An integrated physical–environmental protocol for shoreline health assessment

Shorelines are increasingly exposed to combined pressures of pollution, habitat degradation, and physical alteration, yet most diagnostic tools fail to capture their coupled dynamics. We present a new Combined Physical–Environmental Protocol that integrates indicators of morphodynamic integrity with contamination and disturbance metrics to evaluate shoreline health. The protocol was applied to 40 sites along the Colombian Caribbean coast, incorporating eight physical indicators and thirteen environmental indicators covering litter, sewage, chemical contamination, organic decay, waste dumping, and human disturbance. These were scored and integrated into an Overall Health Class (I–V) ranging from fully healthy to terminal condition. Results show that 42.5% of sites exhibit moderate pollution loads, with strong co-occurrence of severe physical alteration and chronic contamination in urban and resort areas. Remote and rural sites showed high physical integrity but latent vulnerability to pollution inputs. Multivariate analysis (PCA, HCA) revealed three distinct clusters: (i) severely polluted and physically degraded sites, (ii) pristine or mildly polluted high-integrity sites, and (iii) intermediate sites with moderate pollution and mixed morphodynamic status. The protocol’s integration of environmental quality and geomorphological processes provides a reproducible, transferable, and management-oriented tool for diagnosing shoreline health. Its categorical outputs support early warning, prioritization of restoration, and policy-relevant monitoring aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs 14.2, 14.5, 15.1). By linking contamination indicators with physical resilience, this study advances a holistic framework for evidence-based shoreline governance and contributes to the global agenda on pollution reduction in coastal and marine environments.