Coastal Recreation Research Articles

Applying Geographic Information Systems to ecosystem services valuation and mapping in Trinidad and Tobago

Consideration of the spatial dimension in the provision of ecosystem services is fundamental for the calculation of the economic value of ecosystem services and the distribution across beneficiaries and ecosystems. In the context of Small Island Developing States, the islands of Trinidad and Tobago are characterized by a rich natural capital, which lies at the source of the provision of all ecosystem services. Such natural capital, however, is threatened by a range of anthropogenic pressures. This paper builds upon state-of-the-art benefit transfer techniques and Geographic Information Systems to provide the first maps of the value of three key ecosystem services in Trinidad and Tobago. Result estimates indicate that the mean value of carbon sequestration by terrestrial and coastal ecosystems amounts to 65 US$/ha/year. Mean values for coastal recreation and shoreline coastal protection are estimated in 6468 and 924 US$/ha/year, respectively. We discuss how this spatially explicit valuation exercise may feed into Trinidad and Tobago’s National Spatial Development Plan, thus contributing toward a more sustainable use of the country’s natural capital.

Recreational visits to marine and coastal environments in England: Where, what, who, why, and when?

Health and economic benefits may accrue from marine and coastal recreation. In England, few national-level descriptive analyses exist which examine predictors of recreation in these environments. Data from seven waves (2009–2016) of a representative survey of the English population (n = 326,756) were analysed to investigate how many recreational visits were made annually to coastal environments in England, which activities were undertaken on these visits, and which demographic, motivational, temporal, and regional factors predict them. Inland environments are presented for comparison. Approximately 271 million recreational visits were made to coastal environments in England annually, the majority involving land-based activities such as walking. Separately, there were around 59 million instances of water-based recreation undertaken on recreational visits (e.g. swimming, water sports). Visits to the coast involving walking were undertaken by a wide spectrum of the population: compared to woodland walks, for instance, coastal walks were more likely to be made by females, older adults, and individuals from lower socioeconomic classifications, suggesting the coast may support reducing activity inequalities. Motivational and temporal variables showed distinct patterns between visits to coastal and inland comparator environments. Regional variations existed too with more visits to coastal environments made by people living in the south-west and north-east compared to London, where more visits were made to urban open spaces. The results provide a reference for current patterns of coastal recreation in England, and could be considered when making policy-level decisions with regard to coastal accessibility and marine plans. Implications for future public health and marine plans are discussed.

Valuing coastal recreation and the visual intrusion from commercial activities in Arctic Norway

The coastal zone in the Arctic is being extensively used for recreational activities. Simultaneously, there is an increasing pressure from commercial activities. We present results from a discrete choice experiment implemented in Arctic Norway, revealing how households in this region make trade-offs between recreational activities and commercial developments in the coastal zone. Our results show that, although people prefer stricter regulation of commercial activities, they welcome expansion in marine industries like aquaculture and marine fishing tourism. We also find evidence of high willingness-to-pay for new jobs; and this may partly explain the preferences for the commercial facilities in spite of the visual intrusion they create. On the other hand people expressed a clear dislike for littering of the beaches. Hence, the message to policy makers is to allow for commercial development in the coastal zone, but only under strict regulations, especially related to measures reducing the amount of marine debris.

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 125km 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.

The influence of weather on the recreational uses of coastal lagoons in Rhode Island, USA

The recreational uses of coastal lagoons (also known locally as salt ponds) contribute significantly to the important tourism economy of the southern part of the US state of Rhode Island. The lagoons are valued highly for the wide range of recreational services they provide, such as fishing, clamming, rowing, boating, or merely relaxing. Outdoors on or near the water, weather conditions may influence individual recreation decisions strongly. A changing climate is expected to affect weather conditions in Rhode Island, thereby potentially influencing when, how, and how much recreation will take place in the coastal areas of the state. Through direct observations of human activities on coastal lagoons, the sensitivity of coastal recreational uses to changes in weather conditions was assessed. If future changes in climate bring warmer temperatures and more intense wind and rain events, our results suggest that there may be a decrease in relaxing, rowing, and fishing on coastal lagoons when days are hotter and a decrease in rowing and fishing when days are windier. Nevertheless, warmer temperatures also may lengthen the summers, leading to an overall increase in the peak coastal recreation season. However, during the hottest periods, there may be a shift toward more motor boating and away from other uses, motor boaters were more resistant than other users to changes when temperatures increase. Understanding how weather and climate influence coastal recreation could help coastal managers and businesses better plan for the future in Rhode Island and other coastal environments worldwide.

The impact of offshore wind farms on beach recreation demand: Policy intake from an economic study on the Catalan coast

Offshore wind energy development can have major economic implications because of the potential impact on coastal recreation demand – particularly for countries that are characterised by high offshore wind power potential while also being popular tourist destinations. In this context, the impact of offshore wind farm projects on beach recreation demand in Catalonia (Spain) during the 2012 summer season was examined. A combined revealed and stated preference approach, which allows joint modelling of actual and hypothetical demands, was applied. The results demonstrate a significant welfare loss up to €203 million per season. The results further show that the installation of a wind farm mainly will cause a shift in trips to Catalan beaches without wind farms, which implies that the estimated negative economic impacts will occur mostly in areas where wind farms are located. From a political economy point of view, this may call for the design and implementation of re-distributive instruments to offset the negative impacts caused by wind farms.

Decisions on quality assurance criteria of recreational beaches

Coastal management of recreational beaches is an important topic that needs to use scientific approaches when decisions have to be taken by an authority or a stakeholder. Coastal recreation, which mainly depends on tourism activities, is strongly linked to the management perspective of a region which is generally the municipal authorities in Turkey. Therefore, reliable quantitative management strategies become an issue of high priority in the management of recreational beaches. In this study, the problem of beach quality assurance criteria was investigated using a hybrid decision-making approach. To eliminate the subjectivity of decision makers and obtain reliable quantitative data, an expert group was invited for an evaluation process consisting of 5 main and 32 sub-criteria related to beach quality using pairwise comparisons and scoring. The results of the study revealed that ‘physical quality’ is the most important criterion followed by ‘ecological and economic’ criteria set. Specifically, cleanliness (9·20%), availability of a discharge node (7·30%) and security (7·22%) dominated the quality assurance policy when deciding on recreational beach locations. It is concluded that quantitative evaluation of beach quality assurance criteria can help in promotion and protection strategies in coastal landscape management.

Assessing the effect of coastal park's attributes on its entrance fee charges: a hedonic approach

ABSTRACTIn this paper, we investigate the effect of the recognized nature-and-activity-based attributes on the level of park's admission fee charges using a panel data of 29 coastal recreation parks in Dalian city of China. A total of seven different Hedonic pricing model specifications are used in the estimating process. The results indicate that a numerous attributes have statistically significant effects (α ≤ 0.10) on the level of park admission fee charges. In terms of the economic valuation, marine sightseeing results in the highest value of marginal willingness to pay (MWTP) of $6.4 as its quality rank improves to a designated higher level. As expected that the park congestion has a negative effect on the MWTP (−$0.47) and overall park's rankings have a positive effect ($0.05) on park's MWTP. However, many recreation activities accommodated by the park sites exhibit a relatively weak effect on the park entrance fee charges. One possible reason is perhaps owing to the single admission package fee policy adopted by the park management.

Understanding Reef Flat Sediment Regimes and Hydrodynamics can Inform Erosion Mitigation on Land

Coral reefs worldwide are affected by excessive sediment and nutrient delivery from adjacent watersheds. Land cover and land use changes contribute to reef ecosystem degradation, which in turn,diminish many ecosystem services, including coastal protection, recreation, and food provisioning. The objectives of this work were to understand the role of coastal oceanic and biophysical processes in mediating the effects of sedimentation in shallow reef environments, and to assess the efficacy of land-based sediment remediation in the coastal areas near Maunalei reef, Lāna’i Island, Hawai’i. To the best of our knowledge, this was the first study of sediment dynamics on an east-facing (i.e., facing the trade winds) reef in the Hawaiian Islands. We developed ridge-to-reef monitoring systems at two paired stream bed-to-reef sites, where one of the reef sites was adjacent to a community stream sediment remediation project. We found that the two reef sites were characterized by different processes that affected the sediment removal rates; the two sites were also exposed to different amounts of sediment runoff. The community stream sediment remediation project appeared to keep at least 77 tonnes of sediment off the reef flat in one wet season. We found that resuspension of sediments on this reef was similar to that on north-facing and south-facing reefs that also are exposed to the trade winds. We posit that sites with slower sediment removal rates due to slower current velocities or high resuspension rates will require more-robust sediment capture systems on land to reduce sediment input rates and maximize potential for reef health recovery. This suggests that interventions such as local sediment remediation and watershed restoration may mitigate sediment delivery to coral reefs, but these interventions are more likely to be effective if they account for how adjacent coastal oceanographic processes distribute, accumulate, or advect sediment away from reefs. Our results on the effectiveness of gabion dam sediment capture may help guide scalable solutions for erosion control on islands.

Effects of the Coastal Park Environment Attributes on Its Admission Fee Charges

In this paper, we investigate the effect of those recognized nature-and-activity-based attributes on the level of park’s admission fee charges using a panel data of 29 coastal recreation parks in Dalian city of China. A total of seven different Hedonic pricing model specifications are used in the estimating process. The results indicate that a numerous attributes have statistically significant effects (α≤ 0.10) on the level of park admission fee charges. In terms of the economic valuation, the marine sightseeing results in the highest value of Marginal Willingness to Pay (MWTP) of $6.4 as its quality rank improves to a designated higher level. As expected that the park congestion has a negative effect on the MWTP (-$0.47) and overall park’s rankings have a positive effect ($0.05) on park’s MWTP. However, many recreation activities accommodated by the park sites exhibit a relatively weak effect on the park entrance fee charges. One possible reason is perhaps owing to the single admission package fee policy adopted by the park management..

Modeling system for predicting enterococci levels at Holly Beach

This paper presents a new modeling system for nowcasting and forecasting enterococci levels in coastal recreation waters at any time during the day. The modeling system consists of (1) an artificial neural network (ANN) model for predicting the enterococci level at sunrise time, (2) a clear-sky solar radiation and turbidity correction to the ANN model, (3) remote sensing algorithms for turbidity, and (4) nowcasting/forecasting data. The first three components are also unique features of the new modeling system. While the component (1) is useful to beach monitoring programs requiring enterococci levels in early morning, the component (2) in combination with the component (1) makes it possible to predict the bacterial level in beach waters at any time during the day if the data from the components (3) and (4) are available. Therefore, predictions from the component (2) are of primary interest to beachgoers. The modeling system was developed using three years of swimming season data and validated using additional four years of independent data. Testing results showed that (1) the sunrise-time model correctly reproduced 82.63% of the advisories issued in seven years with a false positive rate of 2.65% and a false negative rate of 14.72%, and (2) the new modeling system was capable of predicting the temporal variability in enterococci levels in beach waters, ranging from hourly changes to daily cycles. The results demonstrate the efficacy of the new modeling system in predicting enterococci levels in coastal beach waters. Applications of the modeling system will improve the management of recreational beaches and protection of public health.

Benefits of coastal recreation in Europe: Identifying trade-offs and priority regions for sustainable management

This paper examines the welfare dimension of the recreational services of coastal ecosystems through the application of a meta-analytical value transfer framework, which integrates Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for the characterization of climate, biodiversity, accessibility, and anthropogenic pressure in each of 368 regions of the European coastal zone. The relative contribution of international, domestic, and local recreationists to aggregated regional values is examined. The implications of the analysis for prioritization of conservation areas and identification of good management practices are highlighted through the comparative assessment of estimated recreation values, current environmental pressures, and existing network of protected sites.

Jellyfish outbreak impacts on recreation in the Mediterranean Sea: welfare estimates from a socioeconomic pilot survey in Israel

Jellyfish outbreaks in the Mediterranean Sea are part of an anthropogenic alteration of the marine ecosystem and have been documented as health hazards and threats to tourism. Their impacts on human welfare have, however, been poorly quantified. A socioeconomic survey, carried out in summer 2013, captures the impacts of an outbreak of Rhopilema nomadica on seaside recreation in Israel. Welfare losses are estimated based on per-visit value and expected change in visits patterns. We estimate that an outbreak reduces the number of seaside visits by 3–10.5%, with an annual monetary loss of €1.8–6.2 million. An additional 41% of the respondents state that their recreational activities on the beach are affected by the outbreak. Through a contingent valuation, we find that 56% of the respondents state a willingness to contribute to a national environmental protection program with an estimated annual benefit of €14.8 million. These figures signal an opportunity to invest in public information systems. A pilot study for adaptation was conducted in Barcelona, whose results confirm the importance of the welfare benefits of real-time public information systems. This study provides a benchmark against which the economic impacts of jellyfish outbreaks on coastal recreation and potential adaptation policies can be evaluated.

Exposure assessment of heavy metals in water and sediments from a Western Mediterranean basin (Rio Guadalhorce, Region of Andalusia, Southern Spain)

Concentrations of heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni and Pb) were measured in sediment and water from a representative Western Mediterranean basin in South Spain: Guadalhorce River. In the later twentieth century, cities such as Málaga (capital of the Costa del Sol), have suffered the impact of the mass summer tourism. The ancient industrial activities, abandoned mine sites and the actual urbanisation and coastal development, recreation and tourism, wastewater treatment facilities, have been sources of pollution. This river has been heavily modified, with three dams for volume regulation purposes owing to the climatic cycles, with some years very dry and others with torrential rains. In this study, different indices to assessment of sediment contamination, statistical tools (Kruskall–Wallis test, Conglomerate analysis), sequential extraction methods and environmental quality guidelines have been employed to assess the possible contamination of this basin. Other physical–chemical parameters as chloride concentration, pH and conductivity were also measured. The results indicated that Ni and Cu were the most troublesome metals because they were more easily mobilisable than Cr and Pb; Ni exceeds the SQGs guidelines, and Cu presents considerable contamination. These metals were derived from lithogenic and anthropogenic sources, respectively, according to the enrichment factors (EF) values. Ni was the most dangerous because Ni concentrations exceeded the threshold effect concentration (TEC) below which harmful effects are unlikely to be observed, in 96.6% of the samples analysed and even the probable effect concentration (PEC) above which harmful effects are likely to be observed, in 56.6%. The cause of this pollution was postulated to be by abandoned Ni mines, which indicates that the pollution from mining persists during several decades. Multivariate analyses used in this study provide important tools for better understanding of the pollution source identification.

Applying Environmental Management Policy for Sustainable Development of Coastal Tourism in Thailand

Coastal tourism destination is one of the fastest growing areas within the world’s largest tourism industry. In Thailand, large numbers of tourists come to coastal recreation areas, and the associated development is not well managed, there can be extremely negative effects on coastal environment. Also, the environmental impacts of coastal tourism are influenced by climate change impacts. The aim of article explores environmental management policy of coastal tourism to gather strategy and action for solving environmental impacts and applying sustainable development (SD) of coastal tourism. Hence, the findings of study show that key environmental impacts provide valuable lessons for coastal recreation areas. It also proposes the appropriate environmental management policy of coastal tourism in Thailand.

Impact of Off-road Vehicles (ORVs) on Ghost Crabs of Sandy Beaches with Traffic Restrictions: A Case Study of Sodwana Bay, South Africa

Off-road vehicles (ORVs) are popular in coastal recreation, although they have negative impacts on sandy shores. In South Africa, ORVs are banned from most coastal areas, while some areas are designated for restricted ORV use, providing an opportunity to assess whether ORV traffic restrictions translate into biological returns. In Sodwana Bay, the impact of ORVs on ghost crab populations was investigated. During Easter 2012, ghost crab burrows were counted on beach sections open and closed to traffic. Burrow density in the Impact section was less than a third that of the Reference section, and by the end of the study burrow size in the Impact section was half that of the Reference section. ORV traffic caused a shift in burrow distribution to the Lower beach. However, differences in burrow densities between sections were 14 times smaller than differences obtained at a time when ORV use in Sodwana Bay was not controlled. While confirming the well-established detrimental effects of ORV use on sandy beach ecosystems, results demonstrated that traffic restrictions on beaches measurably minimize impacts to the fauna, thus translating into clear-cut biological returns.

STUDI KESESUAIAN DAN DAYA DUKUNG KAWASAN UNTUK REKREASI PANTAI DI PANTAI PANJANG KOTA BENGKULU

resort in the Panjang Beach area. One form of the beach tourism is the beach recreation activities. However, in its efforts to the development of tourism in Panjang Beach needed to be identified and approaches the problems first. The most fundamental and the goal of this research is to conduct a study on the level of suitability and carrying capacity of the Panjang Beach coast primarily for recreational activities. Research carried out by field observations (collecting primary data and secondary data) for 2 months in July 2012 until August 2012 at the Panjang Beach city of Bengkulu, which is divided into seven-point sampling locations from the south up to the north shore. Collecting primary data consist of physics and chemistry sea water data and suitability parameters of beach recreation, such as type of beach, width of the beach, slope of the beach, brightness of sea water, current velocity, water depth, water base material, beach land cover, presence of harmful organism and availability of fresh water. The method used to analyze the results of the research is descriptive method with the help of Tourism Suitability Index analysis and the carrying capacity of Regions that generate value and suitability of the tourist carrying capacity. Based on the results obtained from the calculation of tourism suitability index for coastal recreation activities are mostly above 80%. This indicates that the coastal areas of Bengkulu City, Panjang Beach classified in the category of Highly Suitable (S1) for coastal recreation activities. While the value Capability Area of the Panjang Beach approximately 42.045 people per day.

ANDREW W. KAHRL. The Land Was Ours: African American Beaches from Jim Crow to the Sunbelt South.

In recent decades, more scholars have noted how the quest for both land and leisure shaped African Americans' fight for equality. Few have done so with as much nuance and detail as Andrew W. Kahrl. His study simultaneously clarifies the role of coastal spaces in evolving southern economies and race relations while complicating the typical story of resisting segregation that minimizes the concomitant struggle for environmental justice and downplays the dynamic “coastal capitalism” that often plunged African Americans into divisive competition. The book opens with the 2009 Carr's Beach Historic Music Festival, sponsored by condominium developers on Annapolis Neck to commemorate the influential black musicians who had once played that segregated but largely black-owned site. After segregation Carr's Beach was gobbled up by the very corporations who later celebrated its cultural contributions, allowing Kahrl to pose a framing question. How did southern coasts evolve from a time of widespread African American property ownership, even in the midst of racial segregation, to a time when racial diversity in coastal recreation had become common but intensified class stratification led black ownership to wane? As The Land Was Ours demonstrates, this is a complicated question with provocative answers.

Interacting Coastal Based Ecosystem Services: Recreation and Water Quality in Puget Sound, WA

Coastal recreation and water quality are major contributors to human well-being in coastal regions. They can also interact, creating opportunities for ecosystem based management, ecological restoration, and water quality improvement that can positively affect people and the environment. Yet the effect of environmental quality on human behavior is often poorly quantified, but commonly assumed in coastal ecosystem service studies. To clarify this effect we investigate a water quality dataset for evidence that environmental condition partially explains variation in recreational visitation, our indicator of human behavior. In Puget Sound, WA, we investigate variation in visitation in both visitation rate and fixed effects (FE) models. The visitation rate model relates the differences in annual recreational visitation among parks to environmental conditions, park characteristics, travel cost, and recreational demand. In our FE model we control for all time-invariant unobserved variables and compare monthly variation at the park level to determine how water quality affects visitation during the summer season. The results of our first model illustrate how visitation relates to various amenities and costs. In the FE analysis, monthly visitation was negatively related to water quality while controlling for monthly visitation trends. This indicates people are responding to changes in water quality, and an improvement would yield an increase in the value of recreation. Together, these results could help in prioritizing water quality improvements, could assist the creation of new parks or the modification of existing recreational infrastructure, and provide quantitative estimates for the expected benefits from potential changes in recreational visitation and water quality improvements. Our results also provide an example of how recreational visitation can be quantified and used in ecosystem service assessments.

Studi Kesesuaian Wisata dan Mutu Air Laut untuk Ekowisata Rekreasi Pantai di Pantai Maron Kota Semarang

Semarang as nautical city has tourism recreation of them is Maron beach. The recent problem is, Maron beach has great potential in nautical tourism, while management have not done optimally. The developing of tourism in Semarang need to be implemented by developing design which is more emphasizes of quality than quantity to be based on the potential and growing problem. The purposes of the study are to determine assess the suitability of Land and Water Quality for Marine Ecotourism in Coastal Recreation Maron Semarang. Research conducted in April 2012-January 2013. The objective method used in this research is a case study conducted explorative. Analyzing data is used index conformity Tourism and Water Quality Standard Marine for Marine Tourism in appropriate with the Policy of the Minister of Environment Number 51 of 2004 as soon as Index Environmental Water Quality. The results show that the calculation of index suitability travel beach recreation activities is 66%. This indicates that the coastal Maron Beach Semarang classified in the category Match (S2). While the value of Index Environmental Water Quality as much as 31.1 for category as bad category.