Assessing the impact of climate change on visitor behaviour and habitat use at the coast: A UK case study

Coombes, Emma G. and Jones, Andy P. (2010) Assessing the impact of climate change on visitor behaviour and habitat use at the coast: A UK case study. Global Environmental Change-Human and Policy Dimensions, 20 (2). pp. 303-313.

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Abstract

Although tourism and recreation can bring economic benefits to an area, the presence of visitors may adversely impact biodiversity, particularly if they make use of sensitive environments. It is anticipated that the effects of global climate change alone may increase the vulnerability of many environments, but these effects may be magnified if warmer and drier weather encourages more visitors, or makes them more likely to participate in ecologically damaging activities. Using case study sites from the UK, this study examines how different types of beach visitors make use of coastal environments. Via a series of visitor surveys, information is elicited on the environmental preferences of a range of visitor types including walkers, bird watchers, and bathers. The use of different habitats by these visitors is also assessed via an analysis of walking routes undertaken in a Geographical Information System. From this, an assessment is made of the likely present day biodiversity impacts arising from different coastal users, and how these may change under a modified climate. This study finds that whilst higher temperatures are expected to increase visitor numbers, warmer weather may encourage greater participation in low impact activities such as bathing. The findings are discussed in the context of coastal management.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	sdg 13 - climate action,sdg 14 - life below water ,/dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/climate_action
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Science > School of Environmental Sciences
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Public Health and Health Services Research (former - to 2023) Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Epidemiology and Public Health Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Centres > Business and Local Government Data Research Centre (former - to 2023) Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Health Promotion
Depositing User:	Rosie Cullington
Date Deposited:	28 Jan 2011 14:48
Last Modified:	24 Sep 2024 09:11
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/20263
DOI:	10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2009.12.004

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