Abstract
Sandy beaches are important coastal ecosystems, but are rarely considered in conservation initiatives, and tend to be managed piecemeal with social goals invariably taking precedence over ecological priorities. Consequently, beaches globally are being severely compromised, and their resilience to withstand natural stressors is deteriorating. The aim of this study was to design a conservation and management framework specific to sandy shores that can meet both environmental and social goals, thereby allowing for use of beaches and their resources without compromising the ecosystem. As a test case, we applied this framework to sandy beaches in South Africa. Establishing the framework first required quantifying spatial patterns in important features of beaches (habitats, biodiversity and key ecological processes), which was done by collating existing data, field surveys, species-distribution modelling, and digital mapping using both standard and novel techniques. Threats to South African sandy shores were then identified and mapped, and beaches that are most utilized by society (i.e., are under the most threat/pressure) were identified through a cumulative threat assessment. The proportion of each beach feature (habitats, species and processes) required to be protected to ensure persistence of functional beach ecosystems was quantified, and a national network of ecologically important beaches (critical biodiversity areas for beaches) was designed to meet these representation targets using systematic conservation planning. The most threatened (utilized) beaches were prioritized for meeting social goals, and for the remaining beaches, a decision-support tool was derived formanagers to guide prioritization of local actions based on a trade-off between the ecological and social importance of each site. The benefits of this integrated approach to sandy beach governance are far-reaching, and include contributing to securing the important ecosystem goods and services provided by beaches. In turn, this will contribute to sustained provision of natural resources on which many coastal livelihoods depend.