Coastal and marine protected areas as key elements for tourism in small islands

ABSTRACT Fonseca, C., Pereira da Silva, C., Calado, H., Moniz, F., Bragagnolo, C., Gil, A., Phillips, M., Pereira, M., Moreira, M., 2014. Coastal and marine protected areas as key elements for tourism in small islands. In: Green, A.N. and Cooper, J.A.G. (eds.), Proceedings 13th International Coastal Symposium (Durban, South Africa), Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 70, pp. 461–466, ISSN 0749-0208. The Azores Archipelago (Portugal) is composed of 9 small islands located in the North Atlantic. To overcome the common challenges of this type of territory (e.g. isolation, closed systems, limited physical space and natural resources, endemism, small economies, small populations) and taking advantage of the natural and cultural heritage, the Regional Government of the Azores has based its Tourism Strategy on the high value of nature, landscape, flag species and outdoor experiences with a strong environmental friendly label. Pico Island offers the perfect scenario to enjoy such nature-based tourism ...