Socio economic impacts of the guadiana jetty

Abstract

The importance of beaches to the tourism industry and the need to protect such resources is not only vital to the economy of nations but for many localities and regions. Coastal erosion is the major reason of disappearance of beaches. As a result, it requires application of a series of engineering techniques. Therefore, hard and soft engineering solutions are used for the shore protection and utilization through recreational purposes. The Guadiana shore protection jetty Protugal and Spain border represents a good example of such a problem. After the jetty was constructed, the west of the river mouth, experienced a continuous trend of accretion, while the down drift sectors were subjected to severe erosion. This jetty is a source of environmental problems and creates long term economic impacts in positive and negative ways to the surrounding coast-line. The present study showed that, the Portuguese side has gained more economic and social benefits, and conversely, the Spanish side has lost their economic income and land due to the jetty construction.