Coastal Management

Coastal Management

1. Hard Engineering

   • Cliff Foot Strategies
     • Sea Walls
       • Made of rocks or concrete and used to absorb waves.
       • Weakness
         • Very expensive and can be easily broken of build on beaches or where LSD occurs.
       • Strength
         • Its the traditional answer to protect valuable resources, high-risk property or densely populated areas.
     • Revetments
       • Weakness
         • Expensive and does not cope with strong waves.
       • Strength
         • Cheaper than Sea Walls.
       • Huge, made of concrete to reflect waves instead of resist.
     • Gabions
       • Wire cages holding smaller rocks.
       • Strength
         • Cheaper than Revetments.
       • Weakness
         • They are relatively light weight and a small scale solution.
     • Groynes
       • Strength
         • Low capital costs and can be repaired easily.
       • Weakness
         • They require regular maintenance and cause scour downdraft and have wide impact.
       • A low wall built usually made of wood, to prevent erosion and to prevent LSD.
     • Offshore bars (artificial reefs)
       • Strength
         • They can be built of waste material.
       • Weakness
         • There can be geological impacts and can only be used for small scale.
       • They reduce the force off the offshore waves.
     • Rip-rap (rock armour)
       • Weakness
         • Not a cheap option anymore and in severe weather may move.
       • They are very large rocks in front of the sea to absorb the waves
       • Strength
         • Very effective and can prevent large scale undermining.
   • Cliff-face strategies
     • Cliff Drainage
       • Weakness
         • Due to the dryness, the drained cliffs can dry out and collapse.
       • Strength
         • Very cost effective.
       • When you move the water to prevent landslides and slumping.
     • Cliff Regrading
       • Strength
         • Unlike the others in works on clay and loose rocks.
       • Lowering the angle of the cliff to prevent landfalls, stabilising the ground.
       • Weakness
         • It uses up valuable land.

2. Soft Engineering

   • Beach Nourishment
     • Strength
       • A natural looking process.
     • Weakness
       • It can erode quickly and is expensive. It also can have ecological effects.
     • The transportation of sand to replace the lost sand by LSD.
   • Do Nothing
     • Weakness
       • Can allow any problems to get worse.
     • Strength
       • Saves money.
     • Land that has no value to defend it for.
   • 'Red-Lining' or zone management
     • Strength
       • Cost effective in the long run.
     • Weakness
       • The residents and businesses do not like this idea
     • The prevention of planning permission for new development by the coast.

3. Sustainable Management

   • Managed Retreat
     • Weakness
       • Politically, it is hard to argue as there are residents involved
     • Strength
       • Cost effective and can help reduce tides in estuary environments.
     • Money given to encourage re- location and ‘set-back’ schemes.
   • Shoreline management plans
     • Strength
       • The solution is made for specific locations and is suited for all locals individually.
     • Weakness
       • Can take a while to come together causing some to view it as delays who want action at that time.
     • Local groups coming together to find a solution for each littoral sub-cell.
   • Coastal resilience (ecosystems)
     • Strength
       • Very cost effective and environmentally good, also allows Bird life conservation.
     • Partial flooding allows the salt marsh and wetlands to be able to adapt to sea water. This erosion in some places helps sand dunes develop in others.
     • Weakness
       • Loses productive agricultural land and doubt about it used on a larger scale.

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