Abstract
The Dominican Republic is the most visited insular tourist destination in the Caribbean, being its beaches its main attractiveness. This tourism generates 37% of the total revenues of the country, concentrated in coastal regions. As a result of this pressure, the coastal ecosystems are threatened by the increasing tourist development. Parameters such as site and dune morphology, beach condition, surface character of the seaward 200 m of the dune, pressure of use and recent protection measures make good regional comparison of beach-dune systems. A checklist was developed to calculate Vulnerability Index (VI) and Management Measures (MM) in 99 beach-dune systems of Dominican Republic allowing to identify and prioritize the different pressures. This method of study, associated with Geographical Information Systems (GIS), give more visibility to beach-dunes conditions, and by this facilitate the necessary decisions in the context of a sustainable management of coastal areas. The results indicate that the risk of beach erosion and degradation is directly related to the pressure of use of the coastal area.
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Acknowledgments
Contract Análisis, clasificación y propuestas de gestión geoambiental de las playas de República Dominicana. Contrato no. 360 2010, realizado por QU4TRE, consultoría ambiental of the Dept Planeación y Proyectos Ministerio de Turismo of the Government Republica Dominicana.
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Roig-Munar, F.X., Martín-Prieto, J.Á., Rodríguez-Perea, A., Batista, Ó.O. (2018). Environmental Analysis and Classification of Coastal Sandy Systems of the Dominican Republic. In: Botero, C., Cervantes, O., Finkl, C. (eds) Beach Management Tools - Concepts, Methodologies and Case Studies. Coastal Research Library, vol 24. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-58304-4_4
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