Modification of habitats from land-based recreation

Wherever land- or water-based recreational activities take place in formal or semi-formal areas, car parking and toilet facilities are usually required by participants. At a launch site, car parking often needs to cater for car and trailer. At marinas, boatyards and yacht clubs where boats are moored on water, car parks will invariably cater for just the participant’s car. However, larger facilities often have a significant land area set aside for dry boat storage and owner maintenance.

The construction of car parks and other landside development, such as offices and boat associated businesses will often entail extensive site preparation, including levelling, concreting, tarmacing and other subsequent construction work. Generally, the larger the facility required, the greater the potential for significant permanent environmental impact.

However, it should be borne in mind that although the provision of new car parking facilities in some areas can cause environmental impacts, it may be that, over the long term, the magnitude of such impacts may be less than the impacts of continuous unmanaged parking in sensitive areas, such as in between sand dunes. The sacrifice of a less important area in terms of nature conservation may be beneficial in the long term for the protection of the overall site.

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