Governance and Management of Coastal Zones. Algarve (Portugal): A Historical View of the Impacts of Seaside Tourism

Abstract

Abstract The aim of this paper is to present an example of the contribution of environmental historical research as a tool base for policy-making and coastal management. Based on an analysis of the tourist phenomenon in the Algarve, and using the Spanish experience as a point of comparison, it presents a consideration of the complex political, economic and social processes that led to the support of a kind of tourism, which was, in part, responsible for the environmental problems of those regions. Research shows that different perceptions, values and uses concerning coastal areas determined the strategies and the solutions adopted in the governance and management of these spaces. The impact of human ideas and practices shaped coastal environments and produced unintended side-effects (e.g. coastal erosion), forcing people to take new actions. The history of these human-environment relationships should not be ignored by those who have responsibilities in coastal issues as it offers insights about the inherited status and what failed or succeeded in terms of management.