A Case Study of Conservation and Management of Tropical Sand Dune Systems: La Mancha–El Llano

Coasts are typical environments in which human impacts have led to a whole range of changes with considerable variation in their degree of impact (French 1997).“Of all the coastal ecosystems, dunes have suffered the greatest degree of human pressure.Many dune systems have been irreversibly altered through the activities of man, both by accident and design” (Carter 1988). Most tropical countries have major economic problems and their economies still subsist on just one or two primary commodities.Worldwide tourism has become a very important economic force. Today tropical coasts – mainly beaches and sand dunes – are targeted for tourism of all kinds and are becoming a very important economic income for these countries.

Ecological features and dynamics of the diverse ecosystems, together with a distinctive coastal enterprise, make coastal zones unique. The coast should be recognized as a distinct region with resources that require special attention and environmental impacts that need to be controlled. There are a variety of available methods and necessarily the development of sustainable projects and the management of the coastal zone implies regaining an holistic perspective on coastal problems. Today, integrated coastal zone management schemes are being developed in numerous countries (Viles and Spencer 1995; Clark 1996; French 1997; Cicin-Sain and Knecht 1998).