THE 6TH MASS EXTINCTION

“Humans plowed through my home”

The beautiful Sea Daffodil is threatened with extinction by tourists and eventually sea level rise

Decidedly one of the most spectacular plant species of the Greek and Mediterranean coastal flora, the Sea Daffodil, or Sand Lilly, has been in severe decline and threatened with extinction in many areas. Native to the Canary Islands but found across the Mediterranean, it is facing pressure in many of its habitats but especially along the Turkish and Bulgarian Black Sea and anywhere humans are present for that matter.

And, also in my hometown in northern Greece where it is probably extinct. I know, because it has been more than 15 years since I’ve seen one on the beach. It would be unthinkable that one day, these unique and strange flowers that grow out of the salty beach sand might be taken out by humans. Millions of years of remarkable evolution that have allowed the Sea Daffodil to tolerate extreme heat, salt, coastal wind and drought, have not prepared it for its worst enemy: tourists

Millions of years of remarkable evolution that have allowed the Sea Daffodil to tolerate extreme heat, salt, coastal wind and drought, have not prepared it for its worst enemy: tourists

A victim of tourism

Closely related to Amaryllis, the Beach Amaryllis as I like to call it, is officially called Pancratium Maritimum. Living in a zone where humans like to play beach volley and lay their beach towels, it was always destined to become extinct.

It’s habitat, as with other coastal plants, is a narrow ribbon of sand that follows the coast. It needs to grow on the beach sand, so it cannot be too far inland from the water. But it also needs to be away from direct exposure to saltwater and the desert-like conditions of the central part of the beach, so it can’t be too close to the waves either. This effectively restricts beach amaryllis’s habitat to literally a few meters wide “between a rock and a hard place”, sometimes dwindling down to the centimetre range. This habitat is precariously perched on the boundary of extremes of salinity, humidity, temperature and soil types. It is an in-between zone of extremely low square mileage.

Living in a zone where humans like to play beach volley and lay their beach towels, it was always destined to become extinct

And it just so happens that these are the same few square meters where humans like to stick their beach umbrellas (stabbing the plant’s bulb), as well as pick up a few beach flower souvenirs for home.

Caution: Human Crossing

But by far the worst part of the damage is done by an action that us humans consider the most natural, harmless one: walking. We are natural buldozers, a sizeable animal that can destroy plants and animals in its path with just a few “walks”, both on the beach, in the water and out of it.

Walking humans are the number one threat to these fragile habitats

I know the beach Amaryllis’s plight first hand because I’ve seen it decline over four decades. It used to be found almost everywhere, even in urban beaches. I’ve been in beaches where I’ve literally seen the last beach Amaryllis flower, and come back year after year to witness that the local population is now extinct.

Keep Out

Developing an environmental conscience comes naturally to some people. But for most of us, it requires intelligence, no matter how empathetic we might be as a person:

Knowing that this plant can only grow where you put your beach towel.

Knowing that once you kill a plant it doesn’t come back.

Knowing that once you build hotels on the beach, plow the area or simply walk on it, you are destroying a unique, sensitive ecosystem. Forever.

Climate Change and Sea Level Rise = THE END

Of course beach Amaryllis is just the poster child for wider degradation of these habitats. In addition to humans’ destructive path, the temperature extremes and increased storm intensity that Climate Change brings place additional pressure on this habitat.

Most of all, the predicted rise in sea levels and potential disappearance of most beaches worldwide in a matter of decades, puts a bright red question mark over this entire habitat, before we have even had the chance to fully study it. A habitat full of plants and animals with impressive survival mechanisms that hold many secrets and are therefore potentially a source of new drugs.

The predicted rise in sea levels and potential disappearance of most beaches worldwide in a matter of decades, puts a bright red question mark over this entire habitat, before we have even had the chance to fully study it

Current conservation efforts are restricted to the handful of national parks. This is very sad as it is grossly inadequate. Cordoned-off areas should be implemented on every beach to preserve the genetic pools of these habitats in various areas of the country. No-walk and No-swim areas should be everywhere, they only need to be a few meters and humans can enjoy the rest of the beach. With 30 million visitors now coming to Greece every summer, beach Amaryllis and its entire ecosystem are rapidly being confined to the remote areas of the country. Beach etiquette and education is completely absent. We all need to learn that once we enter a beach we are immediately a disruptive element, and we need to manage our behaviour and impact at the personal level.