booklet 12 - sustainable management

• Sustainability


  The ability to keep in existence or maintain. A sustainable ecosystem is one that can be maintained
• sustainable development


  Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
• Aims of sustainable coastal management

  - to protect the coastal population, its economic and environmental value

  - to maintain the current land use there as much as possible

  - to take into account peoples views and opinions when it comes to decision making

  - to enable the coast to thrive in the future - both ecosystems and population
• Shoreline Management Plan (SMP)

  A SMP is a shared strategic approach for managing the coastline from coastal flooding and erosion risks, and works with the idea of sediment cells along the coast. Each cell is manged as a whole unit or sub unit
• When was SMP introduced

  Introduced in 1995 - 22 SMPS along England Wales
• Aims of SMPS


  - to provide the basis of sustainable coastal defences policies and to set objectives for future management.

  - to find the most sustainable approach to managing the different sections of coast in the short (20yrs), medium (20-50yrs) and long (50-100yr) term
• Stakeholders of the SMP

  - national government agency

  - DEFRA

  - Local council

  - Environment agency
• Strategies of SMP - advance the line

  extend the coastline into what is the sea

  pros - provides residents reassurance

  cons - expensive, hard to do
• Strategies of SMP - hold the line

  intervene against coastal erosion with soft and hard engineering processes eg at Mappleton Holderness

  pros - process works and is successful, lasts long time

  cons - expensive, causes conflict between groups, causes issues elsewhere
• Strategies of SMP - retreat the line

  realignment of the coast to a predetermined line inland

  pros - cheaper option, creates more diverse ecosystems, more sustainable option

  cons - difficult to relocated residents, hard to carry out, results not instantaneously
• Strategies of SMP - do nothing

  permit the natural system to modify the coastline as they are currently doing e.g. at Spurn point Holderness

  pros - cheap, ecosystems can thrive, can make farmland more fertile

  cons - can lead to more flooding and uncertainty for locals
• Why is concentrating on people and economic activity putting pressure on the coastal environment?

  The natural environment along the coast is getting neglected due to high levels of pressures there. People and the economy are being focused on the most because we seem to think they are the most important but in reality the environment is as important. without a healthy coastal environment, everything else will not be able to function
• Issues facing the coastline in the future

  - increased coastal flooding

  - intensified coastal erosion

  - worse weather - storm surges

  - sea level rise
• Intergrated coastal zone management (ICZM)

  Originated from the UN Earth Summit of Rio De Janeiro

  The European commission developed a framework to promote ICZM to manage the fine balance between people, economy and environment
• What is an ICZM?

  a strategy designed to manage complete sections of the coast, rather than individual towns or villages, by bringing together all of those involved in the development, management and use of the coast
• Why is ICZM needed?

  - high concentrations of people and economic activity puts pressure on the coast and its natural resources (less biodiversity, habitat destruction, pollution)

  - coasts are vulnerable to climate change (flooding, erosion, sea level rise, extreme weather)
• Aims of the ICZM

  - manage and reduce the risks of erosion, storm surges and tropical storms

  - promote livelihood security

  - manage coastal pollution

  - improve biodiversity

  - preserve heritage along the coast
• How can ICZM be viewed as a cyclical process?

  If conducted properly, ICZM should function as a cycle where each stage should generate feedback that is then addressed in the next stage
• Stakeholders with ICZM


  - local residents/ community

  - local councils

  - national governments

  - environmental agencies
• Advantages of ICZM


  - Sustainable

  - Takes into account views from everyone

  - Long lasting
• Disadvantages of ICZM


  - Expensive

  - Complicated to put in place

  - Can cause conflict between different groups involved

  - Not always guaranteed to be successful