Manuale di buone pratiche per lo studio, il monitoraggio e la gestione delle spiagge della Sardegna. Handbook of best practices for the study monitoring and management of Sardinian beaches

The coastal area in Sardinia has been affected in recent decades by increasing environmental pressure, mainly due to coastal buildings and the presence of tourists during the summer season. Global changes to the climate affect the resilience of coastal areas, particularly the dynamic equilibrium of beach-dune systems. Evidence of coastal erosion, a reduction in the natural habitat and pollution have increased along the coastlines of the island. What is more, the extraordinary quality of the beaches of Sardinia also depends on the variety of their sand. Unfortunately, in the last 30 years, these sands have been dispersed and consumed, often because of the uncorrected use of this resource. These sediments, as a result of millions of years of erosion, transport and sedimentation, are now present on the beaches of Sardinia, presenting with a large variety of mineralogical and sedimentological characteristics. These sediments are not reproducible and should be protected as an environmental asset of great value. As a consequence of these issues, our scientific research over several years has focused on monitoring the sandy beaches, with a view to providing management information on planning and the use of the coasts. The BEACH (Beach Environment, management And Coastal Hazard) project, which is funded by L.R. n. 7 of the Autonomous Region of Sardinia, is a further step in this direction, and has enabled us to both further deepen our knowledge of the interactions between the sandy beach dynamics and the use of coastal zone and extend our areas of investigation. Unfortunately, the management problems that we have reported on in the past remain almost unchanged. It thus seems appropriate to propose that the Book of Best Practices should be revised and updated, with the goal of stimulating the cultural debate on coastal management, which remains a crucial issue for the sustainable development of our beautiful island.