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Coastal Management/ Case Studies: (Belize Case Study: (central america -…
Coastal Management/ Case Studies:
Engineering/ coastal defence:
hard engineering:
re-curved sea wall:
the seawall is a wall built on the edge of the coastlines with a concave shape.
positives:
protects the base of the cliffs, buildings and land against erosion, can prevent coastal flooding in some areas, lasts a long time, effective, concrete dissipates waves energy.
negatives:
expensive to build, deflect the energy of the waves back into the sea so the waves remain powerful, over time the wall may begin to erode and the cost of maintenance is high.
rock armour (rip- rap):
rock armour can also be known as riprap, are large boulders that are placed at the bottom of the cliffs and are piled up on the beach.
positives:
absorb energy from the waves, allows beach to build up, long lasting, effective.
negatives:
expensive to buy but also to obtain and transport the armour around is also expensive.
groynes:
wooden barriers that are built at right angles to the beach.
positives:
prevent the movement of beach material during longshore drift, allows beach to build up and then that lets the beach act as a natural defence, attraction for tourists.
negatives:
could be seen as an eye- sore, costly to build and maintain, past the terminal groynes = sediment starvation.
soft engineering:
beach nourishment:
when the beach is improved and sand is brought back to its natural habitats, dredged from offshore, widens beach.
positives:
adding more sand and shingle to the beach- widens beach and therefore waves lose power, looks natural and is not an eye-sore so may attract tourists.
negatives:
doesn't last very long, tourists cannot go on the beach at the time of the nourishment- could lose tourism interest and profit, waves gain height so there is an increase in erosional power.
manage retreat:
there is no hard engineering involved, nature is left to its natural course, marshes are created.
positives:
land becomes marsh, slowing waves and reducing erosion, creates new habitats, biodiversity.
negatives:
loss of land, limited use.
Swanage Bay
Holderness Coast
Sustainable approaches:
Coastal flood risk and coastal erosion management:
shoreline management and planning (SMP) is a strategic document that sets out policies to assist decision- making on flooding from the sea and coastal erosion risk over the next 20 / 50 / 100 years.
developed by the local government and the environmental agency- government funded.
they aim to identify the most sustainable approach to managing the flood and coastal erosion risk to the coastline in the short- term.
SMP's seem to follow the sediment cells; these may be divided into the sub- cells.
SMP chose either of four options: hold the line, advance the line, retreat the line, do nothing.
councils have a holistic view bringing together information on coastal erosion and flooding, sediment transport and tides, humans use and wildlife interest, and attempting to balance all of these interests.
sustainable approaches:
sustainable approaches to coastal flood risk and coastal management.
shoreline management/ integrated coastal zone management.
SMP: strategy- coastal floods coastal erosion = focused.
different scales: 20yrs (short), 50yrs (medium), 100yrs (long.)
risks to people and developed and historic and natural environment in a sustainable manor.
why is it sustainable?
positives:
short term is 20 years.
planned for the future - evidence.
takes everything into account, holistic approach; human use, tourism, physical processes. : :
takes consideration for the environment.
specific to area; looking at each sediment and sub- cell.
strategic
cost benefit analysis- shows an awareness.
negatives:
always will be a cost.
wont meet everyone's needs
integrated coastal zone management:
the system of dividing the UK coastlines into zones that can be managed holistically.
this is seen as a more sustainable approach to coastal management which tries to link the users/ processes together as opposed to focusing on just one particular issue.
ICZM:
a system perspective recognises that an action in one location is likely to have an impact elsewhere. The development of ICZM plan takes this as a basis for holistic (all components taken into account) planning.
the coastal zone is not only a place for natural marine processes and habitats but shoreline activities inshore and offshore operations and inland activities that output at the coast through drainage systems that flow into the coastal zone.
the key aim of ICZM planning is to co-ordinate all the potential pressures and conflicts of interest at the coast and manage them fairly responsibly and sustainably.
specifically:
monitoring information- gathering and recording of what is taking place at the coast. Identifying and involving all stakeholders (who may change with time.) Agreeing co- ordinated plans that allow key objectives for stakeholders to be met. Following sustainable strategies. Managing the natural and human systems responsibly. Considering changes to coastal systems and anticipating likely impacts. Adapting plans accordingly.
Belize Case Study:
central america - caribbean coast - small middle, income country attempting - coastline management
coastal squeeze - pressures of people on natural pressures to the rest of the country.
50% of population live on the coast.
1/3 of people live under the poverty line.
improving economic social life and natural habitats is very difficult.
1)
research and monitoring:
sediment budget, coral ecosystem, water levels, coastal erosion, pollution levels, water quality.
2) education is a prime role of the people.
3) nine planning zones- in each different zone, various plans for aquaculture and tourism.
4) ecotourism is encourages by the BEA- Belize ecosystem association.
5) the pressures on all coastlines are increasingly rapidly, both from physical and human causes: tourism, eustatic sea level rise, global warming, population growth.
lack of reliable data (LIC's) and government support (corrupt) means the management are a long way from being met on a large scale.
Maldives Case Study:
background info:
Climate tropical, hot and wet all year round.
Equatorial.
Atoll means island.
Linear formation.
Capital- Male.
Maldives is the name of a group of islands- some north of the equator and some south of the equator.
Male- built up city, high rise buildings, developed.
Affected by tropical storms- tropical cyclones.
Parts of the Maldives are relatively poor, houses are mostly shacks and are therefore weak.
80% of the land area lying below 1 metre above average sea level, therefore they are vulnerable.
Most densely populated islands in the world- the island is very small, flat and built up.
Housing and critical infrastructure.
human response:
people will have to migrate and some people have already done this, Maldivian Ministry of Home Affairs, houses are standing to be built on stilts.
opportunities:
tourism, rare animals and beautiful surroundings and environments.
risks:
highly dense populated areas, sea level rise- rising quickly, 80% of land lying below 1 meter above sea level, tropical storms, lack of typography.
coastal flooding
causes:
most islands only 1.5 meters above sea level, global warming- sea level rise.
effects:
tourism brings in $2billion income- this could be threatened as flood waters rise, people will lose their livelihoods and have to emigrate, the landfill/ rubbish disposal island will pollute sea water as it rises, saltwater poisons farmland- salination, storm surges flood homes regularly, coral reef habitats are being destroyed.
responses:
3-meter flood wall surroundings Male the capital, 3 islands have already been evacuated, houses now built on stilts, Hulhumale is a new island reclaimed from the sea and built higher than 2meter, floating golf courses planned to continue to attract tourists.