Beyond performance assessment measurements for beach management:: Application to Spanish Mediterranean beaches

Performance assessment measures have traditionally been used by beach managers to guarantee beach quality. In order to know effectiveness of the ones applied to the Mediterranean coast and assess how functions assigned to beaches are covered, fourteen beach management criteria were selected. We studied how one standard (the Blue Flag award) and three rating systems (the ACA, CEDEX, and Cantabria indexes) covered those criteria and the results of their application to six beaches of the Costa Brava (Catalan Coast). No single assessment measurement considers all selected criteria and some general weaknesses were revealed. Of the analyzed tools, the CEDEX index proved to be the best for monitoring beach processes. The characteristics of Environmental Management Systems applied for Beach Management processes (EMSBs) were also assessed. The way in which those managerial frameworks are established has not been extensively considered, but the results suggest a need for its further development. This new tool will allow a general management framework to be adopted. Current standards/rating systems can be partially adapted and included within EMSBs.