land use conflicts in Cairngorms Flashcards
traffic
Aviemore and Kingussie are popular tourist areas so more congestion. - Can be frustrating for locals so tension with visitors.
Traffic congestion contributes to air/noise pollution in small towns and villages which damages delicate environment.
parking
tourists inconsiderate where they park cars. Country roads are narrow and not designed for large car numbers and buses and coaches.
People park on nearby access roads making them narrower and adding to congestion
tourism
Anglers pay lots of money to fish in the Cairngorms however the fish could be disturbed by paddlers - they can interrupt their breeding areas.
Rare bird and wildlife species can be disturbed by dogs that aren’t on leads (eg. rare ground nesting bird Capercaillie)
footpath erosion
Busy mountains (eg. Ben Macdhui) often have tourists straying off of footpaths, causing them to be eroded and widened.
Tourists can also cause damage to vegetation and soil.
New developments
New wind farms proposed for National Park caused concern to environmental groups due to damage to land during construction and rare bird species may die of they fly into it
Litter
Increased number of visitors results in more litter which is unsightly and deters people from visiting.
Also pollutes rivers and lochs and can harm wildlife if they try to eat it - they may choke and die.
traffic solution and effectiveness
Park and ride schemes in Aviemore where people park cars and get shuttle buses to busier areas reduces number of cars in the area.
Successfully reduced number of vehicles on road but many visitors want to arrive and leave as they please to still travel by car.
parking solution and effectiveness
Car parking fees introduced at Cairngorms Ski Resort to discourage tourists bringing cars. Charged £2 a day, minibuses charged £8 to promote car sharing.
Money raised goes towards improving parking facilities for cars and coaches to further limit parking on nearby roads.
Many people feel £2 is reasonable compared to similar facilities eg. Lake District which is £9 a day
footpath erosion solution and effectiveness
sub soiling creates a solid wearing surface and requires little maintenance
successful because it looks natural, so blends in well with surroundings - also reduced erosion and scarring on the land
however costly and time consuming to maintain repairs
3 strategies
litter solution and effectiveness
removing bins encourages people to take home their litter. -
Effective as locals believe bins take away from the natural beauty of the area.
Park rangers can also issue fines to those who litter - effective deterrent.
Voluntary litter picks (eg. GB Ski Club annual mountain cleanup at Glencoe and cairngorms ski resort). - not as effective as it relies on volunteers and also litter picks can’t be done when it is snowing as litter can’t be seen.
