Where is Poole Harbour?

Poole is in Dorset, southern England.

Why is coastal management so important around Poole Harbour?

It is a densely populated area. Some 30,000 people live along the northern shores of the harbour, and the resort town of Bournemouth is nearby. The entire area is extremely popular for recreation and tourism, but there are many other people apart from tourists who want to use the area.

What different land uses are there in and around Poole Harbour?

There are many important conservation areas here. These include an RSPB reserve and one run by the Dorset Trust for Nature Conservation (DTNC), an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). A Heritage Coast runs along Studland Bay.

The southern part of the area contains the largest onshore oilfield in western Europe. There are oil wells on the mainland and on Furzey Island.

Ferry routes to Cherbourg, St. Malo, Guernsey and Jersey run through the harbour.

People use the area for a range of water sports including - waterskiing, jetskiing, windsurfing, canoeing and rowing.

What kind of problems are there, and how can they be solved?

Problems	Solutions
Most visitors to Studland Heath arrive by car.	Set up a park-and-ride scheme. Use ferries to bring people to Studland from nearby towns.
Cars are parked illegally along roadsides or even on the heath itself.	Place fences beside the roads. Build ditches to stop 4x4 vehicles getting onto the heath.
Commercial shipping, ferries, oil drilling and supply boats, and people who do watersports all want to use the harbour waters.	Encourage small boats and watersports enthusiasts to go out to sea rather than staying within the harbour area.

An Aquatic Management Plan was introduced by the Poole Harbour Commissioners (PHC) in 1994. This plan allocates certain uses to special areas of the harbour. By keeping conflicting uses away from each other it is hoped problems will be reduced to a minimum.