Sandy beach social–ecological systems at risk: regime shifts, collapses, and governance challenges

Approximately half of the world’s ice-free ocean coastline is composed of sandy beaches, which support a higher level of recreational use than any other ecosystem. However, the contribution of sandy beaches to societal welfare is under increasing risk from local and non-local pressures, including ex...

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Detalhes bibliográficos
Autores: Defeo, Omar, McLachlan, Anton, Armitage, Derek, Elliott, Michael, Pittman, Jeremy
Formato: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2021
País:Uruguay
Recursos:Universidad de la República
Repositorio:COLIBRI
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:colibri.udelar.edu.uy:20.500.12008/33229
Acesso em linha:https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12008/33229
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palavra-chave:Sandy beach
Risk
Ecosystems
Descrição
Resumo:Approximately half of the world’s ice-free ocean coastline is composed of sandy beaches, which support a higher level of recreational use than any other ecosystem. However, the contribution of sandy beaches to societal welfare is under increasing risk from local and non-local pressures, including expanding human development and climate-related stressors. These pressures are impairing the capacity of beaches to meet recreational demand, provide food, protect livelihoods, and maintain biodiversity and water quality. This will increase the likelihood of social–ecological collapses and regime shifts, such that beaches will sustain neither the original ecosystem function nor the related services and societal goods and benefits that they provide. These social–ecological systems at the land–sea interface are subject to market forces, weak governance institutions, and societal indifference: most people want a beach, but few recognize it as an ecosystem at risk.