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1. People live near the coast: In all continents around the world (except Africa), settlement is concentrated along the coastline.Good communication links, job opportunities and the shoreline environment make it a popular place to live. As a result, house prices along the coast are often very high, but these expensive houses and their surrounding infrastructure need protection.

2. Coastal areas are important economically: Countries rely on their ports for trading goods, both imports and exports. Because of this many industries are based in coastal areas. The coast also provides effective transport links, including roads and railway lines that are more easily built along flatter shorelines. Fishing ports are one special reason for a coastal location. In recent years, global tourism has grown rapidly, and coastal areas are especially attractive. For example, in Northern Ireland, hotels, guest houses and caravan parks are found in coastal areas near key attractions such as Titanic Quarter, the Royal County Down golf links and the Giants Causeway. All these factors provide jobs and income for coastal areas.

3. Sea levels rise as a result of climate change:The 'greenhouse effect'has caused global temperatures to rise. Global warming over recent years is causing the global climate to change. One direct effect is an increase in the rise of sea levels. In the UK sea levels around the UK have risen by 16.5cm. If the sea levels continue to rise, many low-lying areas such as the Netherlands and Bangladesh are going to suffer severe consequences.

Methods of coastal management

Hard and soft engineering methods can be used to manage the erosion and flooding at the coast.

Hard engineering methods involve building structures to stop erosion and flooding to protect the coast.

Soft engineering methods are usually more ecologically sensitive. They will attempt to manageerosion and floods.

Hard engineering options tend to be expensive, they often have a high impact on the physical landscape and may be economically unsustainable… They may also have a high impact on the landscape or environment and be unsustainable.

Sea wall

A solid wall that is used to separate the land from the sea.

Groynes

A groyne is a wooden barrier built at right angles to the beach.

Gabions

Gabions are large boulders piled up on the beach in steel cages.

Soft engineering methods are often less expensive than hard options, at least initially. They are usually more sustainable in the long-term and are designed to have a less negative impact on the environment.

There are two main types of soft engineering.

Beach nourishment

• Replaces beach or cliff material that has been removed by erosion or longshore drift
• The main advantage is that beaches are a natural defence against erosion and coastal flooding. Beaches also attract tourists
• Relatively inexpensive option but requires constant maintenance to replace the beach material as it is washed away.

Managed retreat

• Areas of the coast are allowed to erode and flood naturally. Usually this will be areas considered to be of low value - e.g. places not being used for housing or farmland.
• The advantages are that it encourages the development of beaches (a natural defence) and salt marshes (important for the environment) and cost is low.
• Managed retreat is a cheap option, but people will need to be compensated for loss of buildings and farmland.

The United Nations have defined sustainability in 1987 as,

“Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

An evaluation that refers to the principles of sustainable development needs to consider the social, environmental and economic impacts that each management strategy might have.

Social impacts refer to how a management method will affect people. It will look at how it impacts their houses and where they live, how it will affect their daily lives and their food and water supply.

Environmental impacts refer to how management methods will impact the natural environment. How will any development affect animals and plant life in the local area? How will it impact water quality and sewage?

Economic impacts refer to how the management methods used will affect how people work. How will this affect jobs and income? Will the measure make people richer or poorer – will it have a positive or negative impact on their livelihood?

The tourist resort of Newcastle, Co Down has long been under attack from the sea and has regularly caused flooding along the main street.

The local council have changed their management strategy for the area over the years. A number of measures have been used to manage the coastline over the last 100 years.

Groynes

As Newcastle became increasingly popular following the Second World War as a tourist resort, the council took measures to retain the beach as it was constantly being eroded away and the material was being moved along the coast.

A series of wooden groynes were built.

Gabions

In the 1990s, one major area of concern was the piece of coastline at the Slieve Donard hotel and the sand dunes along Dundrum Bay.

Many gabions were installed along the coast to stop the erosion of the sand dunes and the beach in front of it. Some of the gabions lasted for 10 years but many had to be replaced on an annual basis.

A sea wall has been used for many years to help manage the coast.

In 2007 a new Newcastle promenade development was completed that raised the sea wall by 1m and provided a new curved wall that would continue to protect the seafront landscape.

Economic

Hard engineering defences are expensive especially the new enlarged and curved sea wall. Concrete groynes built across the beach in the 1980s are no longer effective and may need to be replaced. The gabions placed at the mouth of the Shimna River need annual maintenance. The future use of soft engineering by beach nourishment will be costly and needs to be repeated. However, protecting the town’s buildings, its summer population of 15000 people, including visitors and the tourist trade may mean the high cost is sustainable.

Environment

The beach at Newcastle has been losing sand for decades and the old concrete and timber groynes are no longer effective at retaining the beach. The curved sea wall deflects wave energy from the shore back onto the beach causing sand to be carried away. However, sea shore habitats have been damaged with plants, animals and birdlife negatively impacted. Any changes to the coastal defences at Newcastle will have impacts along the coast, putting at risk the beach and sand dunes of Murlough Nature Reserve, further north along Dundrum Bay.

Social

A safe, protected beach is good for the people of the town and visitors. It will help secure houses and jobs for local people. However, further along the coast any alteration may impact other people’s property and jobs. For example, increased erosion of the grounds of the Slieve Donard Hotel, the Royal County Down Golf Resort or the army base at Ballykinler.