How do we manage coastlines?

1. Objectives To identify and describe the different types of coastal management available. To evaluate the positives and negatives of each option. How do we manage coastlines? QUESTION: Why do we need to manage coastlines? (answer in bullet points in your book)

2. Should we protect ? http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/coastal-management-strategies-sea-defences-and-managed-retreat/3243.html What coastal defences do you know of already? Add to this list from what you see in the video.

3. Coastal Management 2 1 1.Match the pictures on the board to the correct definition and defence-type 2. Are they hard or soft engineering? 3. Write down the positives and negatives for each type of management (think environmental, economical, visual, social) 3 4 5 6

4. http://www.geography.learnontheinternet.co.uk/topics/coastal_management.html#Soft_techniqueshttp://www.geography.learnontheinternet.co.uk/topics/coastal_management.html#Soft_techniques Hard and soft engineering • Soft Engineering • Soft engineering approaches are less expensive, are more long term, attractive and sustainable as they work with natural processes. • Hard Engineering • Hard engineering approaches tend to be expensive, last only a short amount of time, are visually unattractive and unsustainable. They often increase erosion in other places further down the coast.

5. Decision Making For each of the different methods below, you must outline the positive and negative aspects of each type of defence

6. CHALLENGE TASK- On a scale from 1 to 6 (1 = very bad/expensive/many negative effects and 6 = very good/cheap/most positive effects), you must score each solution based on Cost, Economic Impact, Environmental Impact, Social Impact and How Effective each defence is, giving an overall total for each solution.

7. Beach Replenishment Sometimes it is necessary to replace the sand and shingle that has been lost by the action of the sea. Lorries are used to transport material dredged up from the sea bed to the beach. Rip Rap These big boulders are usually placed at the bottom of a cliff. As the waves hit the boulders, their energy is lost so their erosive power is reduced. They are expensive. Gabions Metal cages filled with rocks. They are stacked together to make a wall to protect the coast. They are much cheaper than other sea defenses but don’t last as long. Curved Sea Wall A wall with a rounded lip at the top. This breaks up the waves energy and reflects the waves back into the sea, stopping them going over the top. Expensive but last for a long time. Groynes Natural beaches are the best sea defence, but often they are washed away by longshore drift. Groynes are cheap fences made from large wooden posts. They trap the sand and stop the beach being washed away. (look at the beach height either side of the groyne!)

9. Now, using the 6 statements from different people, and the information from the previous task; You need to complete the POSITIVES and NEGATIVES table for each of the defence types, giving reasons for your opinions

10. Council Engineer I believe that something has to be done to sustainably protect our shores. I believe in aiming to please everyone and to protect property, farmland and to make the beach and cliffs safe for the public and tourists. Plus, an increase in local economic growth will result from the defences being built as jobs are created too, as well as the continued futures of current businesses and homes being secured. Hotel Manager The views from my hotel of the sandy beach and the coastline are fantastic, and are a real money-spinner for me. Sure, there are some defences in place already, but they do not spoil the scenery. I didn’t realise that if defences are built further up the coast, this will effect the shape of my beach for years to come. Longshore Drift I think they call it? Plus, my insurance premium would increase as the risk of cliff collapse is higher! Professor of Geography I think that expensive defences will not help solve the problem. One of the biggest causes of erosion are mudslides caused by over saturation of the soil. Also, heavy storms can cause severe damage to any hard structures that are built. Also, the quality of the beaches at may become degraded over time, looking muddy and grey, as less sediment is transported along the shore. Beach levels could fall, allowing the cliffs to become more susceptible to erosion. Local Resident – Locals Against Coastal Erosion After I retired, I decided to move back to where I spent my childhood and set up a small bed and breakfast. The coastal scenery was perfect for attracting tourists. But now, the coastline is littered with debris from fallen buildings and landslides. Something must be done to help protect our livelihoods, as our village is slowly becoming closer to the cliff edge day by day. Tourist I have mixed feelings about this issue. I was at first against the idea of ugly defences cluttering up the coast I grew up to love when visiting as a child. But now I have made friends here, to see them loose their homes and in some cases businesses makes me lose sleep. Of course there are more “natural” options, but what with climate change raising sea levels, will these “softer” options be strong enough? Conservationist I am very much against there being any further defences to be built in this area. There is SO much rare wildlife and scientifically important habitats that the harbour is now an SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest). I believe that nature should be allowed to follow its own course, without human interference. After all, the animals and the landscape have been around for a much longer time than us humans (and no doubt will be here long after us too).

11. A more advanced bi-polar – needs one per defence type

12. Final thoughts.... In your groups, you will see a picture as if you were a news reporter live on the scene. You have to come up with a 20 second news-byte to summarise what the poeple at each location would think about the plans to manage the coastline

13. Our Coasts are Eroding!!

14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15. Town Hall

16. City Insurance

17. University

18. Disgruntled Hotel Owner

19. Worried Tourist

20. Conservationist on the salt marshes

21. Worried local resident