A coastal management program for channels located in backbarrier systems

Management of the interactions between social/economic interests and the coastal environment requires practical, interdisciplinary assessment techniques. Backbarrier systems are critical natural resources that provide both economic and social benefits. Activities such as aquaculture, fishing, shipping and port activities, sediment mining, salt extraction, and tourism all take place in these ecosystems but are often not compatible with each other. Therefore, a program to manage such a system must congregate many different types of activities and stakeholders with potentially conflicting interests. In this paper, we develop a proposed coastal management program (CMP), based on the driving-pressure-state-impact-response (DPSIR) framework and the integrated coastal management (ICM) cycle, for the management of channels located in backbarrier systems subject to dredging operations. The conceptual model involves the application of regional sediment management (RSM) actions and is applied to a case study, Faro Channel, located in the Ria Formosa backbarrier system in Algarve, Portugal. The CMP provides results on the interactivity between scientists, stakeholders, and decision-makers, by defining and clarifying the economic and environmental aspects of decision-making processes through the utilisation and measurement of local coastal indicators. The proposed CMP proved to be a useful tool in the definition of coastal management initiatives for channels inside backbarrier systems, since it identified management problems and allowed management solutions to be formulated. The CMP could be used within a broader ICM program but would also be effective when used on its own.