Assessing the success of integrated shoreline management in the Tordera Delta, northeastern Spain
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ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE
Assessing the success of integrated shoreline management in the Tordera Delta, northeastern Spain Enric Sagristà 1
&
Rafael Sardá 1
Received: 29 November 2018 / Accepted: 2 July 2020 # Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract Coastal catchment zones have undergone enormous changes during recent decades that have compromised their resilience. As a consequence of largely fragmented coastal management frameworks in the delta region of the Tordera River, the beach of S’Abanell, located on the northern arm of the delta, was in a critically degraded condition by the end of 2006. To remedy this situation, the beach was artificially nourished with sand during the period 2007–2009. After nourishment, we observed a general trend of recovery of the width of the beach, in its northern and central parts, and the reappearance of a pattern of seasonal oscillation. This tendency was not observed in its southern part, near the river mouth, where the situation is still critical today. Tracing the decadal evolution of the problem, we strengthen the knowledge base by compiling a history of past human decisions responsible for the present situation. We promoted stakeholder engagement and participation aimed at reducing human pressures affecting the evolution of the beach and the loss of ecosystem services. The overall idea was to take the initial steps needed to shift the management of this coastal region towards ecosystem-based management principles. This research demonstrates that, under certain conditions, artificial nourishment can contribute to restoring beach health on a decadal scale. Keywords Beach erosion . Artificial nourishment . Seasonality . Ecosystem-based management . Beach functionality
Introduction Marine deltas are retreating around the world (Valiela 2006). They have undergone enormous changes during recent decades, suffering pervasive coastal degradation due to human-related alteration of sediment transportation and other global processes (Ericson et al. 2006; Nicholls et al. 2007; UNESCO-IRTCES 2001). In addition, delta areas are social-ecological systems where land-sea interactions become of great importance and where we observe frequent management problems associated with the absence of coordinating mechanisms that can solve the issue of different government agencies under significant Communicated by Virginia Burkett * Enric Sagristà [email protected] Rafael Sardá [email protected] 1
Centro de Estudios Avanzados de Blanes (CEAB-CSIC), Carretera d’Accés a la Cala St. Francesc, 14, 17300 Blanes, Girona, Spain
overlapping jurisdictions managing the same environment. Policy fragmentation is an impediment to the sustainable development of coastal resources (Cormier et al. 2010). Along the northeastern sedimentary coast of Spain, erosion is the dominant process; beaches are being eroded at an average rate of about 1 m per year (Centre Internacional d’Investigació dels Recursos Costaners (CIIRC) 2010; Jiménez et al. 2016). Present sea-level trends in the Med
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