Sustainable management of the systems Posidonia-beaches in the Mediterranean region

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Residues of seagrass Posidonia oceanica beached in tourist zones represent often a problem in the Mediterranean. Similarly to seagrass meadows, the leaf debris help to reduce the swell´s energy and can act as a seedbank for dune formation increasing the overall resilience of the coast to natural and climate change effects. However, to ensure that the coasts and beaches remain attractive for tourism, tones of this material are removed and disposed by administrations in many coastal areas, including protected areas (PA). There is a lack of public awareness of the benefits of this natural capital and a strong need for strengthening PA management capacity with adequate guidelines on how to effective manage it. Several local studies and EU projects have evaluated the ecosystem services that Posidonia and its structures, called banquettes, offer, developed tools for the management of banquettes and new ways to use them. By integrating these results and providing a transnational overview of the management practices, the perceptions of stakeholders across Mediterranean, POSBEMED aims to define a transnational joint management strategy for Posidonia beach/dunes systems. It also aims to offer common sustainable tools for local administrators and PA managers and develop a strategic model of integrated governance, which will link blue local growth to the conservation of this natural asset enhancing the integrated management of these coastal habitats (meadows-beaches-foredunes) within PAs.

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