Comparing resident and tourist preferences for public beach access and related amenities

As coastal destinations continue to grow, due to tourism and residential expansion, the demand for public beach access and related amenities will also increase. The issue confronting management agencies responsible for providing and maintaining public beach access and related amenities is the varying needs and preferences of both residents and tourists of coastal destinations. The purpose of this paper is to provide comprehensive information about coastal recreational needs of residents and tourists with regards to public beach access and associated amenities using the stated preference choice method. Overall, the results indicate tourists were more interested in additional public beach access points and commercial development, while residents supported beach rules and regulations but opposed high levels of crowding and noise. Implications of these results for management agencies include the utilization of parking fees to subsidize additional public beach access points, identifying appropriate types and levels of commercial development that moderate the use of coastal resources by tourists and day-trip users, and implementing beach rules and regulations that reduce the potential for conflict between user groups. Providing management agencies with comprehensive information of the preferences of different beach user groups can assist in the development of more effective policies and management programs.     

Beach attendance and bathing rates for Southern California beaches

Annual beach attendance (BA) was collected for 75 beaches along the 350 km of coastline in Southern California for the years 2000–2004. On average, over 129 million beach visits occur each year, with the majority (54%) of visits occurring at only 15 beaches. Almost half of all visits (48%) occur on weekends. BA displays distinct seasonality with 53% of visits occurring in June, July and August. On average only 45% of individuals attending the beach have physical contact with the coastal waters; water exposure rates are low (26%) during colder winter months, and peak during warmer summer months (54%). An average of 56 million recreational bathing events (BE) occurs in Southern California's coastal waters every year. This quantification and statistical analysis of the magnitude and distribution of beach visitations across the region produce important data that have direct implications for beach management, tourism, public health and the environment.     

Valuing visitors' economic benefits of public beach access points

An increase in the population of coastal counties and popularity of coastal beaches as tourism destinations create difficulties for management agencies responsible for providing public beach access. The objective of this paper is to determine non-resident visitors to South Carolina beaches economic value for public beach access. Visitors are willing to pay an extra $6.60 per day for additional beach access points and parking or an aggregate of $93 million. Visitors' economic value of public beach access allows decision-makers the ability to better compare management policies in their efforts to provide sufficient public beach access through a target effective strategy.     

海岸带滨水区环境胁迫与利用策略研究

海岸带滨水区具有多重功能,是地球上物理、化学、生物和地质过程最活跃的地区,对人类社会发展具有特别重要的意义.但随着海洋城市建设的加速推进,海岸带资源开发力度的不断加大,滨水区承受的压力也日益加剧.本文归纳总结了海岸带滨水区开发利用方式及特点,系统地分析了滨水区环境退化的胁迫机理,研究提出了海岸带滨水资源利用的六方面策略:1)以循环经济和可持续发展理念指导海岸带滨水区的开发利用;2)对滨水区生产和生活岸线布局进行战略调整;3)坚持亲水性原则,精心布局,开发好、利用好海湾滨水资源;4)大力发展海岸带滨水区沙滩特色旅游,高度重视沙滩的保护;5)构建海岸带滨水区生态预警与防范体系;6)实施海岸带滨水区生态修复、加强海湾滨岸生态化建设.     

深圳湾人造沙滩选址和修复方案

深圳湾经过近三十年的围填海活动,沿岸动力条件发生较大变化,如今自然状态下难以发育沙滩。从构建高品质游憩空间、防护海岸和提升旅游开发价值来看,沙滩是深圳湾急需的资源。为了加强人和海洋的联系、激发深圳湾的活力,建立城市自然缓冲区、化解极端风暴的威胁,以此达到防护海岸和满足居民休闲游赏需求的目的,本研究以近岸海洋要素的自然属性为主,海洋开发活动等社会属性为辅进行综合分析,并辅以数值模型进行验证,在深圳湾内选择适宜开展沙滩修复的海岸。沙滩修复选址时考虑了波浪、潮流、地形、地貌、沉积物等近岸海洋要素;数值模型包括潮流场模型、波浪模型和沙滩长期的平面演化模型。本研究案例对岸线动态变迁较大,自然状态难以发育沙滩的海岸的人造沙滩选址和设计方案提供示范与借鉴。     

ICZM and coastal defence perception by beach users: Lessons from the Mediterranean coastal area

Member States of the European Union and the Mediterranean Regional Sea need to elaborate national strategies for coastal management according to ICZM principles and to undertake national stock-taking, which must consider major actors, laws and institutions influencing the management of their national coastal zone. However, different approaches to coastal management and defence and various degrees of development and implementation of national ICZM strategies can be found. The research presented in this article aims to analyze the different situations and to contribute to the further development of a common approach in terms of methodology to establish stakeholder and users participation in ICZM. An extensive survey was conducted in five pilot sites along the European Mediterranean coastal zone (Greece, Italy and France) show beach visitors’ perception of ICZM, coastal erosion and coastal defence systems, and beach visitors’ Willingness To Pay (WTP) for beach defence. The survey yielded important information for coastal and beach managers. Surprisingly, the level of awareness about generic Coastal Zone Management was found to be rather low in all regions except Riccione Southern beach, Emilia-Romagna Region. In the Languedoc-Roussillon Region, this is justified by the fact that most of the respondents were not local people or beach visitors (other than recreational day-visitors). As regards coastal erosion it appears significant that, despite the lack of awareness demonstrated overall by stakeholders in the Region of East Macedonia and Thrace, visitors respond very positively to definitions and show awareness of the erosion process in their coastal system. In conclusion, in order to raise public awareness about ICZM, erosion and coastal defence systems, it is suggested that education, training and public awareness should be promoted as well as identification of local needs for the implementation of specific demand-driven studies.     

Review of marine recreational fisheries regulations in Argentina

The effects of recreational fishing on marine stocks and ecosystems have raised global concern in recent years. In Argentina, Southwest Atlantic, angling, netting and spearfishing of coastal bony fishes, sharks, rays and chimaeras are very popular pastime activities with more than 50 years of history. Despite the perceived traditional and economic relevance of these activities in the country, marine recreational fisheries were largely unregulated, and no official fisheries monitoring programs at the national level have been ever put in place. Except for a few particular systems for which some catch-and-effort data were collected by research institutions and non-governmental organizations, no comprehensive surveys aimed at describing the ecological, social or economic aspects of these fisheries have been made. Here, an updated review of the regulations in place for marine recreational fisheries along the Argentine coastline is presented. Of the five coastal provinces encompassing ca. 8400 km and about 20 latitude degrees (~36°S to 55°S) of coastline, only Buenos Aires province has a thorough legislation for its whole territory, which includes 15 protected areas. In the remaining provinces, the regulations for marine recreational fisheries are limited to a few protected areas (seven out of 37 coastal areas under provincial, national or shared jurisdiction). This lack of legislation encourages alleged recreational fishers to develop small-scale commercial fishing operations that are neither controlled nor monitored as such, contributing to the overexploitation of some key coastal stocks.     

Identifying storm impacts on an embayed, high-energy coastline: examples from western Ireland

Large sections of the western Irish coast are characterised by a highly compartmentalised series of headland-embayment cells in which sand and gravel beaches are backed by large vegetated dune systems. Exposure to modally high-energy swell renders most of these beaches dissipative in character. A mesotidal range (c. 3.5–4.5 m) exists along much of the coast. Analysis of instrumental wind records from three locations permitted the identification of a variety of storm types and the construction of storm catalogues. Few individual storms were recorded at all three stations indicating a lack of regional consistency in storm record. Of the total storms recorded, only a small percentage are potentially damaging (onshore directed) and even fewer span a high tide and thus potentially induce a measurable morphological response at the coast.

Through a combination of historical records, meteorological records, field observations and wave modelling we attempt to assess the impact of storms. Quantifiable records of coastal morphology (maps, air photos and beach profiles) are few in number and do not generally record responses that may be definitely attributed to specific storms. Numerical wave simulations and observations at a variety of sites on the west Irish coast, however, provide insights into instantaneous and medium term (decadal) storm responses in such systems.

We argue that beaches and dunes that are attuned to modally high-energy regimes require extreme storms to cause significant morphological impact. The varying orientation of beaches, a spatially nonuniform storm catalogue and the need for a storm to occur at high water to produce measurable change, impart site-specific storm susceptibility to these embayments. Furthermore, we argue that long-period wave energy attenuation across dissipative shorefaces and beaches reduces coastal response to distant storms whereas short-period, locally generated wind waves are more likely to cause major dune and beach erosion as they arrive at the shoreline unrefracted.

This apparently variable response of beach and dune systems to storm forcing at a decadal scale over a coastline length of 200 km urges caution in generalising regarding regional-scale coastal responses to climatic change.     

Quantifying the storm erosion hazard for coastal planning

The quantity of coastline retreat resulting from storm erosion is one of the most important phenomena that needs to be accurately quantified to facilitate effective coastal management strategies. Historically, the volume of storm erosion (and coastline retreat) accommodated for coastal planning decisions has been directly linked to the storm (usually defined by considering wave height and duration only) with a certain pre-defined return period, known as a Synthetic Design Storm (SDS) (e.g. 1 in 100 year storm). The SDS method of estimating storm erosion volumes for coastal planning thus assumes that, for example, the 1 in 100 year storm event also results in a 1 in 100 year erosion event. This communication discusses the physical reality of this assumption and demonstrates the improved performance of a new method, based on Joint Probability Distributions (JPD) for estimating storm erosion volumes proposed by Callaghan et al. [Callaghan, D.P., Nielsen, P., Short, A.D. and Ranasinghe, R., 2008. Statistical simulation of wave climate and extreme beach erosion. Coastal Engineering, 55(5): 375–390] using one of the world's longest beach profile surveys from Sydney, Australia.     

Assessing the response of sandy-beach macrobenthos to recreation and the ecological status of the beach ecosystem at Liandao,China

Sandy beaches, prime recreational assets that attract more people than other types of shorelines, are the main assets underpinning many coastal economies and developments. However, the intense stressors to the ecology of sandy beaches caused by recreational activities are generally underestimated or ignored. This study was the first to emphasize the ecological characteristics of recreational beaches in China and assess the response of macrobenthos at Liandao Beach, a typical sandy beach in the central part of China. Using the Before/During/After/Control/Impact (BDACI) method, differences in multiple variables (species richness, mean density, diversity) between a heavily recreationally impacted transect (TrH/Impact) and a less-impacted transect (TrL/Control) in different impact periods (Before, During & After) were applied to assess the response of sandy-beach macrobenthos to recreation and tourism. Meanwhile, a comparison between the macrobenthos conditions of the studied beach and reference conditions calculating from historical data of similar beaches with little recreation and tourism disturbances was carried out. Furthermore, the quality control chart approach was used to detect in detail the macrobenthos stable state and yearly response to recreational activities. The results showed that recreation and tourism posed a serious threat to the beach ecosystem; macrobenthos on the studied beach were seriously disturbed by recreational activities, and their variations were highly negatively related to the human recreational level. After monthly recreational impacts, the macrobenthos decreased sharply and recovered with difficulty during 1 year. Over the long-term, the macrobenthos had a sharp decreasing trend, which indicated that the ecological environment of the beach was highly disturbed. Conservation measures for recreational beaches are very challenging because of the economic value and popularity of sandy beaches as recreational sites. However, practicable conservation measures could be implemented that prevent or slow ecological degradation. A number of management and conservation suggestions are put forward, such as the establishment of the ecological carrying capacity of Liandao Beach in terms of direct recreational use, creation of themed exhibitions related to the beach macrobenthos and beach ecosystem and dissemination of this knowledge to visitors, implementation of spatial zoning of beach use, visitor management and environmental education.     

Being beside the seaside: Beach use and preferences among coastal residents of south-eastern Australia

Beaches are the most popular recreational destinations in Australia yet how they are visited and valued by Australians is poorly known. We surveyed 385 people (13.8% of 2800 coastal residents) from south-eastern Australia to examine their use of beaches and the features that are important in their choice and enjoyment of a beach destination. Most respondents (90.3%) nominated beaches as one of their top three most valued natural recreational environments. Thirty-four recreational activities occurred at the beach (8.6 ± 0.3 [mean ± SE] activities per respondent), mostly walking (91.4%) and swimming (78.9%). Factor analyses revealed respondents valued clean, uncrowded beaches with opportunities to view wildlife (n = 338) but also desired facilities (e.g. toilets, shade, life savers, food outlets; n = 331). Difficult access and intrusive recreation activities (e.g. vehicles on beaches) detracted from people′s enjoyment. We describe a distinct dichotomy in use of ‘local’ versus ‘non-local’ beaches, where local beaches are visited more frequently, throughout more of the year, outside working hours and by smaller groups of people, compared with ‘non-local’ beaches. Coastal planners and managers not only face the challenge of increasing visitation to beaches but also the need to manage for somewhat conflicting values among beach-goers.     

南渡江三角洲海岸泥沙纵向运移与岸滩演变的响应

南渡三角洲沿岸在盛行ＮＮＥ向波浪等动力条件的作用下,泥沙产生纵向运移,岸滩遭受侵蚀或堆积,岸滩演变剧烈。本文利用基于网格的波注折射绕射模型,分析南渡江三角洲海岸波浪动力过程、破波带波能与辐射应力分布及其引起的沿岸泥沙纵向运称。浴海岸动力学地貌的角度,通过三角洲沿岸波浪动力特征、泥沙运动的分析,探讨沙质岸滩的动态与地貌演变。     

基于多源数据的福建东山岛海岸侵蚀及其不同时空尺度成因分析

海岸侵蚀对海岛紧缺的陆地资源及旅游价值较大的沙滩危害巨大。基于卫星遥感、有人航空摄影、无人机航测、GPS和现场调查等多源数据,利用GIS分析了东山岛海岸线类型、位置与长度变化及滩面冲蚀演变。研究表明,东山岛多处曲折自然岸线转化为较为平直的人工岸线致使整体岸线长度减少,无人机高程反演满足滩面排水冲蚀监测精度要求,乌礁湾和山南湾不同养殖排水方式形成不同特征的滩面冲沟,改变了沙滩微地貌形态。海平面上升和台风风暴潮是长期趋势性和短期突发性侵蚀因素的代表,当前短时间尺度的人类活动已成为滩面冲蚀的最主要因素,且有可能转变为长期趋势性因素。     

江苏省海岸线时空动态变化遥感监测关键技术研究概述

海岸线是海洋与陆地的分界线,海岸线的准确确定对于海岸带空间资源的使用与管理具有重要意义。针对现有的海岸线遥感提取方法存在的技术缺陷,提出从构建海岸线遥感分类体系、改进海岸线遥感推算方法、建立可操作性强的海岸线遥感提取与推算技术体系方面,系统开展海岸线时空动态变化遥感监测的关键技术与应用研究,形成完整可靠的海岸线遥感推算、岸线岸滩动态变化遥感监测技术体系并开展业务化应用,可为海岸带空间资源的合理开发利用提供基础数据支撑和决策分析依据。     

Contingent valuation analysis of willingness to pay for beach erosion control through the stabiplage technique: A study in Djerba (Tunisia)

Beach erosion can have major economic implications because of the potential impact on coastal recreation demand – particularly for countries where coastal tourism is one of the main sources of external revenue. Djerba Island (Tunisia) falls in that category. With about 125 km of coastline, Djerba Island is one of the most important Tunisian destinations. However, the island is experiencing coastal erosion problems. The Tunisia government launched a project to fight costal erosion through the Stabiplage technique. This study provides the first economic valuation of beach erosion control in Tunisia and is the first one that focuses on the Stabiplage technique. Specifically, a contingent valuation survey is carried out to elicit the public willingness to pay (WTP) for the project. An interval payment card question format is used to obtain information about WTP from representative samples of residents and tourists in Djerba. The results reveal a positive WTP for the project. Aggregate WTP estimates range from €133,459 (median value) to €5,180,269 (mean value). These values can help inform decisions about whether to undertake the project based on either the benefit-cost ratio rule or majority voting rule.     

Appraisal of storm beach buffer width for cyclonic waves

The loss of beach sand from berm and dune due to high waves and surge is a universal phenomenon associated with sporadic storm activities. To protect the development in a coastal hazard zone, hard structures or coastal setback have been established in many countries around the world. In this paper, the requirement of a storm beach buffer, being a lesser extent landward comparing with the coastal setback to ensure the safety of infrastructures, is numerically assessed using the SBEACH model for three categories of wave conditions in terms of storm return period, median sand grain size, berm width, and design water level. Two of the key outputs from the numerical calculations, berm retreat and bar formation offshore, are then analysed, as well as beach profile change. After having performed a series of numerical studies on selected large wave tank (LWT) test results with monochromatic waves using SBEACH, we may conclude that: (1) Berm erosion increases and submerged bar develops further offshore as the storm return period increases for beach with a specific sand grain size, or as the sand grain reduces on a beach under the action of identical wave condition; (2) Higher storm waves yield a large bar to form quicker and subsequently cause wave breaking on the bar crest, which can reduce the wave energy and limit the extent of the eroding berm; (3) A larger buffer width is required for a beach comprising small sand grain, in order to effectively absorb storm wave energy; and (4) Empirical relationships can be tentatively proposed to estimate the storm beach buffer width, from the input of wave conditions and sediment grain size. These results would benefit a beach nourishment project for shore protection or design of a recreational beach.     

1984—2016年江苏省海岸线和沿海滩涂的变迁

为加强对江苏省海岸带的保护和开发利用,文章基于卫星遥感影像,通过提取瞬时水边线和推算潮位特征线,分析1984—2016年江苏省海岸线和沿海滩涂的变迁。研究结果表明:江苏省自然岸线逐渐减少,人工岸线大幅增加,海岸线明显向海推进;淤长岸段主要分布在辐射沙洲北翼的射阳河口至川东港南,冲刷岸段主要分布在废黄河三角洲的灌河口北至中山河口南和扁担河口北至双洋河口南,全省海岸淤长长度和平均淤长速率均大幅下降;沿海各地的潮间带平均宽度均有不同程度的缩短,滩涂围垦强度大是重要影响因素。     

Erosion management in Inch beach, South West Ireland

This paper describes the influences on operational management of erosion at Inch beach, Co. Kerry on the south west coast of Ireland with specific reference to the CONSCIENCE Frame of Reference for erosion management and the key concepts defined under the EUROSION project. It provides an insight of the wave climate and quantifies contemporary erosion patterns through a combination of field analysis and modelling. An attempt is made to assess the response of the coastline to storms with varied return periods and to place current change in an historical context. The reasons for the lack of application of these key concepts are explored in combination with the applicability of the Frame of Reference to the management of Inch Strand. This paper describes the outcomes of attempting to apply this Frame of Reference at Inch Strand and the affect that national coastal policy, or lack thereof, has on the utilisation of internationally recognised erosion management concepts by local stakeholders with responsibility for eroding coastlines. The paper is of significance not only to an Irish audience, but also the wider international community who may face similar challenges in managing their coastal resources.     

黄骅岸段人工开发对岸滩演变的影响研究

研究区域黄骅岸段内油气资源丰富,其人类活动也日益频繁。人工开发改变了该岸段的水动力环境,进而对岸滩的冲淤演变造成一定的影响。本文先后对该区域的断面测量、粒度测试以及放射性测年等结果进行分析,讨论了黄骅岸段在进海路修建的影响下产生的岸滩冲淤演变的原因和规律,认为其岸滩整体处于动态平衡状态或略冲刷状态,沿海围垦、筑堤造坝等岸边人工设施的修建是改变岸线的主要营力与原因。本文取得的成果为进一步研究该区域泥沙冲淤与岸滩演变问题提供了基础数据和分析参考,对研究渤海西海岸乃至整个中国海岸的岸滩演变都有一定的启示和借鉴作用。     

海岸侵蚀灾情分级

分析了海岸侵蚀灾变强度因子和灾度因子，提出了基于海岸侵蚀后退速率和海滩宽度侵蚀模数的海岸侵蚀灾变强度分级方案；在参考其它地质灾害灾度分级方案的基础上，给出了海岸侵蚀灾度分级方案。