Coastal Scenery Quality: A Management Tool for Sandy Beaches

Abstract

Beaches are multidimensional environments, and their management must include the ecological, sociocultural and economic aspects. The continuous occupation of this ecosystem combined with the scarcity of adequate management plans has reduced the quality of coastal sceneries. Therefore, strategies are needed to ensure the perpetuity of resources and delivery of ecosystem services. The objective of this study was to assess the coastal scenery quality at three sandy beaches of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. A quali-quantitative approach was applied using measurable aspects, considering eight categories as accessibility, water quality, scenic quality, infrastructure, safety and environmental education, based on 67 indicators. The beaches commonly presented higher values for water quality, while environmental education had the lowest ranks, indicating that this category should be prioritised in management strategies. In addition to the low cost of this effective tool for beach management, it is quick to apply, easy to analyse and represents an advancement in important issues about the use of integrative indicators to evaluate coastal sceneries, providing a scientific base that can offer evidence about the main management priorities in areas where coastal tourism has a significant role.