Prioritising Recreational Amenity in Coastal Management

A procedure for assigning priorities for sustainably managing the amenity of a group of beaches is put forward, based on the concept of Recreation Opportunity Spectrum (ROS). Each beach is categorised according to the experience it offers rather than the types of activities which can be undertaken on it. Strike's findings for beaches along the coast of the Hunter Region of NSW indicate that the category of beaches can be readily discernible according to physical and environmental attributes lying along a spectrum depending on degree of development, accessibility and crowdedness. The procedure will enable NSW coastal councils to evaluate coastal recreational amaenity projects proposed for inclusion in coastline management plans. It will also advise on assessing alternative strategies within an environmental economic framework and suggest matters which should be addressed as part of the community's cultural planning.