Managing coastal erosion: A management proposal for a littoral cell in Todos Santos Bay, Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico

A diagnostic of coastal erosion and shoreline retreat occurring at a 7-km long sandy beach (Littoral Cell III) located in Todos Santos Bay (Baja California, Mexico) is performed trough the analysis of aerial photographs. Around 82,000 m2 of this sandy beach have been lost in a 20 year period (1985-2005), at a beach loss rate of 2,100 m2 per year. This indicates that coastal erosion is becoming a hazard to human lives and coastal infrastructure. Due to the latter, the implementation of a Shoreline Erosion Management Plan (SEMP) is proposed as the best management approach to deal with the problem. The Littoral Cell III SEMP considers four core policies, eight management strategies and a group of specific measures.