Assessment of the Magdalena River delta socio-ecological system through the Circles of Coastal Sustainability framework

Abstract

River-mouth systems and deltas are hotspots where many of the coastal syndromes can be found. Moreover, these systems provide essential ecosystem services (e.g., recreation, food provisioning, protection against natural hazards). The present study focuses on the socio-ecological system at the delta of the Magdalena River in the central Caribbean Region in Colombia. This research seeks to assess the multidimensional sustainability of the Magdalena river-mouth system (MRm-SES) to improve the knowledge basis for its integrated management. To do so, an assessment tool named “Circles of Coastal Sustainability” (CCS) was used to evaluate the system splitting it into four domains (environmental, social, economic and governance) that were divided into 5 categories each. These domains were evaluated through a total of 52 indicators distributed like this: 16 for the Environmental domain, 16 for the Economic domain, 12 for the Social and Cultural domain and, 8 for the Governance domain. The results show that the overall sustainability of the MRm-SES is classified as “Satisfactory.” None of the domains is in “Excellent” or “Bad” conditions. However, the evaluation of the categories shows that four (4) of them have “Poor” conditions (i.e., Social Benefits, Demographics, Economic Security, and Resources Management). Hence, it is recommended to put those categories at the centre of the discussion to define management strategies (e.g., Preserving and restoring habitats; tackling sources of pollution and excessive sediment; local reduction of net Greenhouse Gas and adaptation to climate change; participation of local communities in the management design and implementation), without disregarding the interrelation with the other categories and dimensions. Finally, it is argued that despite all the improvement opportunities, the CCS is a valuable tool to evaluate and communicate with different stakeholders (academic community, managers and decision-makers, local communities, etc.), to improve the sustainability of coastal systems in Colombia and the world.

Circles of Coastal Sustainability and Emerald Growth Perspectives for Transitional Waters under Human Stress

“…We added a fourth pillar, Governance and Policy, to assess the sustainability of management measures. The fragmented governance is one of the main obstacles to sustainable development [37]. This is particularly true for TW, where connectivity and complexity are the issues [38].…”

“…The categories of the four domains are generic sustainability qualities sensitive to a range of scales, from local to regional to national [37]. Choosing indicators reflecting a 'real-world' situation is essential to achieving an ecosystem-based integrated assessment.…”

Assessment of the Chesapeake Bay watershed socio-ecological system through the Circles of Coastal Sustainability framework

“…The framework is divided into four domains (environment, social, economy, and governance), each with five categories related to any coastal environment. The categories were developed by the multi-disciplinary Scientific Committee of Future Earth Coasts 1 in 2016 and have been applied to the Spanish coast (De Alencar et al, 2020) and Magdalena River delta in Colombia (Gallo-Vélez et al, 2023).…”

“…However, most of them focus on only one sustainability domain (environmental, social, or economic) or evaluate the causes and responses to a particular issue, such as eutrophication. The framework chosen in this assessment is based on the Circles of Coastal Sustainability (De Alencar et al, 2020), further developed by Gallo-Vélez et al (2023). This framework is designed to assess environmental, social, economical, and governance domains to understand the complex interactions of the region's development.…”

“…At present, the method to evaluate sustainability is still in development, and the assessment is highly subjective because of the availability of quantitative and qualitative information from each domain (De Alencar et al, 2020;Gallo-Vélez et al, 2023). Moreover, evaluating sustainability requires the expertise of scientific professionals familiar with the system.…”