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Ocean & Coastal Management xxx (2015) 1e10

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Ocean & Coastal Management

journal homepage: www.elsevier .com/locate/ocecoaman

Overview of erosion and beach quality issues in three SouthernEuropean countries: Portugal, Spain and Italy

Vera Semeoshenkova a, b, *, Alice Newton c, d

a University of Bologna, Ravenna Campus, Via Sant Alberto, 163. Scienze Ambientali, 48123 Ravenna, Italyb University of Cadiz, Campus de Puerto-Real, Poligono San Pedro s/n, Aulario Norte, Puerto-Real 11519, Spainc CIMA- Gambelas Campus, University of Algarve, 8005-139 Faro, Portugald NILU e IMPEC, Box 100, 2027 Kjeller, Norway

a r t i c l e i n f o

Article history:Received 25 September 2014Received in revised form18 February 2015Accepted 19 August 2015Available online xxx

Keywords:Beach managementCoastal erosionBeach quality

* Corresponding author. University of Bologna,Alberto, 163. Scienze Ambientali, 48123 Ravenna, Ital

E-mail address: vsemeoshenkova@gmail.com (V. S

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2015.08.0130964-5691/© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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a b s t r a c t

Climate change and intensive coastal development place beaches under significant pressures, bothnatural and anthropogenic. Coastal erosion and deterioration of beach quality decrease the attractivenessof coastal areas leading to economic impacts. The societal response to these issues has resulted inapplication of hard/soft engineering methods to mitigate erosion and provision of quality awards tosupport the recreational beach value. This paper reviews the approaches to erosion and beach qualityissues in three Southern European (Portugal, Spain and Italy) countries, discusses effectiveness of theapproaches, and analyses the impacts of applied approaches on environmental quality and humanwelfare. An analysis of used management approaches demonstrates the inefficiency of hard measures tostop erosion and their negative impact on environmental quality. Such management approaches havebeen used as an emergency response to problems, and were not supported by the adequate knowledge ofpossible consequences. In contrast, successful experiences in application of soft methods allowedpreservation of the natural status of beaches and improvement of tourism quality. Beach quality awardsallowed to fulfil tourism requirements and promoted a good image of beaches. Examples of good and badpractices contribute to proper onsite management, and thereby encourage sustainable development ofcoastal areas.

© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Context and scope

The tourism industry is an important economic driver in coastalregions, generating employment and contributing a high percent-age of regional incomes. Annually coastal countries invest in theprovision of quality awards and systems in order to enhance therecreational quality and improve the environmental status of bea-ches. There is also a costly investment in the provision of differenthard and soft engineering works in order to protect beaches fromerosion and maintain good recreational conditions.

The geographical focus of the paper is on mainland coast ofthree Southern European countries (Portugal, Spain and Italy).These were chosen due to the popularity of countries as destina-tions for seaside tourism and to give a range from the Atlantic to the

Ravenna Campus, Via Santy.emeoshenkova).

enkova, V., Newton, A., OvervCoastal Management (2015

Mediterranean. Greece was not included because of the largenumber of islands. This paper reviews the approaches to erosionand beach quality issues in three Southern European countries,discusses the effectiveness of the approaches, and analyses theimpacts of applied approaches on environmental quality and hu-man welfare.

2. Introduction

Beaches are valuable natural resources that provide keyecosystem services, such as coastal buffering, nutrient cycling,water purification, biodiversity, recreational and cultural value (Nelet al., 2014). Human pressures on coastal resources compromise thedelivery of many ecosystem services crucial to the human well-being and national economies (Dayton et al., 2005). The degrada-tion of beaches due to growing popularity of tourism and rapidcoastal development may be intensified by the predicted increasesin storminess and sea-level rise (Brown and McLachlan, 2002;

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V. Semeoshenkova, A. Newton / Ocean & Coastal Management xxx (2015) 1e102

Schlacher et al., 2008; European Commission, 2013). The mostcommon problems of modern beaches include coastal erosion,water and sand pollution, deterioration of coastal dunes andharmful effects on biota (Brown and McLachlan, 2002; Calv~a et al.,2013).

The importance of beach management for the sustainabledevelopment of coastal areas has been recognised by the munici-palities and local governments (Phillips and Jones, 2006).Improving beach quality is a shared goal for all stakeholders and anessential aspect of Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM)(Duvat, 2011). Beach management should be aimed to achieve theoptimal physical usage and development of beach resources thatrespects the natural physical elements of a beach environmentwhile satisfying basic social needs within that environment(Williams and Micallef, 2009). Therefore, the beach managementshould include both aspects: i) protection of coastal environmentand ecosystem and ii) quality improvement (development) forrecreational uses.

Within this context, the paper aims to identify the nature ofbeach uses and main issues in the 3 countries, (Portugal, Spain,Italy), to review management approaches to coastal erosion andrecreational quality, to analyse the main shortcomings and ad-vantages of used approaches and their effect on environmentalquality and human welfare. Finally, recommendations for futurebeach management are suggested.

3. Beach uses and issues

3.1. Beach tourism and coastal development

Beaches are the main focus of global holiday tourism and awell-managed beach is considered to be an icon of the attractive seasidedestination (Holden, 2000). The growing popularity of seasidetourism influenced the development of coastal areas, includinglarge-scale infrastructure, transport, industry, energy production(Suarez di Vivero and Rodriguez Mateos, 2005). Southern Europewas accounted for the highest number of international tourist ar-rivals within Europe (UNWTO, 2013). Portugal, Spain and Italy areone of the most visited countries, where tourism is almost exclu-sively concentrated around the “Sun, Sea and Sand” (3S) model(Ariza et al., 2008a; Dodds and Kelman, 2008: Marrocu and Paci,2013; Presenza et al., 2013; Vareiro and Ribeiro, 2007).

Portugal: The Portuguese coast is very diverse and it has all typeof beaches, ranging from urban developed and crowded beaches toless developed, wild and deserted (e.g. the islands of the Ria Fro-mosa). Approximately 85% of the GDP is generated within 60 km ofthe coast, where tourism is the main activity (Andrade et al., 2004).The total contribution of ‘Travel and Tourism’ to country's GDP was15.6% in 2013 (WTTC, 2014a).

Spain: Spain is ranked 4th within Europe and also 4th of all 140countries included to the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness In-dex 2013. ‘Travel and Tourism’ activity in Spain represented 15.7%of the country's GDP, mostly concentrated in coastal areas (WTTC,2014b). As well as in Portugal, Spanish beaches are very diverseand free for public use.

Italy: Italy has excellent tourism infrastructure (equal withAustria for 1st place) (Blance and Chiesa, 2013). The total contri-bution of ‘Travel and Tourism’ to country's GDP was 10.3% in 2013(WTTC, 2014c). Coastal tourism is a leading segment for Italiantourism (European Comission, 2014). Contrary to Portugal andSpain, most of the Italian beaches are not free but bound by ‘con-cessions’dtemporary properties occupied by beach establishmentand relative facilities, that can be used for a daily fee.

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3.2. Vulnerability and coastal erosion

Vulnerability is defined as ‘the degree to which a system issusceptible to or unable to cope with, adverse effects of climatechange’ (IPCC, 2001). Coastal vulnerability, especially of urbancoasts, is a growing global problem (Brown and McLachlan, 2002;Newton et al., 2012; Sekovski et al., 2012; Newton andWeichselgartner, 2014). Natural disasters intensified by anthropo-genic pressures potentially increases vulnerability, risks and losses(Munich Re, 2012). Most of European sandy shores are affected bygrowing erosion, with retreat rates in some instances of up to a fewmetres per year (European Commission, 2009a). Coastal erosion is anatural process, which represents landform recession or loweringbrought by natural actions, often trigged or intensified by humanactions (Pranzini and Williams, 2013). Modern coastlines sufferfrom erosion, due to a sediment deficit as fluxes are disrupted byhuman actions, through damming, quarrying, sediment retentionin reservoirs, agricultural practices, land reclamation, urbanizationand coastal engineering (Crossland et al., 2005; Defeo et al., 2009;Nordstrom, 2000; Renaud et al., 2013; Sherman et al., 2002;Syvitski et al., 2005). It was estimated by the Eurosion project(2004) that about 20,000 km of the European coast (which is over20% of the total coastline) suffers from serious coastal erosion.Coastal erosion may induce a wide variety of negative ecologicaland socio-economical impacts such as increased loss of propertyand potential loss of life, damage to infrastructure, loss of tourismand recreation, contamination or disappearance of water storagewells, loss of costal and benthic flora and fauna.

Tourism and coastal erosion issues in the three countries aresummarised in Table 1.

Portugal: Positioned in the southwest of Europe, mainlandPortugal is exposed only to the Atlantic Ocean. The archipelagos ofAzores and Madeira, which are also popular tourist destinations,are autonomous regions of Portugal and also Atlantic. The Portu-guese coastline is about 1187 km, from which approximately 44%are beaches. The coast is diverse in its geomorphologic featuresincluding sandy beaches and dunes, high cliffs and low-lying rockyshores, coastal lagoons and barrier islands. High energy waves andthe intense long-shore sediment drift make the continental Atlanticcoast naturally vulnerably to erosion and flooding, with Lisbon andAlgarve being the most exposed regions (Martins et al., 2013). Itwas estimated that 349 km of Portuguese coastline was impactedby erosion (Eurosion, 2004). Most of sandy beaches experienceshoreline retreat of more than one meter per year (Ferreira et al.,2008).

Spain: Spain is located in south-western Europe on the Iberianpeninsulas with borders to the Mediterranean Sea and the AtlanticOcean. The Spanish territory includes the Balearic (Mediterranean)and Canary (Atlantic) Islands. Of the 6584 km of coastline, about50% consists of hard and soft cliffs (particularly in Atlantic), around28% of sandy beaches and 17% of low-lying areas such as deltas andlagoons (Gracia et al., 2013). The Spanish coastline is highlyvulnerable to flooding and erosion. It was estimated that 824 km ofSpanish coastline was impacted by erosion (Eurosion, 2004). Themost effected and vulnerable regions are Andalucía with erosionalong 41% of its coastline, Cataloniawith 33% and Valenciawith 26%(European Commission, 2009c). Spain is among the top five coun-tries in terms of coastal protection and climate adaptation expen-diture for the period 1998e2015 along the Atlantic Ocean (31%) andMediterranean Sea (35%) (European Commission, 2009a).

Italy: Italy is a peninsular country with two large islands in theMediterranean, Sicily and Sardinia. The Italian coastline borders theAdriatic, Ionian and Tyrrhenian seas (subdivisions of the Mediter-ranean) and includes both rocky coasts and low-lying sandy bea-ches (European Commission, 2009d). The Italian coastline is about

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Table 1Summary of coastal erosion and tourism in Portugal, Spain and Italy.

Parameter Portugal Spain Italy

Total length of the coastline (km) (1) 1187 6584 7468Beaches (% of total coastline) (1) (44%) (28%) (50%)Total coastline impacted by erosion in 2001 (km) (1) 349 824 2349Artificially protected coastline in 2001 (km) (1) 72 214 1083Annual normal expenditure on coastal protection (1998e2015 V million) (2) 7.29 51.99 25.64Rank in the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index 2013 (Regional/World) (3) 13/20 4/4 18/26Total contribution of ‘Travel and Tourism’ to national GDP (4a,b,c) 15.6% 15.7% 10.3%International tourist arrivals (million) in 2012 (4a,b,c) 7.696 57.7 (4th) 46.4 (5th)

1) Eurosion (2004). 2) European Commission (2009a,b,c). 3) Blance and Chiesa (2013). 4) WTTC (2014a,b,c).

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7468 km, of which circa 50 per cent are beaches (Eurosion, 2004).The Italian coast suffers from severe erosion: it was estimated thatabout 2349 km of total coastline and 42% of beaches were eroding(Eurosion, 2004; GNRAC, 2006). The most vulnerable regions areToscana, Lazio, Salerno, Campania and Sicily. The Northern Adriaticbasin, including Emilia Romagna and Veneto is particularly at risk,which explains by the subsidence of various coastal zones belowthe sea level (Simeoni and Corbau, 2009; Armroli et al., 2009). Italyaccounts for the majority of expenditure in terms of coastal pro-tection and climate adaptation (from which 90% is a protectionbudget for Venice) (European Commission, 2009a).

4. Management approaches to beach quality and coastalerosion

4.1. Beach quality awards as an economic instrument for beachmanagement

All award concepts and rating systems are forms of eco-labels,which are usually perceived by authorities as a reward to achievein order to demonstrate the advantages of chosen area to potentialbeach users (Cagilaba and Rennie, 2005). Provision of beach qualityawards attempts to achieve an optimal balance between recreation,tourism and conservation (Williams and Morgan, 1995). This cor-responds to the aim of beach managers to provide a beach withrecreational services without damaging a natural state of beaches(Williams and Micallef, 2009). One of the important aspects of aneffective use of beach quality awards is a differentiation of beachtypes. All beaches cannot be managed in the same way, and qualitycriteria must correspond with natural characteristics of a particulararea and level of development (Botero and Hurtado, 2009;Williamsand Micallef, 2009). Otherwise, an attempt to standardize all bea-ches with respect to the level of services and facilities will lead tothe higher development of rural areas and the degradation ofnatural and pristine sites (Turner et al., 1998).

4.2. Physical management against coastal erosion: hard vs. softmethods

Traditionally, there are two options for dealing with erosionproblems: (i) to maintain the coastline at a fixed position by usinghard structures and/or by soft methods; or, (ii) to accept retreat inareas of wide and high beaches without essential values beingthreatened (Turner et al., 2007; Van Rijn, 2011). The most commonhard measures for dealing with coastal erosion include groynes,seawalls, offshore breakwaters and artificial headlands. Provision ofhard structures usually requires continuous costs of maintenanceworks and may possess negative effects on environmental qualityand natural shoreline processes (Van Rijn, 2011).

In recent years, it has become more common to use softmethods such as beach nourishment, dune stabilisation,

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bioengineering and other non-structural management options toprotect beaches from erosion (Kamphuis, 2002). The soft engi-neering solutions are preferable for conservation and economicreasons, and are considered as safer approaches with comparisonto hard engineering methods (Finkl and Walker, 2004).

Currently, mitigation of coastal erosion and preservation ofcoastal areas represent essential aspects of Protocol on IntegratedCoastal Zone Management in the Mediterranean and is included into the objectives of countries' national regulations and policies inEurope.

5. Beach management strategies used in three countries

To mitigate coastal erosion, improve recreational beach qualityand enhance the natural status of beaches, coastal countries investin (i) hard and soft coastal protection works, and (ii) the provisionof quality awards and systems. Existing national quality awards andsystems in Portugal, Spain and Italy are addressed in Table 2. Ex-amples of protection measures, applied in six case studies (Fig. 1),located in the most vulnerable regions of countries under thisresearch (two in each country) and their effect on environmentalquality and humanwelfarewere reviewed and presented in Table 3.

5.1. Improvement of quality for recreational usage

There are different environmental management systems andbeach quality awards in the three countries of this study. Amongthe well known European directives and standards supportingenvironmental management and quality assessment of beaches arethe Bathing Water Quality directive 2006/7/EC, ISO 14001 and ISO9001, and EMAS (European eco-Management and Audits Scheme).Additionally, there are different ecoe labels (award schemes, ratingsystems, beach quality indices) that have been employed in order toaddress various aspects associated with beach quality (Table 2),among which a ‘Blue Flag’ is the most largely used and interna-tionally recognized. The ‘Blue flag’ is awarded for the beaches,which comply with 33 criteria covering environmental educationand information, water quality, environmental management, safetyand services (Blue Flag, 2015).

The aspects of beach quality, which are included in to the beachawards and indices, are partially considered by the existing beachmanagement policies in the analysed countries. For instance, theShores Act 22/1988 is the main administrative framework for reg-ulations in the Spanish coastal zone, including beaches. Togetherwith other regional laws it regulates such aspects of beach man-agement as beach use plans, safety issues, recreational activitiesand services, which constitute the core of existing regulatorylegislation on beach systems (Ariza et al., 2008a). Another exampleis the Coastal Zone Management Plans (POOC), which is the mainadministrative framework for coastal and beach management inPortugal. The main objectives of the POOC are protection from

iew of erosion and beach quality issues in three Southern European), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2015.08.013

Table 2Existing national quality awards and systems in Portugal, Spain and Italy.

Quality Award/Environmentalsystem

Covered aspects Reference

Portugal Qualidade de Ouro Water Quality CMVC (2014)Praia Acessival Comfort, safety, access to the beach CMVC (2014)Praia Saudavel Security and safety CMVC (2014)

Spain LA21 Sustainable development and environmentalmanagement

Williams and Micallef (2009)

Q de Calidad Turística Housing and apartment quality Ariza et al. (2008a), Yepes (2005)AENOR Sustainable development and environmental

managementWilliams and Micallef (2009)

CEDEX Index Water quality, sand quality, access, activities,comfort, services, geomorphologic quality

Ariza et al. (2008b)

ACA Index Comfort, water quality, maintains and cleaning Ariza et al. (2008b)CANTABRIA Index Water quality, Natural system quality, aesthetic

quality, services, accessAriza et al. (2008b)

BQI Crowding, environmental quality, services andfacilities, activities, access, comfort, safety, scenery,natural conditions and physical quality

Ariza et al. (2010)

Italy Guida Blu Water quality, services and facilities, preserved historicsites, hospitality

Legambiente (2014)

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coastal erosion and flooding, classification of beaches and theregulation of their use, promotion and improvement of the qualityand value of beaches with particular environmental or tourismimportance (Carneiro, 2007; European Commission, 2009). Nowa-days the Ministry of Environment, Land and Sea and the Institutefor Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA) are the maininstitutions involved in to the coastal and beach management inItaly, aimed to promote sustainable development of coastal areas,preservation of natural beach quality, protection from coastalerosion and provision of tourism facilities (European Commission,2009d). Moreover, the regional plans for coastal management,

Fig. 1. Location of case studies in Portugal, Spain

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which are based on the European programme for Integrated CoastalZone Management, include environmental management of bea-ches, protection from coastal erosion and preservation of naturalvalue of beaches (Ambiente, 2015).

Portugal: In total, 298 beaches in Portugal were awarded a BlueFlag in 2014, making Portugal one of the countries with the highestpercentage of Blue Flag beaches (Blue Flag, 2015). Besides, therewere 355 beaches awarded “Qualidade de Ouro” in 2014 for theirexcellent water quality (Expresso Journal, 2014). Moreover, 92% ofbathing waters, reported by the European Environmental Agencyand assessed in accordance with Bathing Water Directive 2006/7/

and Italy (Copyright ©worldatlasbook.com).

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Table 3Summary table of protection measures applied in study areas and their effect on environmental quality and human welfare.

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EC, shared ‘good’ or ‘excellent’ water quality (EEA, 2014). The pre-vious studies of beach users' perceptions and expectations showedthat the overall level of satisfaction with beach quality was veryhigh (Semeoshenkova and Williams, 2011; Zacarias et al., 2011).However, the evolution (erosion) and instability of the cliffs is adanger for the beach users of rocky shores. According to PortugueseEnvironment Agency, about 75 beaches in the Algarve are at risk ofrock-falls (Ambiente Portugal, 2014).

Spain: In total, 561 beaches in Spain gained a Blue Flag in 2014,whichmade it the leading countryworldwide in the number of BlueFlag beaches (Blue Flag, 2015). Additionally, therewere 184 beachesin Spain that were awarded a national ‘Q’ for Tourism Quality Flag(Calidad Turistica, 2014) in 2013. Provision and monitoring ofbathing waters' quality in accordance with the Bathing WaterDirective 2006/7/EC was carried out on 2161 sites in 2013, fromwhich 92% had a ‘good’ or ‘excellent’ quality (EEA, 2014). The studyof beach users' expectations in Costa Brava showed that the generalopinion regarding the beach quality was very positive (Roca andVillares, 2008; Roca et al., 2009; Lozoya et al., 2014).

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Italy: In total, 269 beaches in Italy were awarded a Blue Flag in2014. Sardinia was the top destination, acknowledged by the na-tional Guida Blu in 2013, with 18 four and five ‘sails’ awarded in2013. Regarding the results of bathing waters' quality in accordancewith the Bathing Water Directive 2006/7/EC, there were 5511bathing waters reported by the European Environment Agency,from which 93% shared ‘good’ or ‘excellent’ water quality in 2013(EEA, 2014). Beach users' perceptions analysis in the Liguria regionproved that most of the interviewed people considered the overallbeach quality to be good (Marin et al., 2009).

5.2. Management of coastal erosion

5.2.1. PortugalThe Costa da Caparica (S. of Lisbon) is the main recreational area

near Lisbon and is used by millions of people during the summer.The area is located in the south of the Tagus River mouth, the mainsediment exporter. The boom of tourism and urban development inCaparica coast, especially accelerated after 60th, generated

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significant pressures on coastal environment and induced coastalerosion (Veloso-Gomes et al., 2006). Severe erosion started in 1930sas a cause of sediment dredging and associated activities at theTagus river basin (Veloso-Gomes et al., 2006). The high vulnera-bility of the area required an application of hard protectionmethods against the coast line retreat, overwashes, flooding andinfrastructures destruction. Over the period from 1959 to 1970sthere were built seven groynes and a seawall of 2.5 km long. Thedunes were mostly destroyed and the shorefront became totallyartificial. Although, coastal constructions allowed keeping theCaparica coast relatively stable during the periods of 1972e2000,they did not provide sufficient beach for recreation. Moreover,there was a hazard of erosion downdrift.

The initial construction of hard structures was not supported bythe adequate knowledge of the zone dynamics. With time, thegroyne fields degraded and were not able anymore to keep theshoreline stable. The length of the groyne appeared to be too shortto retain the sand (Gomes and Pinto, 2004). After the persistentwinters in 2000e2001 it became clear that the area was still veryinstable and vulnerable, as severe storms effected the shorelineretreat, caused loss of the sediment from the beach, damagedcoastal protection structures and exposed some beach leisure fa-cilities (Raposeiro et al., 2013; Ferreira and Matias, 2013). Coastaldefences were significantly damaged and maintains works wereneeded for safety reasons (Veloso-Gomes et al., 2009).

Since 2003, the management strategies were switched onreshaping of the existing groynes and seawalls and intensive beach/dune nourishment. The area was included to the urban requalifi-cation program Polis, that determined the shoreline managementplans (POOC Sintra-Sado). The plan included dune reconstructionand reorganization of the territory and relocation of infrastructurefurther away from the beach (Gomes and Pinto, 2004).

The Ria Formosa coastal lagoon is located in a Natural Park in thesouth coast of the Algarve, Portugal. It is formed by two peninsulas(Anc~ao and Cacela) and five barrier islands (Barreta, Culatra,Armona, Tavira and Cabanas). This area represents a very importantand biologically rich reserve with a highly diversified fauna, and apopular tourist destination because of its extensive sandy beaches.Additionally, it is one of the most valuable and important wetlandarea worldwide, which is protected by the Ramsar and Bern con-ventions (Ceia et al., 2010).

The Ria Formosa barrier island system is highly vulnerable toerosion and storm exposure, especially its fragile dune fields andbeaches with a narrow barrier and gentle slope (Ceia et al., 2010).The main reasons for progressing erosion were the construction ofmarine jetties in 1950s, seawalls and groynes in early 1980s toprotect settlements and infrastructure, and illegal buildings on thedunes (Ferreira and Matias, 2013; Ramos and Dias, 2000), exacer-bated by massive tourism development (Ceia et al., 2010). Thus, thecoastal protection structures interrupted the longshore drift andcause sediment starvation, and buildings destructed the dunesystem.

Since 1996, themanagement solutions were switched to the softprotection techniques in order to improve the functioning of thesystem and reduce vulnerability to overwash (Dias et al., 2004). Thesoft stabilisation techniques included dune and beach nourish-ment, placement of fences, construction of footbridges and reveg-etation of dunes. According to Ferreira and Matias (2013), beachnourishment of more than 13 km of beaches and dunes along theRia Formosa barrier islands was the biggest soft protection inter-vention in Portugal. About 2,650,000 m3 of sediments from thelagoon and its channels were deposited between 1999 and 2000(Ramos and Dias, 2000) and around 13 km of fences were fixed toenhance dune recovery (Ferreira and Matias, 2013). According toDias et al. (2003), soft alternatives provided a good level of shore

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protection and fulfilled the expected management objectives,allowing protecting natural characteristics of beaches and keepingits recreational value.

5.2.2. SpainSitges is located at the Mediterranean coast in Catalonia, 40 km

south of Barcelona and it is one of the biggest tourist resorts ofSpain (Campillo-Besses et al., 2004). Sitges has a coastal stretch ofapproximately 19 km, which is made up of rocky coast and sandybeaches, most of which are located in front of the urban areas. Therapid urbanisation of the seafront without proper planning, lack ofsediment input from the rivers due to damming, quarrying andmarine construction, severe easterly storms were the main causesof erosion. Disappearance of beaches and loss of the coastal infra-structure were the main issues for all stakeholders (Raventos,2004).

The protection measures performed until 1988 were mainlyconcentrated on hard engineering solutions: groynes, detachedbreakwaters, T-shaped breakwaters, artificial islands and seawalls(Raventos, 2004). The hard defences were very expensive, visualunattractive and inefficient in mitigating coastal erosion. Thestructures disrupted longshore drift and worsened erosion down-drift. The structures failed to protect the waterfront promenade, itwas destroyed and had to be repaired several times after stormevents. Moreover, the hard structures retained litter in the cornersof the groynes and breakwaters (Raventos, 2004) and negativelyaffected the presence and health of submarine ecosystems(Palomino de Dios et al., 2012). The bathing water quality remainedreasonably high (Campillo-Besses et al., 2004).

Since 1984, the management strategy in accordance to ShoresAct was based on the soft protection techniques, mainly beachnourishment. However, it was only a temporal solution, as a set ofstorms swept away a huge part of the freshly nourished sediments(Raventos, 2004).

In 2000, the “Sitges Towards Sustainability” project waslaunched within the EMAS and LA21 schemes aimed to design anddevelop environmental management plan for sustainable devel-opment of Sitges and promote improvement of environmentalperformance of economic activities (Campillo-Besses et al., 2004).

The coast nearHuelva is to the west of the Gulf of Cadiz in south-western Spain (Andalucia), on the Atlantic Ocean. It is an importanttouristic areawith golf infrastructures and beach resorts. The area ismainly characterised by low-lying areas including linear sandybeaches, low sandy cliffs and well-developed sandpits (Del Rioet al., 2012). Intensive dam construction in the last decadesgreatly decreased the sediment supply to the coast from theGuadiana and Guadalquivir rivers (Rodríguez-Ramírez et al., 2003).Additionally, frequent interventions, such as the construction ofjetties, groynes, and harbours significantly altered the coastal dy-namics and induced erosion (Rodriguez-Ramirez et al., 2008). Forinstance, the biggest negative effect was caused by the 10 km longgroyne made in 1981 in Huelva town, which completely blockedlittoral currents and caused erosion along more than 25 kmdowndrift (Rodriguez-Ramirez et al., 1999). Lately, the same groynecaused coastal retreat episodes, such as 10e20 m in 2000e2001(Del Rio et al., 2002). The use of hard structures for coastal stabi-lisation was inefficient and precluded in general, due to the highlongitudinal littoral drift rates.

An intensive development of tourism facilities in the 1970splaced escalating pressures on the beach environment. The un-controlled access to the beach, overcrowding, and building ofinfrastructure close to the beach led to beach erosion, weakling anddisappearance of dunes (G�omez-Pina et al., 2002; Zújar et al.,2002). Loss of sediment and dunes from particularly significanttouristic areas required new approaches for coastal stabilisation

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and increasing of beach surface. Since the Shores Act came in 1988,the management decisions were aimed on “soft” coastal protection,which included beach nourishment, revegetation, dune fencing,dunewalkovers and environmental dune information (G�omez-Pinaet al., 2002; Munoz-Perez et al., 2001). Applied soft measures wereassessed by G�omez-Pina et al. (2002) as very efficient approachesagainst beach and dune degradation.

5.2.3. ItalyMarina di Massa is located in the northern Toscany, facing the

Tyrrhenean Sea in the central Italy. It is a highly populated area andthe most important touristic destination in the Province of MassaCarrara. Occupation of the coast has significantly increased inrecent decades, mainly due to a greater demand for recreation andtourism. The coast is mostly composed of dissipative sandy beaches(Anfuso et al., 2011). The Marina di Massa beach has experiencedsevere erosion since the early 1930s. The erosion process was aconsequence of interruption of longshore littoral drift, caused byconstruction of industrial harbour at Marina di Carrrara in 1920s(Cipriani, 2004).

Many of hard structures, such as seawalls, groynes, emerged andsubmerged breakwaters, were built during 1930e1980 in order toprotect the coast from erosion. Lately, many of old detachedbreakwaters were transformed to submerged. Such modificationsdid not increase erosion and improved scenery, safety and watercirculation. Today, each kilometre of the coast is defended by 1.8 kmof breakwaters (Pranzini, 2013). Hard structures were useful toprotect the stretch of coast immediately in front of them, butcaused an interruption of sediment transport along the coast,inducing erosion downdrift and accretion updrift (Anfuso et al.,2011; Cipriani, 2004). Moreover, they caused a strong negative ef-fect on sea water quality, reduction of available beach surface,destruction of dunes and vegetation. Reduction of beach resulted indecrease of sport activities and available deckchairs/sunshades, lossof parking areas associated with moving of bathing establishmentinland, reduction of sidewalk and increase of sound and smell ofengine (Cipriani, 2004).

Supplementary to the provision of hard structures, occasionalbeach nourishment was annually implemented before the summerseason in order to stabilise a shore and provide a space for recre-ation (Cipriani, 2004). However, the first attempts of nourishmentdid not resolve the erosion problem because the grain size of theused sand was too fine to be stable on the beach (Iannotta, 1997).

Marina di Ravenna-Lido Adriano is on the Adriatic coast inEmilia-Romagna region, northern Italy. The coast is characterisedby low-lying sandy beaches with few areas of preserved dunes andpinewood. Themain uses of the coast are tourism and recreation. Inthe last decades, the coastline experienced very severe erosion dueto the combined effects of subsidence and sediment starvation,caused by jetty construction, urbanisation and tourism develop-ment (Gabbianelli, 2004; Teatini et al., 2005). Approximately 45 cmof land subsidence, recorded in the period 1957e1977 caused aregression of the shoreline of about 126 m at Lido Adriano(Carbognin et al., 1984). The highest level of coastline retreat tookplace in the end of 1970s, when the anthropic activities on theshoreline had reached the maximum uncontrolled expansion. Thisperiod is also associated with building and progressive extending ofRavenna port in the northern part of Marina di Ravenna (Sytnik andStecchi, 2014).

Another contributor to the deterioration of the beach is theprovision of more than 100 bathhouses along the 10 km of beaches.Such beach establishments, called “bagnos” provide awide range ofrecreational facilities for beach users including sun loungers andumbrellas, sports, restaurants and bars, children playgrounds,showers, toilets etc. These structures damaged and destroyed dune

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bars and had a negative impact on the existing pine woods(Gabbianelli, 2004). Moreover, dune degradationwas intensified bythe construction of small, privately-owned wooden establishmentson the top of the frontal dunes. According to the results of Sytnikand Stecchi (2014), the total loss of coastal dunes in Marina diRavenna was estimated to be about 18 ha over almost 60 years, anequivalent to 28 football pitches.

The former protection works against erosion started in 1970sand included a submerged breakwater and groynes made of sandbags, however they did not provide efficient results and justenhanced erosion. The modern management strategy included acombination of soft and hard methods to protect the urban areaand maintain an adequate beach width for the recreation andtourism development. Coastal protection works began in 1999 andincluded construction of rocky submerged breakwaters, partlysubmerged and submerged groynes, periodic beach nourishmentsand dune fencing (Gabbianelli, 2004). Although, there was anevident of negative effect on water quality, which led to severalclosures of the beach, beach nourishment and composite inter-vention were positively assessed and preferred by beach users(Lamberti and Zanuttigh, 2005; Zanuttigh et al., 2005; Davila et al.,2014). According to Gabbianelli (2004), the recent managementapproaches were considered relatively good and effective in-terventions, which helped to mitigate erosion, stabilise and savethe beach for recreation.

6. Discussion and conclusions

6.1. Impact of tourism and urban development on highly vulnerablecoasts

The economic exploitation of coastal areas in Portugal, Spainand Italy induced rapidly growing tourism and urban developmentduring 1930e1970s. The natural vulnerability and exposure ofcoastal areas to wave actions were being aggravated by anthropo-genic forces. This study clearly demonstrates that lacking ofappropriate policies and legislations to control human activities inthe past, contributed to the degradation of beaches. Thus, buildingof infrastructure, construction of hotels and private property closeto the beach, human activities in the river basins (e.g. dredging),harbour construction, coastal engineering and massive tourismwere the main causes of coastal erosion and deterioration of beachquality. In the same time, coastal tourism was a significantcontributor to local economies, thus the management solutionwere mainly aimed to protect the urban fronts from destruction bythe sea, provide leisure facilities and maintain the beaches forrecreation.

6.2. Effect of beach quality awards on tourism quality

Beach quality awards and rating systems have an essentialimportance for the recreational experience and public health. Forinstance, a mandatory bathing water quality assessment in accor-dance with the European Bathing Water Quality directive 2006/7/EC allows determination of potentially harmful bacteria pathogensand/or cyanobacterial risks, which cause human illnesses. Suchmonitoring ensures safe bathing water and provides public withuseful information, which helps to choose bathing sites. Obtainingof an award such as ‘Blue Flag’ is an optional decision of a munic-ipality, however it is necessary to claim and pay for it. Nevertheless,it is an important instrument for enhancing beach tourism incoastal areas. If beach managers use this instrument accurately,considering the variations of beach types and permitted level ofdevelopment, the recreational quality of beaches can be enhancedand the harmful environmental effect from recreation minimized

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V. Semeoshenkova, A. Newton / Ocean & Coastal Management xxx (2015) 1e108

through the public education, awareness and environmentalmanagement.

The review of existing beach quality awards and indicesdemonstrated that besides the ‘Blue Flag’ and European environ-mental certifications (e.g. EMAS, ISO 14001, ISO 9001 and EUBathing Water Directive 2006/7/EC), three countries are advancedin implementing awards and rating systems launched by nationalinstitutes and agencies. The common criteria covered by thoseawards correspond with the results obtained from previousresearch about public perception of beach quality. For instance,such parameters as water quality, cleanliness of beach, scenery,facilities and safety were given the highest priority for beach usersin Portugal (Semeoshenkova and Williams, 2011; Quintela et al.,2009), Spain (Lozoya et al., 2014; Roca and Villares, 2008; Rocaet al., 2009); Italy (Marin et al., 2009), Malta (Micallef et al.,1999); UK (McKenna et al., 2011; Morgan et al., 1993; Tudor andWilliams, 2006) and Colombia (Botero et al., 2013).

It is important to highlight that aspects of beach quality, whichcovered by the awards and rating systems are partially included into the beach management cycle in study countries. For example, anestimation of recreational carrying capacity, evaluation of coastalscenery and provision of environmental information are importantpractices of current management plans aimed to preserve naturalstate of beaches, improve experience of beach users and evenprevent beaches from erosion.

6.3. Effectiveness and impact of coastal erosion approaches onenvironment and human welfare

The reviewed approaches to beach erosion demonstrated thatcoastal tourism was the main target for beach management in thethree countries and due to this, most of implemented approacheswere designed to fulfil tourism requirements.

The analyses of success and failures of coastal structures haveproved the inefficiency of hard engineering measures to stopcoastal erosion. Such management solutions were driven byemergency problems andwere not supported by proper knowledgeof marine and coastal process.

In all reviewed cases, construction of hard engineering mea-sures interrupted longshore littoral drift and intensified erosiondowndrift to the adjacent areas. In some cases (Costa da Caparica,Marina di Massa, Marina di Ravenna) the groynes and breakwatershad to be reshaped or extended in length that also highlights theshortcomings of the initial design and planning. Moreover, hardengineering approaches induced a scope of environmental prob-lems (decrease of water quality, generation of litter, deterioration offlora and fauna) and negatively affected human welfare (decreasedsafety, comfort and aesthetic quality). In some cases, there was agap of information and future research is needed to examine theimpact of applied measures on environmental quality.

Recent management approaches were switched on applicationof soft methods such as beach and dune nourishment, dune sta-bilisation, bioengineering (sand bags), sometimes supported byhard structures. The results of the study showed, that contrary tohard solutions, soft methods allowed to mitigate coastal erosionwithout such harmful effects on the ecological status of beachesand human welfare. Soft techniques allowed increasing of beachsurface for recreation, improved services and facilities andenhanced coastal scenery. Although, few cases of nourishmentfailed due to the use of inappropriate grain size of sand (Sitges,Marina di Massa), in most cases application of soft engineeringapproaches were effective in achievement of management objec-tives. However, beach and dune nourishment are still only temporalsolutions, which require systematic fills.

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7. Recommendations

(i) Awareness raising: Priority should be given to affordableand effective measures, such as public education (e.g. envi-ronmental campaigns) and information (e.g. warning no-tices, information boards). These techniques are notexpensive, can be easily implemented on a local level andhelp to increase public awareness about the necessity ofbeach conservation.

(ii) Beach quality awards: Adaptive beach management shouldintegrate physical management against coastal erosion andimprovement of environmental and recreational beachquality. Provision of beach quality awards, respecting naturalcharacteristics of beaches and application of hard/soft engi-neering approaches can help to achieve sustainable devel-opment of coastal areas.

(iii) Prioritization: Beach management priorities in differentcountries depend on local problems. For instance, bloomingof ‘box’ jellyfish in N.E. Australia (Tibballs et al., 2012),occurrence of harmful algal blooms (HABs) in China (Wangand Wu, 2009), or untreated sewage in coastal waters inBrazil (Moresco et al., 2012) are especially dangerous forhuman health and the welfare of coastal communities.Therefore, the management approaches should be concen-trated on mitigation of these issues.

(iv) Knowledge-based decisions: The implementation of bothhard and soft methods should be supported by comprehen-sive knowledge on the state, causes and impacts of coastalerosion and especially a consideration of the potentialnegative effects of those measures on the environment andhuman welfare. Knowledge-based decisions play a crucialrole in effectiveness of protection measures. In particular,solving a local problem by causing a problem elsewhereshould be avoided. Examples of the knowledge that isnecessary include the sources of sediment, the size of sedi-ment cells, the dimension and position of hard structures aswell as the proper grain size of nourished sediment.

(v) Adopting and adapting solutions: Good practices in man-aging coastal erosion and beach quality issues in othercoastal regions worldwide should be adapted for localspecifics.

(vi) Assessment of effectiveness and impact: The Application ofhard/soft measures should be followed by environmentalimpact study and assessment of effectiveness, in order toprevent deterioration of beach quality and address timelymanagement solutions.

Acknowledgements

Vera Semeoshenkova thanks the European Union for financingher research in the Erasmus Mundus Joint Doctorate in Marine andCoastal Management (MACOMA). Alice Newton's research waspartially supported by the European Union 7FP project, COMET-LA,http://www.comet-la.eu/.

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