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

Loredana Manfra, Stefania Chiesa, Simone Simeone, Patrizia Borrello, Raffaella Piermarini, Chara Agaoglou, Monia Elbour, Noureddine Zaaboub, Dimitris Vandarakis, Ioannis Kourliaftis, Alfonso Scarpato and Alice Rotini ()
Additional contact information
Loredana Manfra: Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA), 00144 Rome, Italy
Stefania Chiesa: Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA), 00144 Rome, Italy
Simone Simeone: Institute for the Study of Anthropic Impacts and Sustainability in Marine Environment, National Research Council (CNR-IAS), 09170 Oristano, Italy
Patrizia Borrello: Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA), 00144 Rome, Italy
Raffaella Piermarini: Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA), 00144 Rome, Italy
Chara Agaoglou: Hellenic Society for the Protection of Nature (HSPN), 105 57 Athens, Greece
Monia Elbour: Institut National des Sciences et Technologies de la Mer (INSTM), Salammbô, Tunis 2025, Tunisia
Noureddine Zaaboub: Institut National des Sciences et Technologies de la Mer (INSTM), Salammbô, Tunis 2025, Tunisia
Dimitris Vandarakis: Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, 190 13 Anavyssos, Greece
Ioannis Kourliaftis: Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, 190 13 Anavyssos, Greece
Alfonso Scarpato: Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA), 00144 Rome, Italy
Alice Rotini: Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA), 00144 Rome, Italy

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 2, 1-13

Abstract: 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.

Keywords: beach-cast seagrass; deposits; Posidonia oceanica; Posidonia banquette; management; monitoring; governance; sustainable tourism; environmental education; science-derived management solutions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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