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.     

Users’ perception analysis for sustainable beach management in Italy

It is generally accepted that end-users’ perception is likely to play a pivotal role for planning and policy consideration. Beach user analysis is thus an important component defining beach management policies. In the framework of a wider project on beaches management, an investigation on residents and tourists was conducted. A survey conducted through questionnaires and interviews was carried out in six coastal municipalities. Results allowed obtaining a clear picture about user profile, perception of the beaches, awareness and attitude about themes related to beach management (i.e. Blue Flag award and beach nourishment practices). Their integration with the “expert knowledge” based analysis allowed to support the definition of beach management interventions.     

Improving the recreational value of Ireland's coastal resources: A contingent behavioural application

This paper measures willingness to pay (WTP) for public access to additional beach area and trail improvements to a coastal recreational site in the west of Ireland. The Contingent Behaviour model is used to measure the increased number of trips associated with improved public access using a connecting trail between two beach areas along a stretch of Irish coastline. Results show that improving access through the use of the connecting trail increases consumer surplus by €111.15 per person per annum. It is argued that in designing new regulation such as Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) for the management of Ireland's coastline, an understanding of the values the Irish public place on coastal recreational access will be important to manage the resource in a sustainable manner.     

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.     

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.     

Public willingness to pay for alternative management regimes of remote marine protected areas in the North Sea

Despite increasing attention paid to the value of marine resources, in particular marine protected areas (MPAs), their economic valuation focuses mainly on use values of ecosystem services such as fishery and tourism. Furthermore, most MPA related studies are carried out for coastal ecosystems, especially tropical coral reefs. The valuation of remote marine ecosystems is rare. The main objective of this paper is to estimate public willingness to pay (WTP) for alternative management regimes of a network of offshore MPAs in the North Sea under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). In a baseline valuation study carried out just before the adoption of the MSFD, beach visitors and a random sample of coastal and non-coastal residents were asked for their preferences for two alternative management options of three remote, ecologically sensitive areas with multiple use conflicts. Despite the lack of public awareness and familiarity with the offshore marine areas, a majority of 70% is willing to pay extra tax for their protection. Using a conservative value elicitation procedure, Dutch households are willing to pay on average maximum 0.25% of their annual disposable income to ban access and economic use. This serves as an indicator of what a network of remote MPAs in the MSFD is allowed to cost according to the Dutch tax payer.     

Public awareness of the economic potential and threats to sharks of a tropical oceanic archipelago in the western South Atlantic

Conservation actions for sharks are hampered partly by the negative beliefs and inaccurate knowledge about them among the general public. This paper investigated the knowledge and attitude of residents and tourists towards shark species of Fernando de Noronha Archipelago, a marine protected area, and one of the major ecotourism destinations in Brazil. Findings showed that residents had a lower knowledge of sharks and less positive attitudes towards sharks than tourists. Even though residents did not see sharks as threats to humans and they were aware of the role of the archipelago as a shark nursery, they did not completely understand the sharks' ecological and economic importance. This distinction between residents' and tourists' perceptions of sharks demands different strategies to assure engagement in management and conservation policies relating to both groups. Management actions focusing on providing enjoyable experiences with sharks to residents and enhancing their participation in tourist activities related to sharks are presented. They would require innovative cooperation between scientific, management and environmental institutions to build initiatives aimed at increasing the knowledge and improving attitudes of residents towards shark conservation and to homogenise conservation values held by the entire public on the archipelago.     

Coastal zone management in Egypt

This paper introduces the institutions, rules and regulations, which have been established by the relevant Egyptian laws for addressing various coastal and sea management issue. The existing legislation shows clearly the sectoral character of the present system, suffering from insufficient communication and cooperation among different state agencies on the one hand, and among central government and municipalities on the other. There is a significant interest in Egypt for improving the coastal zone management (CZM) practices and for integration of the management from many state agencies.     

旅游海滩质量评价在海滩管理中的应用研究——以南澳岛青澳湾海滩为例

海滩是宝贵的旅游资源,健康的海滩系统在旅游、沿岸防护安全等多方面能提供很多有价值的服务,但当前旅游海滩在生态环境质量、旅游体验等方面尚存在诸多问题。旅游海滩质量评价是对旅游海滩自然属性和开发利用水平的综合评价,能较为客观地反映出旅游海滩环境质量水平,是较为有效的海滩管理工具之一。本研究在现场环境调查和游客问卷调查的基础上,建立旅游海滩质量评价指标体系,开展了广东青澳湾海滩质量评价,并对其影响因素进行分析。结果显示:当前青澳湾海滩开发程度、海滩环境质量尚未达到良好水平。根据评价结果,对青澳湾海滩的可持续发展提出了完善海滩旅游配套设施和配套服务,对海滩进行系统的规划,建立科学的旅游海滩质量评价体系和环境监测、调控体系等建议。     

ONWET: A Simple Integrated Tool for Beach Morphology and Wave Dynamics Analysis

The analysis of beach profile combined with wave data provides a clear understanding of beach topography and physical behavior of the coast. Numerous commercial and noncommercial computer programs and add-on tools are available to analyze beach profile and wave data. But, most of them are specifically designed for particular coastal application. Moreover, searching of open source software for diverse coastal application is a tedious process. To make it easily accessible, we have developed an integrated Matlab GUI for beach morphology and wave analysis. The tool “ONWET (OceaN WavE Tool)” mainly includes wave processes, beach morphology, spatiotemporal variation in beach profile, wave refraction, and sediment transport rate. The tool has automated inbuilt functions and is designed to accommodate importing/exporting of data (results both in data and graphical format). It includes user friendly options and can be freely download from our institutional website. The tool is very useful for researchers, scientists, engineers, and environmentalists who are working in the field of coastal studies and beach nourishment.     

Community-based management of near-shore fisheries in Vanuatu: What works?

In the Pacific, coastal communities have compensated for chronically low capacity of governments to manage fisheries by implementing local regulations in their marine tenure areas. In order to investigate the performance of community-based fisheries management (CBFM) in Vanuatu, trajectories and factors of change in CBFM systems since the 1990s were analysed. Focal group interviews were conducted in seven villages on Efaté island in 2011 and supplemented by a review of supporting literature. Results reveal the increasing and excessive reliance of CBFM systems on external agencies that promoted overly complex management plans. Examination of trends in CBFM systems shows that community and national fishing rules that were highly acceptable by local societies were more likely to be enforced in the long run. In particular, the establishment of marine reserves was the most widespread and best enforced community rule for the purposes of conservation, ecotourism, and/or fisheries. Overall, the results challenge the current effectiveness of CBFM in achieving sustainability of reef fisheries in Vanuatu, and highlight the over-reliance on small marine reserves as a management tool. Community initiatives must be strengthened by new specific national regulations governing subsistence and commercial reef fisheries as part of a multi-scale co-management approach.     

9914号台风对厦门岛东南部岸滩的环境效应

1999年14号台风于10月9日正面袭击厦门，最大风力达12级以上（47．1m/s），台风中心在厦门滞留5－6h，全市经济损失十几亿元.本文依据台风前后对厦门岛东南部海岸、沙滩的第一手调查资料以5条固定沙滩剖面多次测量比较进行综合分析。结果表明：人工护岸毁坏1／10以上、岸线后退，沙滩冲淤剧烈、沙源流失严重，海岸与沙滩环境恶化。文中还进一步探讨各种影响因素，提出今后该区域开发利用时应注意事项及防灾措施。     

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。     

海滩修复养护技术发展趋势与前景

海岸侵蚀是沿海各国面临的共同问题,海滩养护是当前砂质海岸保护的最佳手段,在全球范围内得到广泛应用。本文回顾了海滩养护技术的发展历程,总结了世界范围的海滩养护实践,分析各国海滩养护理念上存在的差异。以研究文献为基础,总结归纳了平面和横向剖面的补砂方式、辅助工程技术和海滩模型预测等方面的海滩养护技术研究进展,并在此基础上提出了海滩养护的未来发展趋势:①针对复杂海岸的海滩养护应用拓展;②基于沉积物管理的海滩养护修复;③从地貌系统到生态系统全面考虑的海滩养护技术;④全球砂源赤字条件下的海滩保护和修复思路。     

山东省滨海沙滩现状调查

为了揭示山东滨海沙滩现状,为合理开发、利用和保护沙滩资源提供科学依据,项目组与2019年6月—8月,通过现场观测沙滩现状,收集沙滩的生态环境和其开发状态的资料,利用RTK-GPS高程仪获取沙丘-海滩剖面数据,并结合卫星遥感资料调查分析可知：滨海沙滩总个数为148个,沙滩岸线总长度约335 km,主要分布在烟台、威海、青岛和日照。74%的沙滩受人工干预,干预的方式主要以旅游型开发和渔业性开发为主,其中旅游型开发占比61.5%,渔业性开发占比35.6%。26%的沙滩保持自然状态,主要分布在乡村。在现场调查中发现,沙滩侵蚀较严重的大多为自然形态的沙滩渔业性开发的沙滩。多数沙滩的沙丘以及植被带上已经被建起养殖厂房、度假场所、娱乐设施及抛石护岸等,建筑垃圾、生活垃圾、养殖垃圾、微塑料垃圾等在滩面上屡见不鲜。结合数据及现场调查结果来看,山东省多数滨海沙滩已经处于开发状态,但是由于缺乏科学合理的规划,滨海沙滩的平衡系统已经受到严重威胁,沙滩面临消失的危险,严重影响了滨海沙滩的持续利用与发展。     

On the perceptions and conceptions of tourists with regard to global environmental changes and their consequences for coastal and marine environments: A case study of the northern São Paulo State coast,Brazil

A study on the public׳s perceptions and conceptions of global environmental changes (GECs) is relevant to guide future educational strategies and management actions. The present study aimed to: (1) evaluate coastal tourists׳ conceptions and perceptions of GECs; (2) correlate the conceptions presented by tourists about GECs and their self-declared knowledge; (3) evaluate how these tourists perceive their personal contribution to GECs; and (4) verify the frequency at which the media exposed the tourists to information about the influence of GECs on coastal and marine environments. A structured questionnaire was applied to 183 coastal tourists. There was a weak but significant positive correlation (r²=0.152, p<0.001) between self-declared knowledge and the actual conceptions of tourists about GECs and about the sea. Tourists underestimate their role in GECs, pointing out fewer individual actions that contributed to GECs in the questionnaire than expected. Many tourists declared they had never heard of some subjects related to GECs and coastal environments. This study revealed that coastal tourists are still not well informed about their role in GECs and also on their consequences to the society, thus emphasizing the need of more intensive and effective coastal and marine environmental education strategies.     

粤东南澳岛青澳海滩侵蚀退化风险评价及其安全调控

分析了南澳岛海滩资源储量、空间分布及其开发利用现状,开展海岛海滩侵蚀风险评价,选择青澳海滩开展岸滩及其海湾海床地形、沉积物、动力泥沙调查,分析探讨了青澳海滩泥沙动力沉积特征,灾变退化过程机制,并从海滩稳定性和游客安全角度给出安全调控建议。结果表明:1)南澳岛海滩资源储量与侵蚀风险区域分异特征明显,其中青澳海滩旅游活动频繁、开发强度大,侵蚀退化风险等级高,人为破坏干扰抑制滩海泥沙交换,无序无度占滩开发与利用破坏了海滩自然演化进程,短期过量旅游活动加速海滩侵蚀退化进程;2)青澳湾沉积物以粗粒砂为主,沙源供给不足,不同岸段岸线进退与岸滩蚀淤与海滩方位、波浪动力强度强弱关系密切,具有明显的纵向沉积地貌分带特征。湾内落潮优势流(SE)优于涨潮(NW),对泥沙输运进入湾内具有抑制作用,潮周期海湾泥沙自湾内向湾外输运,泥沙以外输为主单宽输沙为3 400 t;3)青澳海滩存在严重的"无序占滩建筑,污水肆意排放,管理不规范"等问题,监测评价亦表明侵蚀退化风险巨大,游客安全面临着风险隐患,建议青澳海滩实行以生态化养护开发和"游客为中心"为理念的安全调控措施,设立红线及安全标示。该研究为岛礁生态建设、海岛保护及修复提供科学依据。     

Framework development for beach management in the British Virgin Islands

Development pressures along with a growing tourism industry threaten ecological sustainability and long-term commercial success of beaches and nearby coastal habitats in the British Virgin Islands (BVI). Legislation pertaining to beach management is limited and specific management plans for beaches are non-existent. Using four key components: dimensional analysis, planning, management and monitoring, the foundation in which to formulate a framework for integrated coastal zone management with a focus on beaches is developed. In order to examine and test the viability of this foundation, two different BVI beaches are used as case studies.     

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.