EQ4 Flashcards
evaluate the effectiveness of coastal management strategies along a stretch of coastline ( 20 marks)
- hard engineering: sea wallsstone/concrete walls at foot of cliff or top of cliff reflect waves back into the sea.
Cost: expensive to build + maintain
Pros: effective, promenade for people to walk along.
Protects the base of cliffs, land and buildings against
erosion They can prevent coastal flooding in some areas.
Expensive to build and maintain. Curved sea walls reflect the energy of the waves back to the sea. This means that the waves remain powerful. Can also be unattractive
* soft engeneering: beach nourishmentReplaces beach or cliff material that has been removed by erosion or longshore drift.
The main advantage is that beaches are a natural defence against erosion and coastal flooding. Beaches also attract tourists.
Relatively inexpensive option but requires constant maintenance to replace the beach material as it is washed away.
* Soft engeneering: managed retreat
Areas of the coast are allowed to erode and flood naturally. Usually this will be areas considered to be of low value - e.g. places not being used for housing or farmland.
The advantages are that it encourages the development of beaches (a natural defence) and salt marshes (important for the environment) and cost is low.
Managed retreat is a cheap option, but people will need to be compensated for loss of buildings and farmland.
Soft engeneering: dune regeneration
Advantages Cheap Maintains natural appearance of coastline Provides habitat Helps absorb wave energy
Disadvantages Can be easily damaged by storm waves Areas have to be zoned off from public while it grows Protection is limited to small area
evaluate the view that hard engineering approaches to coast managemnet produces more winners than losers (20)
define hard engineering + some players often involved
-Briefly describe Groynes, Winners: e.g. Hornsea protects infrastructure so businesses + residents protected, encourages tourism + are relatively cheap so also local councils, environmental groups also winners due to creating back-shore habitats/biodiversity. Losers: disrupts longshore drift so starves sediment to south of coast, e.g. Mappleton, clear losers as residents have to be relocated + infrastructure destroyed, rapid coastal recession at 4m per year
-briefly describe sea walls, Winners; e.g. Withernsea, curved sea walls better, long lasting + protect large areas of coast, residents + businesses protected, can create job opportunities + tourism from promenades also helping local economy. Losers: very expensive to build/repair e.g. at withernsea cost over £6 million so local council losers, reflect wave energy so disrupt longshore drift so downshore areas losers, also often unattractive, out of place + disrupt habitats.
-briefly describe offshore breakers, Winners: environmental pressure groups as can create ecological habitats, not as unattractive so residents + businesses not as disrupted, much cheaper so local council don’t have to pay as much for good coastal protection. Losers: cab be dangerous/a navigation hazard that may put off tourism/business stakeholders
-briefly describe examples of soft engineering + can be cheaper. Sustainable management also can be used but can lead to more conflict due to large amount of losers e.g. managed realignment
-conclusion: h/e leads to clear losers so soft engineering may need to be used as well. However h/e is very effective at protecting one area of coast + long lasting so create more winners long term + cost effective.
evaluate the success of policies which are designed to manage coasts holistically (20)
define holistically, briefly describe what an ICZM is, success depends on who/what’s been effected
-example is SMPs in UK, describe 4 main strategies (hold line etc), on Holderness, due to needing a CBA it’s often economic/political importance that are defended most, e.g, Hornsea is tourist attraction or easington gas terminal, both have hold the line planned over 50yrs, these areas therefore could be successful
-however SMPs should protect whole coast but these strategies negatively impact areas down shore, economic importance more influential over what’s protected, local residents effected by land lost therefore see it as not being successful
-SMP on holderness could be successful due to using EIA to protect areas of environmental importance/conservation, e.g. flambourgh head allowed to erode naturally or the SSSI at spurn point, given successful protection in policy. However defence strategies often negatively impact environment/habitats as become narrower/promontories indicating failure in including all players in the policy
-example of a possibly more successful ICZM is at Odisha, is large at risk from erosion and flooding, ICZM helped include all players, been successful at developing sustainable strategies such as replanting mangrove forests, ecotourism etc showing more success at including all players
Conclusion- although holistic policies can be successful when such a large area + players are included always likely will negatively impact some and so be deemed unsuccessful by some with economic importance often more prioritised, although must be asked how realistic of a policy this is to help all those effected
evaluate the view that without hard engineering there is little future for coastal communities threatened by coastal recession and flooding (20)
define hard engineering
- management technique used to protect coasts by absorbing energy of waves, preventing erosion + flooding
-identify argument. that essentially, without hard engineering, a community has little future
-in some cases, this can be the case
-in some cases, even hard engineering is not enough to save a community
in some cases, threat of flooding is so extreme that soft engineering isn’t enough
example - japan
- since tohoku, the country has invested in 14.6m high sea walls + breakwaters
-use of soft engineering in this location would not be strong enough to deal with hurricane’s that face the coastline areas
-eg, during Typhoon Lan of 2023, there were sustained wind speeds of 130 mph, equivalent to a Category 4 typhoon
-therefore, in these situations, it is unlikely that hard engineering would allow for a future
example of where soft engineering has failed, and hard engineering was needed.
example: Holderness
-originally there had been beach nourishment + planting vegetation had been used
-due to rate of erosion, hard engineering was needed
-2mil spent on hard engineering (2 groynes, revetments installed)
-this was not successful in saving the community
-one might argue that this wasn’t successful
-eg, 100 chalets in a holiday park were lost which had economic implications
-would suggest that hard engineering is needed to save a community
-whilst it was was effective in one area, it lead to and increase in erosion in Great Cowden
-therefore, whilst one area might improve, other areas won’t
para 3 - false
examples of where the do nothing approach has been used and it has worked
example - walberswick, Suffolk
-allowed nature to take its course
-managed retreat, moving infrastructure + homes away from eroding the coastline
-shoreline simply recedes
-allowed for salt marshes + mudflats to develop
-not stopped people living there, meaning there is still a future there
-people have simply evolved to the environment, showing that hard engineering doesn’t always have to be used
however
- important to consider that this was where people could move infrastructure - if local councils didn’t have funding to do this, then it’s likely there wouldn’t be a future there
para 4 - false
example of where a community hasn’t been saved by HE.
example - New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina (2005)
-had been a storm surge
-prior to storm surge, there had been drainage canal and flood walls, but the hurricane was so strong that there were 23 breaches in the drainage canals
-led to 80% of NO being flooded
-some parts 4.6m deep in water
- illustrates that, in some cases, not even hard engineering is effective enough to save a community
conc
hyperbolic to say that community has little future without HE
- important to consider this is not always the case - there can be other factors that play a role in how well a community adapts
explain why a range of approaches is needed to manage coastal landscapes (8)
