Public Stakeholders' Perception of ICZM and Coastal Erosion in the Mediterranean

Along the European Mediterranean coasts, different approaches to coastal management and defence and various degrees of development and implementation of national ICZM strategies can be found. As part of the Regional Framework Operation BeachMed-e (2006-2008), a research project was carried out in order to analyze the different situations and to contribute to the further development of a common approach. This paper presents and discusses the results of the surveys conducted in five pilot sites along the European Mediterranean coastal zone (Greece, Italy and France) in order to evaluate beach visitors’ perception of ICZM, coastal erosion and coastal defence systems, and beach visitors’ Willingness To Pay (WTP) for beach defence. The survey of the preferences and opinions of beach visitors could yield important information for coastal and beach managers. Surprisingly, the level of awareness about generic Coastal Zone Management was found to be rather low in all regions except Riccione Southern beach, Emilia Romagna Region. In the Languedoc-Roussillon Region, this is justified by the fact that most of the respondents were not local people or beach visitors (other than recreational short term visitors). As regards coastal erosion it appears significant that, despite the lack of awareness demonstrated overall by stakeholders in the Region of East Macedonia and Thrace, visitors respond very positively to definitions and show awareness of the erosion process in their coastal system. In conclusion, in order to raise public awareness about ICZM, erosion and coastal defence systems, it is suggested that education, training and public awareness should be promoted as well as identification of local needs for the implementation of specific demand-driven studies.