IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jlands/v10y2021i5p456-d542681.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Coastal Scenic Beauty and Sensitivity at the Balearic Islands, Spain: Implication of Natural and Human Factors

Author

Listed:
  • Alexis Mooser

    (Department of Science and Technology (DiST), Parthenope University, 80143 Naples, Italy
    Faculty of Marine and Environmental Sciences, University of Cádiz, Polígono Río San Pedro s/n, Puerto Real, 11510 Cádiz, Spain)

  • Giorgio Anfuso

    (Faculty of Marine and Environmental Sciences, University of Cádiz, Polígono Río San Pedro s/n, Puerto Real, 11510 Cádiz, Spain)

  • Lluís Gómez-Pujol

    (Earth Sciences Research Group, Department of Biology, University of the Balearic Islands, Ctra. Valldemossa km 7.5, 07122 Palma, Spain)

  • Angela Rizzo

    (Department of Earth Sciences and Geo-Environmental, University of Bari “Aldo Moro”, 70122 Bari, Italy)

  • Allan T. Williams

    (Department of Architecture, Computing and Engineering, University of Wales: Trinity Saint David (Swansea), Mount Pleasant, Swansea SA1 6ED, UK)

  • Pietro P. C. Aucelli

    (Department of Science and Technology (DiST), Parthenope University, 80143 Naples, Italy)

Abstract

Coastal areas globally are facing a significant range of environmental stresses, enhanced by climate change-related processes and a continuous increase of human activities. The economic benefits of tourism are well-known for coastal regions, but, very often, conflicts arise between short-term benefits and long-term conservation goals. Among beach user preferences, five parameters of greater importance stand out from the rest, i.e., safety, facilities, water quality, litter and scenery; the latter is the main concern of this study. A coastal scenic evaluation was carried out in the Balearic Islands and focused on two major issues: coastal scenic beauty together with sensitivity to natural processes and human pressure. The archipelago is renowned as a top international coastal tourist destination that receives more than 13.5 million visitors (2019). Impressive landscape diversity makes the Balearics Islands an ideal field for this research. In total, 52 sites, respectively located in Ibiza (11), Formentera (5), Mallorca (18) and Menorca (18), were field-tested. In a first step, coastal scenic beauty was quantified using the coastal scenic evaluation system (CSES) method, based on the evaluation of 26 physical and human parameters, and using weighting matrices parameters and fuzzy logic mathematics. An evaluation index (“D”) was obtained for each site, allowing one to classify them in one of the five scenic classes established by the method. Twenty-nine sites were included in class I, corresponding to extremely attractive sites (CSES), which were mainly observed in Menorca. Several sound measures were proposed to maintain and/or enhance sites’ scenic value. In a second step, scenic sensitivity was evaluated using a novel methodological approach that makes possible the assessment of three different coastal scenic sensitivity indexes (CSSI), i.e., the natural sensitivity index NSI , the human sensitivity index HSI and the total sensitivity index TSI. Future climate change trends and projection of tourism development, studied at municipality scale, were considered as correction factors. All the islands showed places highly sensitive to environmental processes, while sensitivity to human pressure was essentially observed at Ibiza and Mallorca. Thereafter, sites were categorized into one of three sensitive groups established by the methodology. Results obtained are useful in pointing out very sensitive sceneries as well as limiting, preventing and/or anticipating future scenic degradation linked to natural and human issues.

Suggested Citation

  • Alexis Mooser & Giorgio Anfuso & Lluís Gómez-Pujol & Angela Rizzo & Allan T. Williams & Pietro P. C. Aucelli, 2021. "Coastal Scenic Beauty and Sensitivity at the Balearic Islands, Spain: Implication of Natural and Human Factors," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-36, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:10:y:2021:i:5:p:456-:d:542681
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/10/5/456/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/10/5/456/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Alexis Mooser & Giorgio Anfuso & Carlos Mestanza & Allan Thomas Williams, 2018. "Management Implications for the Most Attractive Scenic Sites along the Andalusia Coast (SW Spain)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-26, April.
    2. Angela Hof & Macià Blázquez-Salom, 2013. "The Linkages between Real Estate Tourism and Urban Sprawl in Majorca (Balearic Islands, Spain)," Land, MDPI, vol. 2(2), pages 1-26, May.
    3. Ilaria Rodella & Fabio Albino Madau & Donatella Carboni, 2020. "The Willingness to Pay for Beach Scenery and Its Preservation in Italy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-28, February.
    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. Weiwei Zhou & Li-Yu Chen & Rung-Jiun Chou, 2021. "Important Factors Affecting Rural Tourists’ Aesthetic Experience: A Case Study of Zoumatang Village in Ningbo," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-24, July.
    2. Alexis Mooser & Giorgio Anfuso & Enzo Pranzini & Angela Rizzo & Pietro P. C. Aucelli, 2023. "Beach Scenic Quality versus Beach Concessions: Case Studies from Southern Italy," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-26, January.
    3. José Ramón-Cardona & David Daniel Peña-Miranda & María Dolores Sánchez-Fernández, 2021. "Acceptance of Tourist Offers and Territory: Cluster Analysis of Ibiza Residents (Spain)," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-15, July.
    4. Noureddine Er-Ramy & Driss Nachite & Giorgio Anfuso & Soria Azaaouaj, 2023. "The Sector Analysis as a Coastal Management Tool for Sustainable Tourism Development on the Mediterranean Coast of Morocco," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(16), pages 1-19, August.

    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. Carlos Mestanza & Hilter Figueroa Saavedra & Isabel Domínguez Gaibor & Manuel Abarca Zaquinaula & Rita Lara Váscones & Oswaldo Malla Pacheco, 2018. "Conflict and Impacts Generated by the Filming of Discovery Channel’s Reality Series “Naked and Afraid” in the Amazon: A Special Case in the Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve, Ecuador," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-15, December.
    2. Shairy Chaudhary & Atul Kumar & Malay Pramanik & Mahabir Singh Negi, 2022. "Land evaluation and sustainable development of ecotourism in the Garhwal Himalayan region using geospatial technology and analytical hierarchy process," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(2), pages 2225-2266, February.
    3. Ivan Murray & Gabriel Jover-Avellà & Onofre Fullana & Enric Tello, 2019. "Biocultural Heritages in Mallorca: Explaining the Resilience of Peasant Landscapes within a Mediterranean Tourist Hotspot, 1870–2016," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-22, April.
    4. Pantelitsa Loizia & Irene Voukkali & Georgia Chatziparaskeva & Jose Navarro-Pedreño & Antonis A. Zorpas, 2021. "Measuring the Level of Environmental Performance on Coastal Environment before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Case Study from Cyprus," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-24, February.
    5. Ricardo Martín & Víctor Yepes, 2022. "Assessing the Relationship between Landscape and Management within Marinas: The Managers’ Perception," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-22, June.
    6. Sirio Cividino & Gianluca Egidi & Luca Salvati, 2020. "Unraveling the (Uneven) Linkage? A Reflection on Population Aging and Suburbanization in a Mediterranean Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-14, June.
    7. Seweryn Zielinski & Celene B. Milanés & Elena Cambon & Ofelia Perez Montero & Lourdes Rizo & Andres Suarez & Benjamin Cuker & Giorgio Anfuso, 2021. "An Integrated Method for Landscape Assessment: Application to Santiago de Cuba Bay, Cuba," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-30, April.
    8. Carlos Mestanza-Ramón & Enzo Pranzini & Giorgio Anfuso & Camilo M. Botero & J. Adolfo Chica-Ruiz & Alexis Mooser, 2020. "An Attempt to Characterize the “3S” (Sea, Sun, and Sand) Parameters: Application to the Galapagos Islands and Continental Ecuadorian Beaches," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-19, April.
    9. Alejandro Armas-Díaz & Ivan Murray & Fernando Sabaté-Bel & Macià Blázquez-Salom, 2024. "Environmental struggles and insularity: The right to nature in Mallorca and Tenerife," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 42(4), pages 639-657, June.
    10. Ana Beatriz Mateos & Felipe Leco & Antonio Pérez, 2020. "Visitors’ Perception of the Overcrowding of a Protected Natural Area: A Case Applied to the Natural Reserve “ Garganta de los Infiernos ” (Caceres, Spain)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-20, November.
    11. Ioannis Vardopoulos & Maria Papoui-Evangelou & Bogdana Nosova & Luca Salvati, 2023. "Smart ‘Tourist Cities’ Revisited: Culture-Led Urban Sustainability and the Global Real Estate Market," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-26, February.
    12. Apostolos Lagarias, 2023. "Impervious Land Expansion as a Control Parameter for Climate-Resilient Planning on the Mediterranean Coast: Evidence from Greece," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-25, September.
    13. Carlos Mestanza-Ramón & Maritza Sanchez Capa & Hilter Figueroa Saavedra & Juana Rojas Paredes, 2019. "Integrated Coastal Zone Management in Continental Ecuador and Galapagos Islands: Challenges and Opportunities in a Changing Tourism and Economic Context," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(22), pages 1-17, November.
    14. Laura Serrano & Antonio Sianes & Antonio Ariza-Montes, 2020. "Understanding the Implementation of Airbnb in Urban Contexts: Towards a Categorization of European Cities," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(12), pages 1-21, December.
    15. Ilaria Rodella & Fabio Albino Madau & Donatella Carboni, 2020. "The Willingness to Pay for Beach Scenery and Its Preservation in Italy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-28, February.
    16. Carlos Mestanza-Ramón & José Luis Jiménez-Caballero, 2021. "Nature Tourism on the Colombian—Ecuadorian Amazonian Border: History, Current Situation, and Challenges," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-14, April.
    17. Luidgi Marchese & Camilo M. Botero & Seweryn Zielinski & Giorgio Anfuso & Marcus Polette & Iran Carlos Stalliviere Correa, 2021. "Beach Certification Schemes in Latin America: Are They Applicable to the Brazilian Context?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-20, January.
    18. Ju-Hee Kim & Sin-Young Kim & Seung-Hoon Yoo, 2020. "Public Acceptance of the “Renewable Energy 3020 Plan”: Evidence from a Contingent Valuation Study in South Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-12, April.
    19. Maria Carla de Francesco & Maria Laura Carranza & Marco Varricchione & Francesco Pio Tozzi & Angela Stanisci, 2019. "Natural Protected Areas as Special Sentinels of Littering on Coastal Dune Vegetation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-16, October.
    20. Alexis Mooser & Giorgio Anfuso & Enzo Pranzini & Angela Rizzo & Pietro P. C. Aucelli, 2023. "Beach Scenic Quality versus Beach Concessions: Case Studies from Southern Italy," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-26, January.

    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:gam:jlands:v:10:y:2021:i:5:p:456-:d:542681. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.