title: Application of the analytic hierarchy process to a sustainability assessment of coastal beach exploitation: a case study of the wind power projects on the coastal beaches of Yancheng, China.
abstract: Sustainability assessments of coastal beach exploitation are difficult because the identification of appropriate monitoring methodologies and evaluation procedures is still ongoing. In particular, the most suitable procedure for the application of sustainability assessment to coastal beaches remains uncertain. This paper presents a complete sustainability assessment process for coastal beach exploitation based on the analytic hierarchy process (AHP). We developed an assessment framework consisting of 14 indicators derived from the three dimensions of suitability, economic and social value, and ecosystem. We chose a wind power project on a coastal beach of Yancheng as a case study. The results indicated that the wind power farms on the coastal beach were not completely in keeping with sustainable development theory. The construction of the wind power farms had some negative impacts. Therefore, in the design stage, wind turbines should be designed and planned carefully to minimize these negative impacts. In addition, the case study demonstrated that the AHP was capable of addressing the complexities associated with the sustainability of coastal beaches.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Marine Environment and Ecology, Ministry of Education, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266100, PR China. weijunas@ouc.edu.cn
authors.forename: Weijun
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bai
authors.forename: Huimei
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Yangguo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhao
mesh_terms: D001493:Bathing Beaches; D002681:China; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources / Q000379:methods*; D004736:Energy-Generating Resources; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D014919:Wind