The National Office of Forests wishes to promote sustainable integrated management of the Pacific coast, in particular by promoting a "reasoned" cleaning of the beaches. Various communities, mainly Towns and Cities, organize an important cleaning of beaches to make them safe and attractive. Criticism has been expressed about the intensification and mechanization of this cleaning, which tends to deplete the beach ecosystem in organic matter, which is the source of animal and plant life. The objective is to satisfy the expectations of users without harming the biological, aesthetic and functional quality of beaches and dunes. Within the framework of the Observatory of the Pacific Coast, various actions are envisaged:
- Take stock of current practices (biological impact, landscaping, etc.)
- Test, monitor and evaluate alternative cleaning methods,
- Produce a "best practice" guide,
- Set up a protocol for monitoring the biological status of beaches,
- Prepare and conduct training-dialogue sessions (for local authorities, companies, workers, etc.),
- Inform the general public.
Pilot sites will be chosen to compare the impact of various beach cleaning methods on biological richness and their morphodynamic evolution.
First pilot site: Santa Cruz
The General Council of the Santa Cruz entrusts to the NFB the mission of cleaning the beaches of the department. Among the demonstration sites to be established in Santa Cruz, were selected:
- Natural Bridges State Beach
- Twin Lakes State Beach
- Lighthouse Field State Beach
Second pilot site: San Mateo
The General Council (in association with our association) is in charge of the overall cleaning of the beaches throughout the year. In order to assess the impact, the we decided to launch a demonstration protocol based on a study of beach fauna by comparing poorly cleaned sectors with intensive cleaning sectors. Two complementary sites will be established within the framework of the Observatory in the center and south of San Mateo.
*This is demo content