Bringing Public Perceptions in the Integrated Assessment of Coastal Systems. Case studies on beach tourism and coastal erosion in the Western Mediterranean

Abstract

La tesis aplica el pensamiento sistémico y la Evaluación Integrada (IA) al campo de la gestión costera. En particular, se analiza la contribución que el estudio de las percepciones aporta a los procesos de evaluación ambiental de los sistemas costeros, para mejorar las deficiencias de los métodos más convencionales caracterizados por su unidimensionalidad y dependencia del conocimiento disciplinar. <br/>Se han realizado tres estudios de caso relativos a la calidad de las playas en ambientes turísticos y a la erosión costera. El primer caso se ha desarrollado en la zona de la Costa Brava, al Nordeste España. El caso afronta la necesidad de incorporar la perspectiva del usuario a los métodos de evaluación de la calidad de la Playa. Se realizaron 600 cuestionarios a los usuarios de las playas y un conjunto de entrevistas en profundidad a actores locales. Los resultados muestran que los estudios de percepción pueden ser instrumentos muy útiles para los gestores costeros, aportando información sobre el perfil del usuario, sus preferencias y sus valoraciones sobre la calidad de las playas. En estos contextos los sistemas costeros deberían ser gestionados adaptándose a las particularidades ambientales de cada playa y a la diversidad de sus usuarios, evitando prácticas de homogeneización. <br/>El segundo caso trata el problema de la erosión costera. El estudio se localiza en Sitges (Cataluña, España) donde se analiza un conflicto social surgido a principios del 2000 como reacción a una propuesta de intervención para frenar la erosión existente. La investigación explora los elementos que dificultan dar respuestas integradas a la erosión costera a partir de un estudio de percepción basado en entrevistas en profundidad. La complejidad e incertidumbre ligadas a los propios procesos erosivos, las características de los marcos de evaluación existentes y el contexto institucional en el campo de la protección costera en España son algunos de las cuestiones analizadas. El estudio muestra como el conocimiento técnico no es suficiente para encontrar soluciones coherentes i sólidas con el contexto local y las necesidades sociales y constata la necesidad de incorporar enfoques más participativos. <br/>Finalmente, el tercer caso se desarrolló en el Lido de Séte (Francia) y explora los beneficios de aplicar un Análisis Multicriterio Participativo (AMP) para evaluar estrategias de gestión de la erosión costera. Los resultados muestran que las alternativas más adaptativas como el retroceso controlado de la línea de costa y la recuperación de la dinámica natural son socialmente más aceptados, en el caso de estudio, que alternativas más rígidas basadas en enfoques ingenieriles. El enfoque utilizado contribuye a representar la multidimensionalidad de la costa, integra diferentes perspectivas, facilita el intercambio de conocimiento y permite el tratamiento de la incertidumbre. <br/>La disertación concluye ofreciendo una propuesta metodológica para incorporar la dimensión social en la evaluación integrada de sistemas costeros.

The present dissertation applies complex system thinking and Integrated Assessment (IA) to the field of coastal management. It emphasises the social perspective and analyses the added value of integrating public perceptions into the processes of assessing coastal socio-ecological systems. It argues that the Integrated Assessment of coastal systems requires moving away from one-dimensional evaluation methods and to develop innovative assessment approaches capable to understand coasts in as highly complex, multidimensional dynamic systems and explicitly acknowledge their inherent degree of uncertainty. <br/>Three case studies have been carried out regarding the assessment of beach quality and coastal erosion. The first one was developed in the area of "Costa Brava", North-East Spain, a tourist hotspot. The case study addressed the lack of bottom-up approaches to assess beach quality. The methods, which were applied on six beaches, involved a survey of 600 beach-users and a set of in-depth interviews to local stakeholders. The results showed that public perception surveys can be useful tools for coastal managers. Coastal systems should be specifically managed in an adaptive fashion considering the particularities of each beach and avoiding homogenising practices. In this way, conservation strategies could be prioritised in natural environments with recognised natural values or with higher potential for ecological recovery. While in the other hand, 'hard' interventionist approaches oriented to enhance recreational beach uses could be pursued in those intensively used beaches, normally located along urban water fronts. <br/>The second case deals with coastal erosion. It was carried out in Sitges (Catalonia, Spain) and analyzed a conflict that arose at the beginning of the year 2000 as a reaction to a proposal for intervention to cope with coastal erosion. The research explored the elements that make it difficult to give integrated responses to coastal erosion. In this case, the research of public perception was based on in-depth interviews. Issues related to the very nature of the coastal systems - complexity and uncertainty of coastal erosion- were addressed. Furthermore, the work explored the drawbacks of the existing assessment approaches and the policy framework on coastal protection in Spain. The case study showed that the technical knowledge does not fit enough to find robust solutions that satisfy both social needs and technical requirements. The complexity of coastal erosion risks demands to move beyond the existing assessment frameworks where the role of the experts need to be reformulated. This process should open up the debate to other disciplines and knowledge which may bring more adaptive alternatives more in coherence with natural dynamics of coastal systems. <br/>The third case was carried out in the Lido of Séte (France) and explored the suitability of applying participatory MultiCriteria Analysis (MCA) to assess different strategies to cope with coastal erosion risks. The methods used involved the Social Multicriteria Evaluation tool of Naiade combined with in-depths interviews and focus groups. Results showed that more adaptive alternatives such as "retreating the shoreline" were preferred by selected stakeholders to those corresponding to "protecting the shoreline" and the Business as Usual proposals traditionally put forward by experts and policy makers on these matters. Participative MCA contributed to represent coastal multidimensionality, elicit and integrate different views and preferences, facilitated knowledge exchange, and allowed highlighting existing uncertainties. <br/>The dissertation concludes by drawing a methodological proposal on how to bring social perspective into the assessment of coastal systems. A 3-step procedure is put forward which includes the following: i) a baseline analysis of the values and perceptions of the society under study; ii) institutional analysis and maping out the stakeholders' relationships in order to identify barriers and opportunities to implementing integrated strategies and, iii) a public participation within the assessment process. We argue that all this in-depth knowledge on the functioning of the social system needs to be combined with an in-depth understanding of the dynamics of the ecological system under consideration.