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Publication
A coastal management program for channels located in backbarrier systems
| Name: | Description: | Size: | Format: | |
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| 1.32 MB | Adobe PDF |
Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
Management of the interactions between social/economic interests and the coastal environment
requires practical, interdisciplinary assessment techniques. Backbarrier systems are critical natural
resources that provide both economic and social benefits. Activities such as aquaculture, fishing,
shipping and port activities, sediment mining, salt extraction, and tourism all take place in these
ecosystems but are often not compatible with each other. Therefore, a program to manage such a
system must congregate many different types of activities and stakeholders with potentially
conflicting interests. In this paper, we develop a proposed coastal management program (CMP),
based on the driving-pressure-state-impact-response (DPSIR) framework and the integrated coastal
management (ICM) cycle, for the management of channels located in backbarrier systems subject to
dredging operations. The conceptual model involves the application of regional sediment
management (RSM) actions and is applied to a case study, Faro Channel, located in the Ria
Formosa backbarrier system in Algarve, Portugal. The CMP provides results on the interactivity
between scientists, stakeholders, and decision-makers, by defining and clarifying the economic and
environmental aspects of decision-making processes through the utilisation and measurement of local
coastal indicators. The proposed CMP proved to be a useful tool in the definition of coastal
management initiatives for channels inside backbarrier systems, since it identified management
problems and allowed management solutions to be formulated. The CMP could be used within a
broader ICM program but would also be effective when used on its own.