Environmental Management and Governance

The study and understanding of coastal hazards is a fundamental aspect for most modern societies. The consequences of extreme events such as tsunamis are being regarded as major threats for coastal regions. The sedimentological record provides a database useful to characterize and evaluate recurrence of tsunamis, which contributes to assessing the vulnerability of any coastal area to this natural hazard. Thus, the enhancement of our ability to recognize (palaeo) tsunami specific signatures in coastal sediments, through the application of diverse sedimentological techniques, is of unquestionable interest.

This work reviews and discusses contributions provided by developments in the study of onshore tsunami deposits based on a group of sedimentological attributes\characteristics.

Beach management in Latin America is described, focused on analysis of beach certification schemes currently implemented in this continent. Initially, core concepts about beach management are discussed, in order to establish a common framework. Moreover, several initiatives to measure quality are analysed, looking for identifying those tools able to give a certification. Afterwards, 9 beach certification schemes applied in 12 Latin American countries are described (Argentina, Brasil Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico and Uruguay), according to their origin, administrative framework, structure and implementation. Finally, advance in beach management in Latin America is discussed, pointing out main conceptual, methodological and practical challenges to be achieved for scientific and decision makers of the continent.

The emerging paradigm in assessment of recreational water quality needs a basic information on microbial contamination. Recreational water is susceptible to fecal contamination which may increase in health risk associated with swimming in polluted water. Recreational water quality is monitored for fecal indicator bacteria to help prevent swimming-associated illnesses. This study aims to determine the concentrations of total coliforms and Escherichia coli (E. coli) in recreational water, Teluk Kemang beach, Port Dickson (Malaysia). This study was also aimed to determine relationship between total coliforms, E. coli and physicochemical parameters of marine recreational water. Exposure behaviors and perceived health symptoms among beach visitors were also assessed in this study. A total of eight water sampling points were selected randomly taken at 100 m from the wash zone and 20 cm below the water surface along Teluk Kemang beach. Total coliforms and E. coli concentrations were analyzed using membrane filtration technique. Total coliforms concentrations were found between 20 and 1,940 cfu/100 ml. E. coli concentrations were between 0 and 90 cfu/100 ml. Total coliforms and E. coli were the highest at sampling point A and exceeded USEPA (Report of Task Force on guide standard and protocol for testing microbiological water purifiers. USEPA, Washington, DC, pp 1–29, 1986) guideline as it located near sewage outfall. Significant correlations were found between total coliforms and E. coli with pH, temperature and oxidation reduction potential. Microbiological water quality in Teluk Kemang public beach was generally safe for recreational activities among the public except sampling location near with sewage outfall. Output of this study will act as a crucial model for protection of marine ecosystem health. Moreover, output of this study can be used as a monitoring design tool for other public beaches in Malaysia, as such studies are lacking and have not been reported so far.

The Ocean’s role as a global system is increasingly being recognized. “Modern” and “post-modern” views of ocean uses, as a source of resources and space for economic development is now supplemented by the functions that the ocean provides as human life and well-being support. “Ocean services” are a current focus of discussion for policymakers aiming to address sustainability principles and perspectives in a more effective way. International initiatives acknowledge the need to value the benefits provided by nature and include them in new economic models. This chapter summarizes and reviews these new approaches to ocean services, highlighting the main challenges related to its incorporation in ocean governance frameworks.

Marine capture fisheries in Mexico are dominated by sardine, shrimp, and tuna, representing as a whole 60 % of the total catch. However, shrimp and tuna are the most important fishery resources in terms of economic value. Capture shrimp fishery in Mexico has exhibited stagnating catches (around 65 thousand tonnes) since the last two decades, and shrimp stocks have been clearly depleted in some parts of the country. Conversely, shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) aquaculture has shown an exponential growth in the number of farms and shrimp production since mid-1980s. As a result, currently, shrimp aquaculture production has almost doubled the total production of the capture shrimp fishery. On the other hand, total catch of tuna by Mexican tuna fleet has fluctuated around 130 thousand tonnes during the last 5 years (2007–2011). Contribution of farmed tuna (Thunnus orientalis) has been negligible in terms of volume; however, the price of 1 tonne of farmed tuna is about 7–13 times that of tuna caught by the fishing fleet, making it an attractive alternative as source of employment and income. The case studies presented here are indicative of the potential value of aquaculture as a complementary productive activity to meet the growing human demand for food from the sea. This is especially relevant in terms of global fisheries production because the maximum fisheries catch potential from the oceans around the world has apparently been reached. However, there are still concerns associated with aquaculture impacts on the environment that must be addressed.

Coastal karst is a dominant landform within the Caribbean that has played a significant role in shaping human migration and settlement patterns, modern economic development in the region and its evolving biodiversity. Recent exploration of coastal karst, associated models of littoral cave development and comparative coastal resource management strategies are examined in three distinct island settings in the Caribbean: The Republic of Haiti, Grenada and Isla de Mona (Puerto Rico). These regional island examples display distinct and complex coastal karst morphologies ranging from intensely karstic carbonate platforms to complex non-carbonate island cores overlain by extensive and thickly-bedded coastal and interior carbonate cover or predominantly volcanic landscapes with limited fringing carbonates. Previously unreported field research in these selected island settings support an emerging view of the complex karst development in the region and indicate that significant karst areas remain to be explored while illustrating the associated landform vulnerabilities, anthropogenic effects and range of coastal resource management and preservation initiatives applied to date.

The coastal belt of Bangladesh endowed with diverse resources bears a significant scope in ensuring the security of food and livelihood of the coastal poor people. But the coastal belt of Bangladesh is highly affected by the natural calamities and salinity intrusion which are occurred due to climate change. Considering the above situation the present study was developed to conduct on-farm adaptive research on crab fattening/culture in Barguna and Patuakhali districts as a livelihood option for the fisher folks including female from September 2010 to August 2012. In case of crab fattening the main target is gonad development of female crab and shell hardening of male crab rather than weight gain. To conduct the experiment 24 study sites were selected where six cages and six pens were set in each district. The size of each cage was 2 m × 1 m × 0.3 m (length × width × height) comprising of 50 cells. And the length, width and height of each cell were 0.2, 0.2 and 0.3 m respectively. One lean crab (>180 g) was stocked in each small cell of the cage. The area of the pen was 100 m² (10 × 10 m) where crab (50–150 g) stocked at three different densities (3, 5 and 7/m²). Low valued small waste fishes and formulated pellet feed were fed. Raw feed was given as wet weight basis at the rate of 8–10 % of the total body weight twice a day. Suitable salinity (3–15 ppt) for crab fattening/culture was found during November to June survival and gonad maturation were found higher during the time. Gonad maturation of mud crab occurred over the year but higher was found from December to May. Economic analysis revealed that it is possible to earn net profit 1,313.83–1,4761.30 BDT per cycle (cage 10–20 days, pen 20–30 days) from crab fattening/culture in one cage (50 celled) and pen (100 m²) respectively. Recommendation can be made to conduct comprehensive crab culture extension program for building capacity and improving economic condition of the climatically stressed coastal community.

The Guadalquivir estuary has an important place in history as mainland Europe’s most southern large river-estuary-delta system. Intensification of human pressure combined with a limited understanding of its functioning have resulted in increasing socio-economic and environmental conflicts over the estuary. Within this context, the existing scientific framework could not answer the concerns raised about the consequences of dredging to substantially increase its depth, allowing large ships to serve the port of Seville.

A holistic approach to understanding the estuarine ecosystem, including it’s physical and biogeochemical dynamics and how these act to control biodiversity, was identified as the first step towards making knowledge-based decisions about its sustainable use. Intensive use of satellites and remotely operated sensors was critical to this endeavour, allowing a detailed diagnosis to be produced quickly (within 30 months). A real-time monitoring network allowed the critical spatio-temporal scales (intratidal to inter-annual) necessary to provide a baseline understanding of the major processes to be resolved. Discrete sampling of variables, such as nutrients and dissolved inorganic carbon, helped to fill in the gaps and synoptic satellite images allowed the estuaries influence on the inner shelf to be evaluated.

The overall diagnosis depicts an estuary in a poor condition. Numerous human interventions have drastically altered the geomorphology, tidal dynamics and freshwater inputs of the system. Physical conditions favour high residence times that interact with the perturbation of upstream sediment supply by dams and local organic matter loading to create poor water quality. The present day conditions are a system where low dissolved O₂, high CO₂, high suspended solids and a lack of stable benthic-intertidal habitats limits biodiversity, more than is typical of other estuaries.

Recovery of the ecosystem-services supplied by the Guadalquivir is a challenge, but entirely possible, given careful balancing of the cultural, social, economic and environmental demands of all stakeholders within a knowledge-based framework. This study demonstrates that the application of robust and cost-efficient technology to estuarine monitoring can quickly generate the scientific foundations necessary to meet these societal and legal demands, and can provide a suitable tool by which the cost-effectiveness of remedial solutions can quickly be evaluated.

In regions where multiple marine dredging activities take place in a spatially restricted area, cumulative effects may impact sensitive receptors, both locally and regionally. In the UK, marine dredging of sand and gravel generally occurs in spatially limited regional blocks, with approximately 20 million tonnes of resource dredged each year from English and Welsh waters.

The UK marine aggregate industry has approached the assessment of cumulative marine dredging activities through a voluntary Marine Aggregate Regional Environmental Assessment (MAREA) approach. Each MAREA assesses the cumulative impacts of marine dredging activities using regional-scale hydrodynamic and sediment transport models linked to regional-scale mapping of sensitive receptors. Each MAREA characterises the physical, biological, and human context of a region, and eases the regulatory burden for site-specific Environmental Impact Assessment. This chapter will describe the MAREA methodology, and proposes that similar regional assessment exercises could contextualise the effects and impacts of multiple marine dredging activities in other parts of the world.

The shores of Roebuck Bay and Eighty Mile Beach in northwestern Australia are amongst the richest known intertidal mudflats worldwide. They are both listed as Wetlands of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention, primarily because of the high numbers of shorebirds that migrate to and from these sites every year. There are only a dozen or so areas in the world with extensive intertidal flats rich in shorebirds.

Shorebird studies by a collaboration between The Department of Environment and Conservation, The University of Western Australia, The Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Central Washington University, Broome Bird Observatory, and local community volunteers in northwestern Australia have focused on understanding the geological and biological processes of coastal tidal mudflats. Studies have established that invertebrates are abundant and they are used for feeding by resident and migratory shorebirds.

In addition to requiring equipment, software, and considerable organization, these labor intensive studies were only possible with the assistance of large numbers of community volunteers, professionals, and donated equipment.

Because changes in sea level may have a great impact on the distribution of mineral resources, the exploration and exploiting of these resources should not ignore the changes in sea level that may have occurred in the past in the area considered. The study of relative sea-level changes is an essential element of ocean observation and technological advances are often necessary to improve this study that includes the determination of levels (elevation or depth), chronological estimations, and the identification of appropriate sea-level indicators.

Indicators of fossil or present-day sea-level positions are the most important elements for a sea-level reconstruction, because they provide information not only on the former level but also on the accuracy of the reconstruction.

A classification is proposed of the main criteria that can be used to deduce appropriate sea-level indicators from geomorphological, stratigraphical, biological or archeological coastal data. Two cases studies are used as examples of sea-level reconstructions that may be useful to clarify the geology in certain areas, or to coastal engineering and coastal protection: (1) on the impact of the recent sea-level rise in the interpretation of sea-level indicators; and (2) on the foreseeable impacts of the predicted near-future sea-level rise on the coasts of NE Italy.

Developments in the coastal area have significant impact on the adjacent shorelines. Mathematical modelling provides a useful tool for predicting such changes in shorelines in advance. Processing and analysis of satellite imageries of coastal area enables us to estimate and monitor the shoreline changes, which is otherwise extremely difficult, time consuming and costly by field surveying. In this paper the shoreline changes obtained by mathematical modelling and by image processing technique are compared by applying these techniques to shoreline adjacent to Ennore region. The study indicated that the cross-shore and longshore impact predicted by mathematical model and satellite information match satisfactorily. Thus the satellite information is useful for calibrating the mathematical model which can be further used for predictive purposes.

Human capacity to adapt to various living conditions has always been a challenge to every civilization. Since the dawn of time people have been transforming environment to make their living easier. In the coastal zone these changes occurred the earliest, stretching as far as sandy barriers covered by coastal dunes. On the low sandy shores, in the vicinity of river mouths first settlements, towns and seeds of countries were established. We inherited from our ancestors these areas in some sense already developed or used. Nowadays, in many places coastal areas are transformed to such extent that they no longer resemble the natural wild landscape, for which we yearn and which is necessary for humans to function healthily in their natural environment.

Learning more and more about the mutual relations among factors influencing dune habitats, we are constantly changing the coastal dunes practical use. We know that while implementing the changes we must have in mind their availability for future generations. Yet, in some parts of the world this has not been acknowledged so far. In other countries, with higher ecological awareness and with high degree of landscape transformation, have been making numerous attempts to restore the natural environment.

How do we currently use this environment? What do we know about it? What is its value for humans? Do we care about it enough? Or, do we need to do more to preserve coastal dune habitats for future generations?

The chapter will briefly outline the coastal dune types and the conditions for their development. The second part is devoted to functions and practical use of the coastal dunes. It presents human economical activities based on coastal dunes values. In the third part today’s aims and methods of current research are shown. Also, the changing attitudes to the environmental management of coastal dunes is discussed. In the last part various approaches to the use and the perception of coastal dunes, resulting from cultural otherness and stages of society development are examined.

The unpredictable water pollution incident of the coastal environment is an important part of the emergency work. Based on the Navier stokes equation set, a 2-D pollutant dispersion model is built for the selected 2D domain in the coastal ecosystem. It calibrates key parameters with the various characteristics, rapidly and effectively achieves the forecasting of pollutant dispersion using implicit finite difference scheme in this paper. The model can maximize the information obtained from the available data and adapt to the fast evolution of the coastal bed as well as other external boundary changes. The experimental results show that the model provides a strong support for relevant decision makers with high usability and reliability. Reverse Osmosis (RO) Plant draws saline water from sea inlet and converts it into potable water and discharges brine water at outfall as effluent. The paper discusses mathematical model studies for dispersion of brine water with salinity of 63 ppt from a Reverse Osmosis (RO) plant into coastal waters at north Chennai. Studies were carried out to observe the brine water plume behavior in the vicinity of coastal area with different outfall locations. Initially the outfall was located at 1,000 m from shore and studied, subsequently studies were repeated for 750 and 500 m locations. The outfall plume dispersed in and around the outfall. The development of plume at each outfall location for different ambient conditions was studied. The possibility of effluent reaching the shore was also studied. The studies were carried out considering different orientation of port, and the dilution aspects of multiport and single port diffusers. The design discharge criteria and suitable outfall locations were determined from the studies. The study indicated that higher velocity and larger port diameter helps in enhancing dispersion rate and hence adverse effects on marine ecosystem can be minimized. Finally the outfall was located at 750 m from shoreline and the same was commissioned in the year 2007. The field measurements were carried out for salinity concentration at different distances from the outfall (50–500 m in the interval of 50 m). The simulated salinity plume compared with field measurement. It could be seen that the model results with field measurement were considered to be satisfactory.

Estuaries are highly productive areas, which play an important role in both ecological and socioeconomic aspects. It is an excellence sanctuary for a wide variety of aquatic organisms and wildlife that breed and inhabit in these areas. Despite the importance of estuaries, they are being threatened and damaged at an alarming rate. Metal pollution is among the most serious environmental crises in estuaries ecosystems. The anthropogenic activities had resulted in the increase of metal elements released or leached into the environment. As such, deterioration of estuaries ecosystem health status by these substances promoted an urgency to monitor the concentration of metals in the environment. Although metals pollution studies have been carried out extensively all over the world but unfortunately there are still no measurements that can be fully rely to predict the effect of metal pollution on estuarine ecosystems. Therefore, current chapter is indispensable to demonstrate the advances of analytical methods and detection techniques available for metals analyses. In addition, environmental forensic approaches and application of various metal pollution indicators, indices, modeling and statistical analysis in assessing estuarine ecosystem health status was also has been highlighted in this chapter. This chapter also pointed out the gap of knowledge which should be addressed for future risk assessment of metals pollution in estuaries ecosystem. Current chapter could be served as a reference for future metals comparative studies and monitoring works to be carried out effectively.

The main objective of this chapter is to explain a methodology for the calculation of the life-cycle costs of developing a floating offshore wind farm. In this context, two steps will be considered: defining the life-cycle phases of a floating offshore wind farm (conception and definition, design and development, manufacturing, installation, exploitation, and dismantling) and estimating costs for each phase, whose value will be established as constant or dependent on the particular point of the geography. The result of the tool will be a geo-referenced map of the total cost implied in the development of a floating offshore wind farm. The methodology will be applied to a particular location, Galicia (NW of Spain), where offshore depth and wind resource satisfy the necessary conditions for this type of offshore energy installation. The study will be developed for a semisubmersible floating offshore wind platform and a general offshore wind turbine of 5 MW. The farm will be composed of 21 offshore wind turbines, with a total power of 107 MW. Results show the cost maps of each defined phase and the total cost, which is from 366 to 946 M€ depending on the location (deep, distance from shore, among others), of the life-cycle of a floating offshore wind farm.