a b s t r a c tThe purpose of this research paper is to outline the theory and practice of tourism carrying capacity assessment and its relevance as a management tool for coastal management. Based on the Tourism Carrying Capacity Assessment for Protected Areas Framework and the Image Capture Technique associated with the PAOT (people at one time) approach, this paper explores Praia de Faro as the study area and attempts to assess the optimum number of people that should be allowed without jeopardizing the surrounding ecological, social and cultural environments. Results showed that the physico-ecological carrying capacity should be between 1385 and 2628 visitors/day with maximum impact acceptability curves being 305 and 608 tourists (for local people and tourists respectively). Although there was a significant difference between the physico-ecological and socio-cultural carrying capacity, this study suggests that the physico-ecological carrying may be applied for ecosystem management, whilst the socio-cultural carrying capacity may be addressed when management objectives are tourists and beach users.

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Purpose -This paper aims to understand the vulnerability of community livelihoods (human, social, financial, natural and physical assets) at a coastal environment in southern Mozambique, considering the level of exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity to climate change.Design/methodology/approach -The study adopted the sustainable livelihoods approach. Data were collected through distribution of a structured questionnaire to 476 randomly selected households at the municipality of Inhambane. The questionnaire assessed all capital assets, covering 14 indicators and 43 subindicators of vulnerability, derived from published literature.Findings -Results indicate that overall community vulnerability is largely derived from the vulnerability of physical, financial and social capitals, illustrated by declared food shortage, low nutrition levels, weak social networks, high level of biomass utilization and lack of financial resources due to unemployment. These aspects largely influence the noticed reduced adaptive capacity of surveyed households.Practical implications -The study identified the need to improve the overall process of natural resources appropriation and utilization and the improvement of the governance capacity at the local targeting infrastructure, community structure and networks and capacity building that might enhance community livelihoods in changing scenarios.Originality/value -The study is a contribution to the overall understanding of how livelihoods are exposed to climate change and variability in coastal settings.

Os recursos costeiros constituem componente principal para o desenvolvimento de atividades recreativas. Entretanto, com o incremento destas atividades, as praias se vão transformando em espaços de congestão humana que resulta na degradação dos ecossistemas locais e da capacidade de absorção dos impactos da comunidade circunvizinha, exigindo, deste modo, a introdução de práticas de gestão mais apropriadas e direcionadas à gestão dos recursos. Considerando que a gestão de visitantes em espaços costeiros deve ser rigorosamente planeada para se alcançarem os objetivos de conservação e gestão dos recursos e ao mesmo assegurar que os turistas alcançam uma experiência positiva e satisfazem as suas expectativas em relação ao destino turístico, a determinação do número apropriado de pessoas que cada praia pode suportar é considerada uma tarefa primordial. Neste sentido, este artigo apresenta os resultados de avaliação da capacidade de carga turística da Praia do Tofo (aplicada para dois cenários) através da aplicação do Modelo de Avaliação da Capacidade de Carga idealizado por Cifuentes (1992), fundamentado em trabalho de campo, contagem de turistas e questionários, os resultados sugerindo que a praia do Tofo tem capacidade para acolher entre 896 e 447 turistas por dia sem deturpar as condições naturais e ecológicas prevalecentes. Palavras-chave: turismo, capacidade de carga, gestão de praias, Praia do Tofo