Abstract

MEDEIROS, Elana Carolina de Souza; MAIA, Luis Parente  and  ARAUJO, Rogério César Pereira de. Carrying capacity of a beach under the impact of the coastal erosion process (Icaraí Beach): Subsidies for the coastal management in the state of Ceará, Brazil. RGCI [online]. 2016, vol.16, n.2, pp.185-193. ISSN 1646-8872.  https://doi.org/10.5894/rgci592.

The Icaraí beach, located in the municipality of Caucaia-CE, is an important tourism destination and because of that we are experiencing an intense exploitation of its environmental resources. This scenario is worsened due to the ongoing process of coastal erosion observed in the entire stretch of the Icaraí beach, significantly reducing the space for leisure and recreation activities. In this context, this study aims to evaluate the carrying capacity of the Icaraí beach for recreation, using the methods of physical carrying capacity (the number of individuals who can be physically supported) and social carrying capacity (individual perception regarding congestion levels in the beach), in order to generate useful information for the management plans that prioritize the better planning and management of the coastal area. The methodological approach consisted of data collection, compilation and analysis, using techniques of field measurements (to estimate the area occupied by the users), counting people and equipments and analyzing photo-images (to accurately monitor the flow of beach users). It was interviewed 500 beach users in order to capture individual's perception and behavior regarding the level of congestion and attributes in the Icaraí beach. The results showed an unequal occupation of users in the coastal beach, showing that the carrying capacity is still at tolerable level (9.8 m² user). However, in some portions of the beach, the carrying capacity has reached the saturation level (3.5 m² user), thus reaching critical congestion level and jeopardizing the quality of the user experience. Therefore, it is necessary to take measures aiming at balancing the use and users' occupation along the waterfront, with a better distribution of the infrastructure and equipment in the coastal Icaraí beach.

Keywords : Physical carrying capacity; Social carrying capacity; coastal space.

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