Coastal resilience potential as an indicator of social and morphological vulnerability to beach management

Indicator-oriented approaches embrace several aspects of coastal erosion vulnerability assessments. Nonetheless, coastal erosion is mostly increasing because of both the lack of univocal and resolutive practices on coastal management and increasing human pressure on coastal systems. This article proposes the implementation of an Index of Social and Morphological Vulnerability (ISMV) to show how the cost of services and morphological trends can affect the distribution of benefits, produce coastal narrowing, and consequently the resilience potential of coasts. This innovative indicator framework was carried out for the Mediterranean area of San Vincenzo in Italy. The analysis highlights that administrative actions can be crucial to support or to impoverish the resilience potential. Areas of relative regeneration capacity were distinguished as high (4.11), moderate (0.37), and low (0.33). They could be enhanced just by planning resolutive beach management at a local scale. In this context, some resolutive actions are proposed in the framework of an aggregate multi-index approach that connect with the main Intervention Concerning the Erosion Causes (ICEC) strategies. The results obtained support the definition of the ISMV as an adequate policy tool to implement modifications in the maritime domain concession system aimed at sustainability and social justice.

Automated summary

This article proposes the implementation of an Index of Social and Morphological Vulnerability (ISMV) to show how the cost of services and morphological trends can affect the distribution of benefits, produce coastal narrowing, and consequently the resilience potential of coasts. The innovative indicator framework was carried out for the Mediterranean area of San Vincenzo in Italy, highlighting the importance of administrative actions in supporting or impoverishing the resilience potential.