What kind of footprint do we want to leave on ‘our beach’? An assessment of environmental strategic coastal management of public events.

House, Christopher and Phillips, Michael Roberts and Beynon, Peter (2008) What kind of footprint do we want to leave on ‘our beach’? An assessment of environmental strategic coastal management of public events.

Text House Medcoast 2008 Resubmission.docx Available under License CC-BY Creative Commons Attribution. Download (50kB)

Abstract

The seasonal demographics of many coastal communities’ means public events are prominent features in their socio-economic calendars and these need empirical assessment to facilitate strategic coastal management in Europe. This study adapted a carbon footprint calculator developed by Krause to assess the environmental impact of participants in coastal events in Mumbles, South Wales. The methodology included semi structured interviews with event organisers and local businesses both pre and post event. Additionally on the day of the event, 100 ecological footprint questionnaires were completed structured on the following themes: household details; waste; food and drink; transport and travel. The calculated results showed a carbon footprint mean of 293.7. Travel was the major factor but a standard deviation of 36.4 indicated considerable variability in its contribution to the scores. Food and drink was the other important contributor especially in the 18-25 age range. From the results a check list for coastal managers in Europe has been proposed to act as a tool for improving the strategic management of public events particularly in tourist areas such as the Mediterranean. Future work needs to test empirical mechanism for measuring the environmental impact of public events so that the coastal zone can be physically, socially and economically sustained.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Citation: House et al (2008).
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Ecological footprint, coastal management
Subjects:	G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GE Environmental Sciences
Divisions:	Institutes and Academies > Wales Institute for Science & Art (WISA) > Academic Discipline: Architecture & Design
Related URLs:	Organisation
Depositing User:	John Dalling
Date Deposited:	06 Jan 2012 16:56
Last Modified:	18 Apr 2023 14:36
URI:	https://repository.uwtsd.ac.uk/id/eprint/224

Administrator Actions (login required)

Edit Item - Repository Staff Only