significantly. A big improvement in large litter items was noticed in particular in Poland.
• Among the small or general litter items in the last three survey periods, about 80 per cent of shores were reported to have some form of plastic litter: the most prevalent types were hard plastic containers (mainly plastic bottles), foamed polystyrene/polyurethane, plastic fishing gear and other plastic materials. Glass and cans were found on 53 and 66 per cent of survey units respectively in 1993. The occurrence of plastic bottles or hard plastic containers increased over the last two surveys, while cans and other plastic, paper/card and wood items have stabilised or reduced in 1993. Counts of beverage containers yielded an average of 23 bottles per survey unit. Medical and other sanitary wastes have increased consistently over the past three years, being found in 13 and 29 per cent of survey units respectively in 1993.
• The results of the collective data are strongly influenced by the returns from Spain and the UK, which have the largest sample sizes. Comparing the results by sea area compensates for this and reveals regional differences (Figure 6.4). Most significantly, Mediterranean coasts consistently show the highest returns for all categories of litter, large and small, compared with the North Sea, Baltic and Atlantic.