coastal management

• the two types of coastal management are hard engineering and soft engineering
• 5 types of hard engineering are sea walls, revetments, offshore breakwater, rip rap and groynes
• revetment is a slanted structure built at foot of cliff to absorb wave energy
• sea walls, revetments and offshore breakwater are all expensive to build
• sea wall and revetments can cause strong backwashes which further increases erosion
• negative of rip rap and groynes is that they are unattractive
• soft engineering is an attempt to work with natural processes to reduce effects of flooding and erosion
• 4 types of soft engineering are beach nourishment, dune stabilisation, cliff regrading and cliff drainage
• cliff regrading is changing the shape of a cliff to a gentler gradient, making it less susceptible to erosion

  cliff draining is removal of water from cliff face, reducing the pressure in the cliff face
• Impact of each soft engineering method on physical processes?

  • Beach Nourishment - organisms like corals and sponges can be killed
  • Dune Stabilisation - needs regular maintenance
  • Cliff regrading - can be very disruptive as people may be rehomed
  • Cliff drainage - effectiveness depends on geology of cliff face
• sustainable management means meeting the needs of communities now without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs e.g increased storm events and rising sea levels
• 3 reasons why sustainable management of coasts can lead to conflicts?

  • limiting access to resources (fish) - which can affect livelihoods and local economy
  • protecting only high value land may leave residents of unprotected land abandoned
  • can be seen as a waste of taxpayers money as increased storms aren't currently a major problem