Presentation at the 6th OPERAs project consortium meeting. Barcelona 15th of June 2016

1. FROM ECOLOGICAL
RESTORATION TO
ECOSYSTEM SERVICES

2. ES concept shedding light on
governance of complex
environments: the case of urban
dunes

3. Exemplar description:
A hot-spot in terms of:
• Administrative environment
• Social and economic activity
• Ecosystems and beach
morphodynamics

5. 1990
2004
2007-16
Disruption of natural longshore sand transport processes

6. From 1990 wind is
unable to
construct dunes

7. Dunes become stabilized, sand accretion disappears and
Ammophila degenerates and disappear (Van der Putten 1998, 2013).

8. Intensive cultural use throughout the year

9. The effect on property
prices probably being of
much higher dimension
than touristic activity

10. So, the contents for the blueprint protocol were clear

11. Departure point for the AMB administration:
learn to construct dunes and to maintain them because
they are a beautiful instrument of brandscaping, a
hot-spot of biodiversity, and protect coastline and its
economic activity from storms and sea level rise

12. So, what’s the difference with
ecological restoration?

13. The difference is that ecosystem services
concept is really an explicit management tool

14. Physical processes & dune construction
As we discovered that wind still
keeps it’s ability to erode dunes

15. Physical processes & dune construction
We have learned which one is the prevailing constructing-eroding wind

16. Physical processes & dune construction
We have
developed a new
system to
transform
marram grass
plantings into
efficient sand-
trapping systems
Marram grass as natural capital (dune builder)

17. Physical processes & dune construction
As LIDAR and satellite images has become so precise

18. Physical processes & dune construction
We are modelling 2100 scenarios for Sea Level Rise for different processes

19. Physical processes & dune construction
And we have been able to cross
and analyse different
parameters

20. Physical processes & dune construction
Some explicit spatial relationships between emerged sand volume and
beach width (surface of beach cells corresponding to 100m segments).

21. Physical processes & dune construction
A precise cartography of where the beach width is not enough to keep 5m2/person (and
maximum measured densities of 500 persons/100m beach length).

22. Physical processes & dune construction
A precise cartography of where the beach is short of emerged sand

23. Physical processes & dune construction
Where are located regression processes from 2004

24. Physical processes & dune construction
Where there is not enough height to prevent washover

25. Physical processes & dune construction
A precise distribution of flood events and where there
is a loss of sand volume

26. Physical processes & dune construction
Combining all those negative factors

27. Physical processes & dune construction
And crossing this information with the highest measured densities
of sun-bathers

28. Physical processes & dune construction
And with dwelling density. Our model shows over 16,000 dwellings.
If each one has an average price of 200.000,00€ total worth is
3.200.000.000,00 €
If the impact of loss of beach quality on property prices can be millionary!

29. Socio-cultural and economic processes
We have done stakeholder mapping

30. Socio-cultural and economic processes
Cartographies of intensity of use along the year

31. Socio-cultural and economic processes
Some obvious correlations

32. Socio-cultural and economic processes
Some big trade-offs
An average dog
produces daily 0,3kg of
solid excrements and
0,75 ltrs of urine.
Dog excrements are a
dangerous source of
Esterychia coli. Some of
the strains being
resistant to antibiotics.
E coli is main source of
cystitis.
There are more than
5,000 dogs visiting
daily the beaches

33. Socio-cultural and economic processes
Some solutions to other trade-offs

34. Socio-cultural and economic processes
Some solutions to other trade-offs

35. Socio-cultural and economic processes
The role of social networks as a source of information and to
generate conversations

36. Governance and administrative processes
The Metropolitan Administration of Barcelona has to provide beaches with dry
and clean sand. So flood and erosion risks is a big issue.

37. Governance and administrative processes

38. Governance and administrative processes
As the model is not
functioning, each year a
million euros is spent
just accumulating sand
where is not needed
and without preventing
coastal erosion.
The AMB keeps
struggling with a shifting
coastline and without
legal instruments to
solve the problems.

39. Governance and administrative processes
There is one engineering company funded by the central
administration which does more than 90% of coastal defence
and dune management projects.
So, in a regime of monopoly innovation
is very limited and efficiency efforts
inexistent.

40. A retraslocation of only
6.000m3 of emerged sand
has proved to be much
more efficient & effective
A proposal made by us and executed by coastal
administration is working quite well!

41. And a previous project done at Calafell (50km south)
beach will work at Castelldefels.

42. Adaptive management of emerged sand & constructed ecosystems
So, a tiny plant can compete
and win over conventional and
expensive methods of coastal
defence.

43. So, Ecosystem services concept can be quite useful
for the decision environment of complex
landscapes