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Climate change will have a significant impact on coastal locations, affecting visitors’ and residents’ values and experiences. Yet, we know little about the ways visitors value the coast and how they may be affected by climate change impacts. There is a need for place-based studies, where residents and visitors are studied alongside one another to inform more comprehensive and socially-inclusive adaptation strategies. This study sought to understand the lived and landscape values that visitors and residents attribute to the natural reserves and beach of the Llobregat Delta in the densely built-up environment of Barcelona, Spain, as well as their concerns about the impacts of climate change. Results of our survey (n = 133) showed that residents and visitors alike highly valued the natural environment, biodiversity and therapeutic aspects. Residents placed more importance on the biodiversity, safety and sense of identity and pride that the area provides. Visitors were just as likely as residents to be concerned about the effects of climate change on the region. This concern reveals that visitors are key stakeholders with coastal place attachments that need to be integrated into future adaptation research and practice.

Sets of coastal management indicators have been used to summarize the main social, economic, environmental and political assets/processes of socio-ecological systems (SES). Their development and further assessment have, usually, been ruled by a process of four sequential steps (Selection/definition of indicators, Production, Assessment and Information for policy actions), in which feedback is limited to certain subjects and attributes. Quality checks regarding the information made available are rarely seen, somewhat disregarding the adaptive complex character of SES. In this study, we present the double-loop (DL) process of learning, aiming at improving the epistemological (usefulness) and pragmatic (pertinence) quality of knowledge. In practice, an expanded peer assessment has led to the adjustment of a previous beach management tool: The Beach Quality Index (hereinafter, the single-looped BQI), through the (re)selection, (re)definition and (re)production of indicators. By means of one multi-stakeholder meeting, five focus groups and interviews, four relevant narratives of the Catalan coast were identified. These narratives enabled the shaping of a wider perception of the observed system - the Catalan beaches - which highlighted the lack of integration in beach management processes. In order to respond to the aforesaid lack of integration and other shortcomings, by adding or updating the single-looped BQI indicators, a new formal system and the choices made were formulated and highlighted. This new set of indicators is here called the double-looped BQI, in which, especially, the previous preponderance of recreational activity was counterbalanced. Though further developments would still be necessary and in situ applications would help to check the feasibility of the logic applied, we recommend its inclusion in the beach quality research field to couple better with coastal management recommendations regarding governance and complexity.

Coastal borderlands are subjected to particular socioeconomic, political and environmental dynamics in Europe and worldwide. The presence of the international boundary in these areas poses challenges in the process of Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM). The aim of this paper is to explore the existence, characteristics and the role that local cross-border cooperation plays in transboundary coastal zone management as well as the resulting potentialities of local endogenous development for improving the management and governance of the tourism sector, coastal development, fisheries and marine protected areas in the Albera Maritima (Northwestern Mediterranean). The applied methods included document review, statistical information and semi-structured interviews. The research shows that local agents are not capable of developing a stable cross-border network due to persisting lack of trust, weak joint strategic vision and high competitiveness in sectors like fishery and tourism. Based on particu...

For the first time, this research addresses the assessment of the quality of knowledge embedded in beach quality indexes from a socioecological perspective. We took the most widespread beach quality indexes and identified, selected and assessed the most important existing assumptions. We scored the robustness of these assumptions, using an inclusive methodology (stakeholder meeting, four focus groups and an online questionnaire). The NUSAP criteria for assessing the value-ladenness of scientific studies (Influence of resource limitations, (Im)Plausibility, Choice space, Agreement among peers, Analysts’ subjectivity and Influence on global results) were contrasted and discussed. A final list of the 10 weakest assumptions was presented and discussed. Most of these assumptions are fairly robust, but attention should mainly focus on their influence on global outcomes and (im)plausibility, as the weakest scored criteria. The choice space scores revealed the possibility of including new alternatives to the assumptions, when necessary. Assumptions loaded with framing concepts are weaker than those linked to more concrete objectives. We detected dissociation between the discourse and the operational development of the indexes, in which the narratives prioritizing user satisfaction are predominant and scientific data analysis is often decontextualized. We therefore suggest that science should be opened up throughout the building process of indexes: from the identification of problems to the reporting of results and related uncertainties. The NUSAP method proved to be useful for identifying weak points in beach quality indexes.

In the last few decades, the recreational use of beaches and their surrounding areas has increased substantially, influencing the alteration and the loss of heritage elements. For beaches with year-round tourist activity, such as those located in the Canary Islands (Spain), it is especially important to evaluate heritage-based values and in this way contribute to their preservation and integration in local management policies. In this work, an indicator system (comprised of three partial indices: scenic, natural and cultural value) is developed, integrating scientific-technical procedures with narratives of different stakeholders (users, managers, academics, etc.) to assess the value of heritage-based assets in urban, semi-urban and natural beaches. The results obtained reflect a low cultural value and moderate-high scenic value for the three beach types and a high natural value for urban beaches, which is by contrast low in semi-urban beaches. Special importance is given to the need to integrate the heritage values that were identified in the management and planning of each beach.

The world demand for marine bivalves continuously increased from 1980 to 2014. Their fisheries landings in the Mediterranean Sea also increased, until they began to drop in the last decade. This trend was particularly intense in the western Mediterranean Sea, where landings dropped from 4046 t (1996) to 425 t (2012). Since then, they have never recovered. We examined the status of the main commercial clam species in Catalonia (NW Mediterranean) one of the main productive areas of the western Mediterranean Sea, and analyzed the social and ecological context of the different small scale clam fisheries as an example of the Mediterranean as a whole to detect the possible causes of this negative trend. Our results reveal the critical status of all clam fisheries along the entire coast, where most clam stocks are currently collapsed or close to collapse. This trend mirrors the evolution of bivalve fisheries in the western Mediterranean. Many management failures and factors inhibiting the sustainability of clam fisheries over time were detected (i.e. the nearly absence of resource monitoring or control of rules enforcement; lack of conflict resolution mechanisms among fishermen and other coastal users; the incongruence between appropriation and provision regulations, and deficient nested enterprises), suggesting that inadequate and incongruent management is largely to blame for the precarious present situation. However, our results also suggest that undetermined additional factors (e.g. pathologies, pollution, climate change etc.) have also affected what were already highly stressed populations.

The relationships between geomorphological vulnerability, recreational quality and heritage at beaches in the Canary Islands (Spain) are studied using three sets of indicators. Processes and their interactions are analysed at urban, semi-urban and natural beaches. Natural, cultural and landscape heritage acts as an attractor of recreational activity, which has intensified significantly on Canarian beaches in recent decades. Overcrowding has negatively impacted conservation of the natural and cultural heritage of the beaches, and has increased human pressure, leading to an increase in geomorphological susceptibility. The resulting reduction in geomorphological resilience has had a negative impact on beach facilities. Despite this common pattern, the relationships between these processes have particularities associated with the different types of beach (urban, semi-urban and natural). In order to establish new priorities in coastal public policy, these beach diagnoses and indices should be discussed and debated by the different actors involved in beach management.

Legal instruments traditionally used for regulating beach management during the last decades have not been very effective in protecting beach socio-ecological systems in many countries. In the last 5 years, two new laws, which impact the Spanish Mediterranean coast, the Mediterranean ICZM Protocol and the amendment to the Ley de Costas 22/88 have been passed. This study analyzes the conflicts existing in various beaches on the Catalan coast and the potential of these new instruments to improve their management. The Protocol has better integrative potential and is more focused on governance than the LC. However, both show a limited capacity to influence beach management in the study sites due to various shortcomings: lack of specificity, lack of capacity to sanction, narrowness of the approach, lack of coordination with lower administrative levels, rigid institutional set up and an inability to restore coastal ecosystems. In order to improve management of some of the conflicts, we suggest scaling down and enforcing specific articles of the Protocol.

The wild Atlantic salmon which spawns in Scottish waters is valued by a multitude of stakeholders. Present wild Atlantic salmon stocks are decreasing, resulting in conflicting perspectives on rights to exploitation and access by angling and net fisheries, forcing government, management and conservation agencies to react and mitigate. Interviews were conducted with key representatives actively involved in the management, conservation and utilisation of the wild salmon of Scotland to investigate the social and political dimensions of the fisheries. All stakeholders noted that a key concern impacting on the wild Atlantic salmon survival was at sea mortality and the risk from the propagation of the aquaculture industry on the west and north coasts. The encouragement given by the Scottish Government for the continual development of fish farms has led to stakeholders feeling dissatisfied with the value given to the Scottish wild salmon fishery. Stakeholders felt distrusting of the Government's commitment for creating legislative measures which will adequately protect wild salmon populations. Furthermore, different resource users have differing values attached to salmon and therefore competing perspectives on fair access and entitlement for the activity. Government must be respectful of actors differing perspectives to gain the trust of stakeholders in order to guide management and conservation practices efficaciously for the sustainability of the wild salmon fisheries in Scotland.

In recent decades, much of the progress observed in the study of beaches to aid policy has focused on producing sound substantive and/or contextual knowledge. However, attention has not usually been paid to the procedural manner in which it has been produced. Guided by an open learning process, this study aims to develop and present an expanded reviewed assessment of the Catalan coast operationalized by means of the Double-Looped Beach Quality Index (DL-BQI). Such openness helps us to understand which narratives of beach management in Catalonia are operating (and which are excluded), the extent to which they are unfolding, and the capacity of the DL-BQI to provide information for policymaking. Data collection enabled assessment of 96 representative beaches on the Catalan coast, that may find correspondence with other geographic locations. Both the instrument used for the assessment – the DL-BQI – and its results were co-evaluated at a multi-stakeholder meeting. In general, beaches have mainly been conditioned to supply elements for tourism and leisure. Different pressures have arisen from the orientation towards such activities, usually according to beach type, most of them negatively impacting the ecological assets and natural heritage of beaches. The economic growth narrative, albeit predominant, was shown to be deficient for tackling complex coastal problems, i.e. intensifying ecological deterioration. Alternatively, the study shows the importance for regional coastal policy of considering the value of beaches as natural systems, as advocated, to a greater or lesser extent, by the narratives of sustainability, environmental protection and integrated coastal zone management. This research innovates on considering substantive, contextual and procedural dimensions of knowledge quality for the governance of beach systems, by relating dimensions, narratives and outcomes.

Coastal areas of developed countries have been altered by human activities, especially since the mid-20th century. This has notably affected the flow of ecosystem services that these environments provide. In this context, this paper’s research has focused on the historical evolution of socio-ecological dynamics and ecosystem services in a Mediterranean coastal landscape, characterized by the intense development of recent decades and the high biodiversity value. Qualitative and quantitative data were gathered and analyzed through different methods (document and spatial analysis, statistical treatment). Results show the long history of many ecosystem services (increase/decrease in food provisioning, stabilization/decline of regulating services and no use/intense use of cultural services) and their decline in recent decades due to industrial and residential development (which expanded from 1.7 to 47.5%). To overcome this situation, this paper discusses the current state of ecosystem services and conservation tasks carried out and how the results of the research can be included in the different elements of the governance of shoreline areas.

In this study, an arid dune vulnerability index (ADVI) is developed using a system of indicators to evaluate the geomorphological vulnerability of beach-dune systems of arid regions. The indicators are comprised of three analytical dimensions (susceptibility, exposure and resilience) and their corresponding sub-indices and variables and were assessed for eleven sites located in four aeolian sedimentary systems of the Canary archipelago (Spain). The selected sites have varying geomorphological characteristics, vegetation types, marine and wind conditions and human pressure degrees, and have seen different trends in their geomorphological evolution since 1960. The eleven sites were separated into three groups according to their different conservation status and different management needs, and the results of the ADVI dimensions and variables were compared and analyzed for these three groups. In general, the results obtained in the analyzed sites reveal that susceptibility and exposure dimensions are related to low-moderate values, while resilience was high. Only one site presented a state of critical vulnerability, due to the loss of its capacity to maintain its geomorphological function in recent decades. Given the lack of knowledge about geomorphological vulnerability processes in foredunes of arid regions, ADVI is the first approximation to geomorphological diagnostic in these environments and can be useful for managers.

A system of indicators has been developed to evaluate beach geomorphological vulnerability (GVI) through: intrinsic susceptibility, the agents that model them, and their ability to remain stable over time. The method is applied to 34 beaches on the island of Gran Canaria (Spain) that experience different levels and conditions of human occupation, marine incidence, landforms and sediments, and spatial evolution that have been recorded since 1960. In contrast with other studies, the analysis of these dimensions (and their relationships) allows a diagnosis of the geomorphology of the beaches with an integrated approach. The results illustrate the numerous causes that generate geomorphological vulnerability, such as wave intensity, the presence of dikes or breakwaters, coastline variations, the absence of foredunes and embryonic dunes, the width of the intertidal zone, or the absence of beachrocks or lavic stones outcropping onto the shore. These variables combine and operate differently in five defined groups of beaches with different management needs. The most vulnerable ones were those with strong marine incidence, which require maintenance of their landforms in order to guarantee their stability. The opposite situation is found in beaches with little impact from anthropic and marine components. These beaches are less vulnerable since they have moderate susceptibility and high resilience. Their management requirements consist of soft measures since they have a strong geomorphological robustness. In this context, the proposed indicator system is a potentially relevant contribution to the management of beaches, especially for those that are under threat.

20 páginas, 7 figuras, 5 tablas., The present status of beachmanagement carried out by the lowest level of administration (municipalities) along the Catalancoast (NE Spanish Mediterranean) was analysed to detect the main problems and priorities. This analysis was undertaken by analysing answers to a questionnaire provided by personnel involved in beachmanagement in 38 municipalities covering a coastline of 430 km. As tourism is the main economic activity in the area, current beachmanagement is recreationally oriented. The beach is considered a product/service on offer to users and visitors. The main concern of managers was the appearance of sediment-management related problems. Although municipalities are the main “receivers” of erosion-induced problems, actions to solve or counteract such problems are decided, designed and executed at a different administrative level. This reflects the complex administrative scheme governing the coastal area in Spain, where three different administrations have different jurisdictional powers over a narrow piece of land., This work was carried out within the framework of the MeVaPlaya project, funded by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science, under contract REN2003-09029-C03-MAR. The second author would like to thank the government of Catalonia for its support through the University Research Promotion Award for Young Researchers.

10 páginas, 1 tabla, 7 figuras., Beach waste and litter composition and evolution on popular urban (located in the main nucleus of the municipality) and urbanized (located in residential areas outside the main nucleus) beaches of the Costa Brava (Catalan coast) were assessed during the bathing season. Waste and litter production (amount and composition) were affected by urbanization and varied during the summer. Urban beaches had higher densities of waste deposition and lower percentages of organic, domestic and other miscellaneous waste than urbanized beaches. Litter characteristics were also influenced by type of beach, and varied during the season as a consequence of beach use and cleaning practices, but not environmental factors. Urbanized beaches obtained higher scores for aesthetic quality of sand than urban beaches, and small-sized litter tended to accumulate during the season in the beach of Lloret Centre. The most important problems are management of recyclable materials, litter left by users on the sand, and separation of sand from litter. In addition, current efficiency of mechanical cleaning is low, especially in the withdrawal of cigarette butts. These analyses highlight problems that should be addressed in future management of area beaches., This work was carried out within the framework of the MeVaPlaya project, funded by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science under contract REN2003-09029-C03-MAR. The second author would like to thank the Government of Catalonia (DURSI) for its support through the University Research Promotion Award for Young Researchers. The authors greatly appreciate the additional funding provided by the Agència de Gestió d’Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca within the framework of the ACOM Project.