Model de transició per a la renaturalització de platges

Abstract

The coastal area is widely used by the population to live, to carry out economic activities that have their reason to be in this space, for tourism and other leisure activities. In Catalonia, the coast is a highly fragile space because of the ecosystems it constitutes and it is in a clear recession due to the tourist affectation and the natural affectation of the continental drift. Beaches have been and still are the basis of tourist activity and contribute to 11% of the national GNP (Gross National Product). In the last seventy years, their management has been focused on promoting the leisure and recreational function while the natural functions of protection and ecological reserve, also very important functions, have been left aside or even eliminated. The objective of this work is to establish a series of transition strategies towards renaturalization that will balance the functions of the beaches by changing the current approach to ecosystem management and differentiating it according to each type of beach. In order to carry out this work, the evolution of the beaches along the Catalan coast has been analyzed to see their retreat, the before and after effects of human pressure, and to demonstrate the change in the dune system in previous and current years. Useful and inefficient strategies of renaturation and dune restoration have also been identified to understand that it is necessary to have knowledge about the area to be managed, as evidence of ineffective measures and to know how to act correctly. The practices are accompanied by monitoring and maintenance measures to ensure the functionality of the established strategies. These measures are essential to understand the processes and improve the techniques used. In addition, a series of interviews have been conducted in which experts give their opinion and vision and show their expertise for the achievement of our goals. Finally, this work results in a table indicating the transition measures to be applied to each type of beach: urban, semi-urban or natural. It should serve as a generic management model to begin a change of paradigm towards a more sustainable one through nonintervention (non-artificialization)