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Spatial mismatch between tourism hotspots and anthropogenic debris on sandy beaches in an iconic conservation area
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Spatial mismatch between tourism hotspots and anthropogenic debris on sandy beaches in an iconic conservation area

Thomas A. Schlacher, Bhavani E. Narayanaswamy, Michael A. Weston, Brendan P. Kelaher, Brooke B. Maslo and Mariano Lastra
Estuaries and coasts, Vol.48(1), pp.1-9
01/2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-024-01462-4
Appears in  Recent Faculty of Science and Engineering Publications

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UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This output has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

#6 Clean Water and Sanitation
#11 Sustainable Cities and Communities
#12 Responsible Consumption & Production
#14 Life Below Water

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Abstract

Article Coastal Sciences Earth and Environmental Science Ecology Environment Environmental Management Freshwater & Marine Ecology General Water and Health
Anthropogenic debris on ocean beaches results from a complex interplay of human behaviours where pro-environmental attitudes and norms are juxtaposed against egotistical value frameworks underlying littering. Evidence from the literature demonstrates that concentrations of tourists concord with peaks in debris loads, particularly on urban beaches. Here, we test whether this link operates in an iconic conservation area (K’gari, Fraser Island) that is a world-famous conservation tourist destination. Tourists on the exposed beaches of the island are distributed in distinct hotspots centred on resorts, a beached shipwreck and landforms of outstanding beauty. Contrary to patterns observed in urban coastal tourism destinations, conservation tourism destinations contained significantly lower debris loads, effectively forming ‘cold spots’ of debris distribution and density along the shore. These cold spots consistently occur irrespective of differences in the underlying reasons why people congregate. The drops in debris loads are also spatially distinct (10 to 100 s metres) and create prominent alongshore gradients in beached litter. Notwithstanding these numerically significant, but spatially very limited, reductions in debris load, any environmental gain may be outweighed by the ecological harm caused by off-road vehicles used to access the tourist nodes. Still, the underlying pro-environmental behaviour can catalyse a broader spatial footprint of debris removal in the context of mitigating the serious threat to the irreplaceable cultural and ecological values posed by anthropogenic debris.

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