Integrated Assessment of Recreational Quality and Carrying Capacity of an Urban Beach

Abstract

The sustainable use of beaches for recreation requires assessment-based management aimed at maintaining and improving service to society. The objective of this study was to assess overall beach quality of a recreational urban beach located in northwestern Mexico using an integrated approach based on recreational quality and visitor carrying capacity. Recreational quality was evaluated using infrastructure/services, environmental and cleanliness indicators as criteria. Visitor carrying capacity was estimated using physical, biological and management indicators. The assessment of overall beach quality yielded a fair score derived by averaging the indicators for infrastructure/services, environmental, and cleanliness. The maximum visitor carrying capacity was estimated at 423 persons per day. These results can be used to guide efforts for the certification and management of the beach. The integration of (1) assessment of recreational quality and (2) estimation of carrying capacity is shown to provide a more comprehensive framework for beach management than evaluating them separately.

Keywords:

• beach quality
• beach management
• carrying capacity

Acknowledgments

At CIBNOR, Gustavo Padilla, and David Urías provided technical support in the survey of beach profiles and sediment analysis; Edgar Alcantara prepared figures. Gisela García Morales is a recipient of a CONACyT student fellowship no. 239080.

Additional information

Funding

Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas del Noroeste, S.C.