Coastal Management Flashcards
How many people lived within the coastal zone in 1999?
16.9 million
How much of UK manufacturing lies close to the coast?
40%
How much of coastal land is built on?
30%
What are the reasons for coastal management? (3)
- Coastal erosion
- Coastal flooding
- Failure of previous defences
What is hold the line?
Maintain current defences
What is advance the line?
Build new defences seaward of the existing line
What is managed retreat?
Allow the coastline to retreat due to flooding and erosion but closely mange the rate and location of the retreat
What is ‘do nothing’?
Low value areas left to natural coastal processes as not deemed viable to spend on defences
What are the social factors taken into account? (4)
- Number of residents
- Use of the land
- Who is impacted if it is damaged
- Effect of downdrift land
What are the economic factors taken into account? (4)
- Value of land
- Cost of defences
- Cost of maintanance
- Value of business and connections in the area
What are the environmental factors taken into account? (4)
- Impact on surrounding land
- Current state of the coasts
- Habitats and environment concerned
- Unique landforms
What are the political factors taken into account? (4)
- What are the alternatives?
- Objections/ Opinions
- Likelihood of success
- Taking into account opinions of stakeholders
What is tangible cost benefit analysis?
When cost and benefits are known and can be given as a value
What is intangible cost benefit analysis?
Where costs may be difficult to assess but are important (e.g visual impacts)
What are the steps in cost benefit analysis? (6)
- Where is the issue?
- What are causes and effects?
- Who is affected?
- What should be done?
- IS solution technically viable and environmentally acceptable?
- What is cost benefit?
Etc
What are sea walls?
Concrete or stone walls at the foot of a cliff, or at the top of a beach. Usually have a curved face to reflect waves back to sea
What are the advantages of sea walls? (4)
- Protects high value land
- Can prevent flooding
- Long lasting
- Can reflect wave impact
What are the disadvantages of sea walls? (3)
- Eyesore to locals and tourists
- Expensive to build / maintain
- Produce strong backwash, undercutting it
What are groynes?
Timber or rock structures at right angles to the coast that trap sediment being moved by LSD, building up the beach
What are the advantages of groynes? (3)
- Very effective for building beach
- Prevents sediment moving by LSD
- Allows a natural defence to build up
What are the disadvantages of groynes? (2)
- removes a lot of sediment from downdrift
- Other beaches left vulnerable to erosion
What are gabions?
Bundles or rock in mesh cages at base of cliff to reduce impact of waves and prevent cliffs being undercut
What are the advantages of gabions? (3)
- Cheap to build and maintain (£100/ metre)
- Difficult to erode
- can eventually look natural as vegetation grows in/ over them
What are the disadvantages of gabions? (3)
- Not very effective
- Unsightly, unnatural appearance
- Ongoing maintenance required
What are revetments?
Sloping wooden, concrete or rock structures placed at the foot of a cliff/ top of a beach, to break up the waves’ energy
What are the advantages of revetments? (2)
- Effective in reducing erosion
- Little maintenance once built
What are the disadvantages of revetments?
Expensive to build
What are barrages e.g. Thames barrier?
Big, retractable walls built across estuaries that can be used as a floodgates to prevent storm surges
What are the advantages of barrages? (3)
- Very effective
- Prevent flooding
- Can be used to generate energy for commercial use
What are the disadvantages of barrages? (2)
- Very expensive
- Can alter habitats and ecosystems
What are offshore reefs?
A partly submerged rock barrier, designed to break up waves before they reach the coast
What are the advantages of offshore reefs?
Effective at reducing wave energy
What are the disadvantages of offshore reefs?
- Can be easily destroyed by a storm
- Aren’t visually appealing
What is beach nourishment?
The addition of sand or shingle to an existing beach to make it higher or wider. Sediment usually dredged from nearby seabed
What are the advantages of beach nourishment? (3)
- Structures behind beach are protected from erosion
- Effects of erosion lessened
- Looks natural in tourist friendly areas
What are the disadvantages of beach nourishment? (3)
- Can kill other wildlife
- Very expensive
- Has to be repeated an maintained
What is dune regeneration?
Marram grasses are planted to stabilise dunes and more sediment is added to build the dunes up again
What are the advantages of dune regeneration? (3)
- Provides a barrier between lands + sea
- Wave energy absorbed
- Stabilisation is cheap
What are the disadvantages of dune regeneration? (2)
- Limited to small areas
- Very expensive
What are the advantages of managed retreat? (3)
- Reduces flooding of land
- Fairly cheap
- Little maintenance
What are the disadvantages of managed retreat? (2)
- Political disagreements over land
- Can lead to habitats being destroyed
What is land use/ management zoning?
The process of disfiguring the coastal area into zones for particular uses, to reduce coastal vulnerability
What is SMP?
Shoreline Management Plan
What is ICZM?
Integrated Coastal Zone Management
What is the UK coastline divided into?
22 shoreline management plans due to limited budget
What are the aims of SMPs? (6)
- Promote long term management
- Asses risks associated with coastal evolution
- Address risks in a sustainability way
- Ensures masnagament plans comply with nature conservation
- Provide policy for coastal management
- Assess risks
What are the aims of ICZM? (3)
- To focus on the fact that coastal zones are some of the most economically valuable yet ecologically sensitive places
- Aims to work with stakeholders
- Optimal balanace between environmental protection and development of economic and social sectors
What are the stakeholders group involved in ICZM? (5)
- Coastal residents
- Local council
- Tourism Businesses
- Fisherman
- Universities / NGOs
Why are coastal residents stakeholders?
They live and work in the area and it may involve them and their land
Why are local councils stakeholders?
They may be funding part of the project or it may occur on their land
Why are tourism businesses stakeholders?
Much of local income may come from tourism so businesses would be affected
Why are fisherman stakeholders?
Those involved in aquaculture may be involved because it is the land they work on
Why are universities/NGOs stakeholders?
Are those which may provide info or important decisions
