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Solway Tweed river basin characterisation |
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2.5 Amenity and recreation There are a wide range of recreational and amenity uses of water resources. In order to consider a number of different areas, this category has been broken down into tourism and water-dependent visitor attractions, water-dependent recreation, non-water-dependent recreation, waterside amenity and navigation.
Tourism is an important and growing source of employment and income in the RBD; expected to support (by 2015) over 10% of employees and generate under 6% of income. The natural beauty of the region is an important factor for tourists. In a survey of French, Spanish and German visitors, 47% of those surveyed stated that landscape, countryside and scenery were the main influence on their choice to holiday in Scotland, with 10% specifically mentioning lochs and rivers (Visit Scotland and SNH, 2002).
There is a wide range of recreational activities that rely on water. This includes activities on water bodies, such as jet-skiing, kayaking, rafting, windsurfing and yachting, as well as activities that abstract and discharge water, in particular swimming pools. Although those taking part in many of these activities are not charged for water use, they can have an impact on the economy through spending. Angling is also a form of water-dependent recreation, although this was considered as part of the discussion of fishing, and therefore is not included again at this point. Activities that use outdoor water bodies, either inland or coastal waters, are affected by a number of features of the water body. In particular, bathing and paddling are influenced by water quality. The blue flag standard is a symbol of environmental quality as well as sanitary and safety facilities at beaches and marinas in Europe and South Africa. Thus the award increasingly reveals more than just the quality of the bathing water, although it is imperative that water quality is compliant with the requirements of the EU Bathing Water Directive (76/160/EEC) concerning total contaminants. Of the 105 blue flag beaches and 12 marinas in the UK, three are in Solway Tweed (Kirkcudbright, Maryport and Whitehaven).
Within Scotland, there are 36,650km of river designated under the Freshwater Fish Directive, the vast majority (36,580km) of which is designated as salmonid fisheries. Of the salmonid designated rivers, 770km failed to meet water quality requirements in 2002, with no failures of cyprinid designated rivers. Angling contributed over £112 million to the Scottish economy in 2003, and is important in Solway Tweed. Recent estimates value this activity as contributing around £8 million annually to the Scottish Borders27.
The only sizable port in Solway Tweed is Silloth. In 2002, this port accounted for just 0.03% of all cargo traffic in the United Kingdom. For the year, 121,000 tonnes of cargo was received through the port, while 12,000 tonnes left through the port. There were no ferry passengers through the port.
Waterside amenity includes those individuals who chose to walk or spend time near to rivers, lochs or the coast because of the aquatic scenery. It also includes the higher value of property associated with a waterside location.
Life on earth depends on the ability of the environment to provide essential services, recycling wastes and nutrients, providing fresh water, clean air and so on. During 2002 estimates were made to quantify in monetary terms the benefits that the environment within Scotland provides. This work29 generated an estimate of the annual value of approximately £17 billion, of which more than £3 billion was directly attributable to lakes, rivers and estuaries. In many cases the value of these benefits is utilised by industrial sectors and becomes embodied in their final products. In others the benefits are enjoyed by the population at large or by recreational users of the environment.
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