The Success of Management Policies in Dealing with Coastal Erosion and Flooding

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The Success of Management Policies in Dealing with Coastal Erosion and Flooding

Roughly a quarter of the English coastline has been developed for

housing, industry or leisure purposes. At these sites coastal

management has been introduced to protect the coast from flooding and

coastal erosion. The particular area of coastline I studied in detail

is on the South-East coastline of England and includes various sites

along it. These include Camber sands, Dungeness and St Mary’s bay.

Authorities worked on a reactive basis, often ignoring natural

processes. They attempted to control the effects of erosion and

flooding, with little attention being paid to the implications of

individual schemes or other sections of the coastline. This often led

to the need for more protection works down-drift of original schemes,

increasing the costs of coastal defence. However attitudes to coastal

management have changed due to rising sea levels. Coastal managers now

work with the knowledge of sediment movement with defined cells.

In Romney marsh the area is flat and is a very marshy area which is

about 2-3m above sea level. The land is being used for pastoral and

arable farming. There is also a small number of houses there (small

villages) and a lot of drainage ditches surround the area and these

act as a protection as they hold the water and drain it back out. In

Romney marsh there is a lot of gravel extraction and a few other

materials have been extracted, however not much is being done to

protect the coastline at the moment. In Camber sands however it

transforms into a sand dune ecosystem where the beach acts as a

coastal defence and protects the surrounding area. This is because

when the wind blows it blows sand up the wide beach and this forms

sand dunes some of the highest dunes are 5m high. The land is used

mainly for the formation of sand dunes and it is a SSS’I (site of

special scientific interest). There are a few services around the area

which include pubs, bars, seasonal amusements and a golf course.

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