IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/lauspo/v94y2020ics0264837719306179.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Tracking 130 years of coastal wetland reclamation in Ria Formosa, Portugal: Opportunities for conservation and aquaculture

Author

Listed:
  • Sousa, Carlos A.M.
  • Cunha, Maria Emília
  • Ribeiro, Laura

Abstract

Economic activities in coastal wetlands are often perceived as incompatible with nature conservation. This negative perception stems from the visible impacts resulting from a continuous process of coastal wetland reclamation, as human pressure increases significantly in global coastal areas. The largest coastal wetland area in southern Portugal, the Ria Formosa, shares a similar perception, where current nature protection status often conflicts with the needed economic development. Here we explore how the economic activities influenced the wetland reclamation process in Ria Formosa, addressing namely aquaculture identified as an activity with a significant compatibilization potential. Different datasets were merged in a Geographical Information System, tracking land use change in Ria Formosa wetlands over the last 130 years at decadal intervals. Our results show that since the end of the 19th century nearly 2000 ha of wetlands were converted to anthropic environments, resulting in a 20 % natural area reduction. From 1885 until the mid-20th century, land use policy was influenced by the significant regional seafood preservation industry, with large swaths of wetlands diked, drained and excavated to give place to traditional salt farms. The following economic downturn gave place for the late industrialization of salt farms, further increasing the reclaimed wetland areas, later stalling with the recognition of the environmental importance of Ria Formosa in 1978. Aquaculture only gained momentum in 1980’s with the support of European funding, resulting in the conversion of many unproductive diked areas. However, late 20th century and current land use policy shifted to a nature conservation focus, therefore limiting the use of previously reclaimed areas, a challenge that influenced the abandonment of the modified areas. By studying the long-term change of land use in Ria Formosa, we argue that in high conservation value areas new policies should be considered that stimulate the development of an ecosystem approach to economic activities, namely aquaculture, improving simultaneously the regional environmental status and socioeconomic sustainable development.

Suggested Citation

  • Sousa, Carlos A.M. & Cunha, Maria Emília & Ribeiro, Laura, 2020. "Tracking 130 years of coastal wetland reclamation in Ria Formosa, Portugal: Opportunities for conservation and aquaculture," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:94:y:2020:i:c:s0264837719306179
    DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2020.104544
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264837719306179
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.landusepol.2020.104544?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Almeida, Cheila & Karadzic, Vanja & Vaz, Sofia, 2015. "The seafood market in Portugal: Driving forces and consequences," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 87-94.
    2. Charlier, Roger H & Menanteau, Loïc, 1997. "The saga of tide mills," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 1(3), pages 171-207, September.
    3. Weitzman, Jenny, 2019. "Applying the ecosystem services concept to aquaculture: A review of approaches, definitions, and uses," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 194-206.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Minghui Zhu & Xiaoming Xia & Yining Chen & Xinkai Wang & Yifei Liu & Ziyan Zhang & Jun Zheng, 2023. "Spatiotemporal Variation of Tidal Wetlands Affected by Human Activities during the Past 50 Years: A Case Study of Yueqing Bay in Eastern China," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-19, April.
    2. Lilai Xu & Shengping Ding & Vilas Nitivattananon & Jianxiong Tang, 2021. "Long-Term Dynamic of Land Reclamation and Its Impact on Coastal Flooding: A Case Study in Xiamen, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-18, August.
    3. Daniel Ibarra-Marinas & Francisco Belmonte-Serrato & Ramón García-Marín & Gustavo Ballesteros-Pelegrín, 2021. "Analysis of Replicability of Conservation Actions across Mediterranean Europe," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-18, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hammar, Linus & Ehnberg, Jimmy & Mavume, Alberto & Cuamba, Boaventura C. & Molander, Sverker, 2012. "Renewable ocean energy in the Western Indian Ocean," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 16(7), pages 4938-4950.
    2. Francesca Simeoni & Veronica De Crescenzo, 2018. "Ecomuseums (on Clean Energy), Cycle Tourism and Civic Crowdfunding: A New Match for Sustainability?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-16, March.
    3. Sara Apresentação & Mafalda Rangel & Assunção Cristas, 2024. "Towards Sustainability: A Framework for Evaluating Portuguese Small-Scale Fisheries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(8), pages 1-14, April.
    4. Jianfang Liu & Qian Zhang & Qianyi Wang & Yaoping Lv & Yingqi Tang, 2023. "Gross Ecosystem Product Accounting of a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System: The Longxian Rice–Fish Symbiotic System," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-16, July.
    5. Rachel E. Bitoun & Gilbert David & Rodolphe Devillers, 2023. "Strategic use of ecosystem services and co‐benefits for Sustainable Development Goals," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(3), pages 1296-1310, June.
    6. Ana Rita Silva & Diana Boaventura & Vera Sequeira, 2024. "Promoting Sustainable Fish Consumption in Portuguese 4th-Grade Students," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-19, January.
    7. Pedro Valadas Monteiro, 2016. "Managing Scarce Resources and Sensitive Ecosystems: Assessing the Role of CFP in the Development of Portuguese Fisheries," Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management (JEAPM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 18(04), pages 1-30, December.
    8. Barrett, Luke T. & Theuerkauf, Seth J. & Rose, Julie M. & Alleway, Heidi K. & Bricker, Suzanne B. & Parker, Matt & Petrolia, Daniel R. & Jones, Robert C., 2022. "Sustainable growth of non-fed aquaculture can generate valuable ecosystem benefits," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    9. Adeline Murthy & Alessandro Galli & Catarina Madeira & Sara Moreno Pires, 2023. "Consumer Attitudes towards Fish and Seafood in Portugal: Opportunities for Footprint Reduction," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-18, January.
    10. Nelson, H.P. & Devenish-Nelson, E.S. & Rusk, B.L. & Geary, M. & Lawrence, A.J., 2020. "A review of tropical dry forest ecosystem service research in the Caribbean – gaps and policy-implications," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 43(C).
    11. Liu, Duan & Tang, Runcheng & Xie, Jun & Tian, Jingjing & Shi, Rui & Zhang, Kai, 2020. "Valuation of ecosystem services of rice–fish coculture systems in Ruyuan County, China," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 41(C).
    12. Antra Kalnbalkite & Paula Poca & Krista Laktuka & Dace Lauka & Dagnija Blumberga, 2023. "The Role of Environmental Communication in Advancing Sustainability in Fisheries and Aquaculture: A Case Study of Latvia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(23), pages 1-21, November.
    13. Abdul Hadi, 2022. "Workplace Sexual Harassment and its Underreporting in Pakistan," European Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies Articles, Revistia Research and Publishing, vol. 8, July -Dec.
    14. Rector, M.E. & Filgueira, R. & Grant, J., 2021. "Ecosystem services in salmon aquaculture sustainability schemes," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    15. Péter Palásti & Ágnes Gulyás & Márton Kiss, 2022. "Mapping Freshwater Aquaculture’s Diverse Ecosystem Services with Participatory Techniques: A Case Study from White Lake, Hungary," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-20, December.
    16. Dina Silva & Eugen Rusu & C. Guedes Soares, 2018. "The Effect of a Wave Energy Farm Protecting an Aquaculture Installation," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-17, August.
    17. Alexia Stokes & Géraldine Bocquého & Pascal Carrère & Raphaël Conde Salazar & Marc Deconchat & Léo Garcia & Antoine Gardarin & Christian Gary & Cédric Gaucherel & Mamadou Gueye & Mickael Hedde & Franç, 2023. "Services provided by multifunctional agroecosystems : Questions, obstacles and solutions," Post-Print hal-04056486, HAL.
    18. Langle-Flores, Alfonso & Quijas, Sandra, 2020. "A systematic review of ecosystem services of Islas Marietas National Park, Mexico, an insular marine protected area," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 46(C).
    19. Chengyan Tang & Jing Li & Zixiang Zhou & Li Zeng & Cheng Zhang & Hui Ran, 2019. "How to Optimize Ecosystem Services Based on a Bayesian Model: A Case Study of Jinghe River Basin," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(15), pages 1-18, August.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:94:y:2020:i:c:s0264837719306179. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Joice Jiang (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/land-use-policy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.