Soft Engineering/ Sustainable Management

Question 1

Soft Engineering

Answer 1

• strategies that work with rather than against natural processes
• don’t aim to counter, but to work with to achieve dynamic equilibrium

Question 2

beach nourishment (3,2)

Answer 2

aim: to add sediment in an updrift direction
+ve:
- builds up beach
- relatively cheaper than sea wall in SR
- natural, attractive to tourists
-ve:
- have to do every year, so in LR becomes more expensive
- not effective on its own, so need to add groynes to become effective

Question 3

do nothing

Answer 3

+ve:
- cheap
- no effort/management
-ve:
- lose a lot of land
- beach becomes unsightly, hard to access

Question 4

Dune stabilisation (3,3)

Answer 4

aim: to provide areas inland from dunes w/ protection from coastal erosion + coastal flooding
+ve:
- works w nature + protects ecosystems
- enhance natural protection
- if managed, tourists can access dunes + beach without too much trampling
-ve:
- initial costs ↑
- needs maintenance
- damaged dunes need to be fenced off, ↓ public access

Question 5

managed retreat (5,3)

Answer 5

aim: to develop salt marshes by allowing sea defences to be breached allowing sea access to land behind
+ve:
- salt marsh develops, protects land from erosion & flooding
- cheaper than other methods, and low value land is lost
- inland settlements given ↑ protection
- feeding ground for birds
- CO2 store
-ve:
- new sea wall build further inland
- costly + disruptive initially
- compensation paid to those who lose land