More Vulnerable although Legal: A Case-Study Comparison of Coastal Urbanization in Türkiye and Colombia

Botero, C.M.; Ozyurt, G.; Otero, S.; Güler, H.G., and Ergin, A., 2024. More vulnerable although legal: A case-study comparison of coastal urbanization in Türkiye and Colombia. In: Phillips, M.R.; Al-Naemi, S., and Duarte, C.M. (eds.), Coastlines under Global Change: Proceedings from the International Coastal Symposium (ICS) 2024 (Doha, Qatar). Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 113, pp. 69-74. Charlotte (North Carolina), ISSN 0749-0208. The rule of law is the backbone of public decision-making processes in democratic countries. This means that decisions are made following regulations established by the legislative power and enforced by the executive power. In the context of coastal management, numerous countries have enacted laws to control and prevent conflicts between different users on the shorelines. The first such law was passed in the United States in 1972. Since then, almost all countries with access to marine areas have some kind of legislation in place to regulate coastal management. Despite this, studies indicate that coastal regulations have little effect on reducing the negative effects of beachfronts urbanization. This, in turn, increases the vulnerability of these areas to various hazards such as erosion and sea-level rise. Our research focuses on two case studies that are located 10000 kilometers apart but share the same vulnerability issues. Even though developers in both countries complied with all the regulations in place, the beachfronts still experienced vulnerability issues. In Türkiye, for example, a coastal law was approved in 1990. However, the example of Belek Beach (Antalya) illustrates the development of condominiums and resorts that complied with the regulations but caused several issues regarding coastline changes. On the other hand, in Colombia, Salguero Beach (Santa Marta) experienced explosive urbanization between 2010 and 2019, leading to a coastline change issues that has been reported in the mass media close to hundred times in the last eight years. Although Colombia lacks a coastal law, the current regulations restrict construction over beaches. A lack of understanding of coastal processes by regulations emerged as the primary reason for these unsuccessful cases. Unfortunately, such cases are not the exception but the norm. Our research concludes that regulations must be based on a thorough understanding of coastal processes to effectively address the vulnerability of beachfronts.