Towards Sustainable Management of Beach-Cast Seagrass in Mediterranean Coastal Areas

Marine environmental conservation and tourist exploitation are often in conflict, particularly where anthropogenic pressure is greatest, such as along the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. A case in point is the accumulation of beach-cast seagrass, a typical feature of the Mediterranean Sea that is n...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sustainability 2024-01, Vol.16 (2), p.756
Main Authors: Manfra, Loredana, Chiesa, Stefania, Simeone, Simone, Borrello, Patrizia, Piermarini, Raffaella, Agaoglou, Chara, Elbour, Monia, Zaaboub, Noureddine, Vandarakis, Dimitris, Kourliaftis, Ioannis, Scarpato, Alfonso, Rotini, Alice
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis
Beaches
Biodiversity
Ecosystems
Flowers & plants
France
Greece
Legislation
Mediterranean Sea
Natural resources
Netherlands
Protection and preservation
Protocol
Raw materials
Sediments
Spain
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Marine environmental conservation and tourist exploitation are often in conflict, particularly where anthropogenic pressure is greatest, such as along the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. A case in point is the accumulation of beach-cast seagrass, a typical feature of the Mediterranean Sea that is nowadays perceived as an “obstacle” to tourist activities and thus treated and removed as waste, leading to environmental impacts. In this paper, we analyzed the legislative context at the Mediterranean basin level and the contribution of twenty virtuous research projects related to the topic. In our opinion, the main benefits for the beach–dune ecosystem would be generated by the use of seagrass banquettes directly within the beach system (temporary displacement, creating beach walkways, dune consolidation), while their uses outside the beach system (agricultural and farm solutions—compost and bedding) should be considered as alternative solutions for a circular economy, in case of consistent biomass deposits along the shores. In this perspective, we support the “Ecological Beach” model which integrates most of the science-derived solutions addressed in this study. This model provides good practices that can be usefully spread and shared along Mediterranean coasts: to achieve this result, it is necessary to create a regional or Mediterranean network involving local communities and stakeholders.
ISSN:2071-1050
2071-1050
DOI:10.3390/su16020756