Law and regulations

1) Limit damaging activities

- Damaging activities are activities that can interrupt the function of natural
system
E.g. blasting coral reefs to create channel for boats, constructing facilities like
docks and marinas that replace natural features of coats
- These activities prevent coastal system from functioning properly and disrupt
natural coastal processes, altering the coastal environment
- Since these activities are economic driven, banning them is costly and
inefficient
- Government instead limit activities
- Done through management the align needs of people with nature of coastal
environment
Case example
- Sand dune on Port Phillip, Melbourne
- Sand dune often trampled by tourist
- Causing dune vegetation to be destroyed and dunes were left exposed to
wind erosion
- Houses behind were in danger of being buried by sand blown by wind
- Closing beach will be ineffective and may face objection from community
- To alow dunes to recover, damaging activities were limited
- Authorities fenced off dunes and built acces path to the beach, allowing
coastal environment to recover
- However, can be unsightly and do not allow visitors to access all parts of the
beach

2) Protect coastal resources

- Management strategy that aims to prevent resources from being exploited or
depleted
- Example is fish
- Areas close to coastline especially in SEA where destructive methods of
blasting fishing are used are vulnerable to overfishing,
- However, protecting coastal resources can come with opposition
- Establishment of marine reserves is often strongly opposed by local fishermen
because fishermen see their access to valuable resource and source of food
being denied
- Thus, potential long term benefits of marine reserve may not be significant to
fishmen in an area that has supported them for a long time

Case example
- Goat Island Marine Reserve, Auckland, New zealand
- Marine reserve protects marine ecosystems which allows fish and
endangered species to breed and thrive.
 - Now a tourist attraction
3) Restrict development in areas prone to natural hazard
- Natural hazard can be disastrous to natural environment and human activity
- Despite occurrence natural hazard, people are still attracted to coast because
of the benefit they reap
- Laws and policies implemented by government involve a combination of
strategies
1. Retreat
- Retreat of built structure away from areas prone to natural
hazard

2. Avoidance
- Regulating development to avoid certain areas
3. Defence
- Nourishing beach, building seawalls, replanting coastal
vegetation

Coastal protection measures

Hard engineering:
- Involves construction of physical structures to protect coasts against erosive
power of waves
- To prevent shoreline erosion and retreat
Soft engineering:
- Involves protecting coast using natural process
- Does not involve construction of physical structures

Hard Engineering

1. Seawalls
- Seawalls are constructed to protect coastlines against wave attack by
absorbing wave energy
- made out of concrete or stone
- Built parallel to the coast, protecting coastlines behind
Strength
- Great defence against flooding and erosion while immobilising the sand of
adjacent beach
- Easily made
- Life span of 30-40 years
- Suitable for areas that
Weaknesses
- Costly to build, need constant repair to prevent collapse
- Strong backwash wears away the base of the seawalls overtime, leading to
their collapse
Case example
- Seawall along coast of Drakes Island in England collapsed due to erosion
occurring at its base
- Seawalls along Island Bay at Wellington in New Zealand needed numerous
repair, incurring 1.3 million in bills over 2 years
- Tohoku, Japan, extensive sea walls constructed after the great Earthquake in
2011 to protect tsunami and natural disaster
- Government spent 12 million to construct seawalls of 10M over 80KM
- Aim of wall is to protect coastal community from future natural disaster

2. Gabions
- Gabions are wire cages usually filled with crushed rocks
- These cages are built along a shore or behind a beach to prevent or reduce
coastal erosion by weakening wave energy
Strength
- Absorb wave energy better than seaswalls. Gaps between rocks allow water
to filter through
- Constructed in short period, means erosion is kept to minimum, authorities
have lesser damage control
- Cheaper than seawalls
Limitation
- Easily corroded by seawater and damaged by excessive trampling or
vandalism
- Shorter life span, regular maintenance, results in high cost
- Wire cages rust easily, posing danger to fishermen, swimmers and other
users of coast

Case example
- Gabions in East Coast Park Singapore was removed due to vandalism

3. Breakwaters

2 Types of breakwater
- Built parallel to coast
- With one end attached to coast

- Help break the force of oncoming waves before they reach the coast
- Made up of granite

Strength
- When constructed offshore, breakwaters can create zone of calm water near
coastal areas
- Calm water zone used as sheltered harbours for boast
 - Last up to 30 years
Limitation
- Costly to build
- Protects the coast unevenly : Offers protection only to coast lying behind it,
zone located away from the breakwater are subjected to wave action and
erosion
- Unsightly

Case example
- Cost of each breakwater along East Coast Park SIngapore is 1 million
- More suitable for wealthier country

4. Groynes

- Low walls constructed at right angles to the shore to retain sediments that
might be removed due to LSD
- Structures absorb or reduce energy of the waves and
- cause material to be deposited on the updrift side of the groyne facing the
LSD

Strength
- Allows for beach to be built up, making a wider beach and provides calm
water
- Last up to 30 years

Limitation
- Since it prevent LSD, no new material are deposited on the down drift side
which is not protected by groyne
- As a result LSD will gradually erode away the unprotected part of the beach
- (To prevent, tip of groynes can be angled about 10 degrees, depending on the
direction of prevailing waves)
- Expensive to build and maintain
- Unsightly

Case example
- Large amounts of sediments were eroded on the downdrift side of groynes
built along Sandy Hook in New Jersey, USA. Groynes was eventually
demolished
- Coastal part of England where LSD is prevalent

5. Tetrapods
- Four-pronged concrete structures that help dissipate wave energy
- Stacked offshore in an interlocking position
Strength
- Contrast to breakwater or seawalls, tetrapods allow water to pass around
rather than hit against. Hence, no powerful backwash is generated, reducing
possibility of tetrapods being damaged by waves
- They are pre-casted, meaning they are cast into their final shape before being
positioned
- Places quickly compared to other structures which may take time to build
while coasts are under attack from waves
- Suitable for countries with high natural disasters

Limitation
- Expensive to build
- Unsightly
- Dangerous to swimmers, surfers, boater

Case example
- Japan, kobe, country prone to natural disasters like tsunamis uses tetrapods
to prevent strong wave and erosions
- Crescent City, a town on coast of northern California, used tetrapods for many
years to defend against coastal erosion and reduce impacts of tsunami, which
occurred 31 times

Soft engineering

1. Beach Nourishment

- Beach nourishment slows down erosion of beach

- Involve using sand from external source to replenish the sand on a depleted
beach
- Sand may come from another beach or dredged from sea floor

Strength
- Can change coast into a wide, sandy beach that offers protection to
immediate inland area
- Allow for natural looking beach, suitable for beaches that are used as tourist
attractions
- Does not introduce new species that may change the natural biodiversity
Limitation
- Trucking or piping in sand can be expensive and time consuming
- Beach nourishment projects around the world have developed secondary
problems to the environment. E.g. Sand used for beach nourishment is
washed out to sea and suffocates corals
- Renourished beaches can be eroded again. Hence, it is a short-term solution
and last about 10 years
Case example
- Miami Beach, Florida, where hard engineering management strategies built
previously affected the beach such that by 1950s, very little of beach
remained
- Beach nourishment used to revive the beach. New sand needs to be
replenished yearly

2. Planting vegetation
- Planting vegetation such as mangroves can help stabilise coastline
- Mangroves absorb wave energy through their dense root system, it helps
prevent the attack of strong waves on coastline

Strength
- Cheap
- Vegetation planted can increase interception and reduce overland runoff,
preventing erosion.
- Hence, this helps to reduce pollution of coastal waters and allow continual
growth of marine ecosystem, especially sensitive ones like coral reefs
Limitation
- Vegetation take number of years to grow before it can resist natural element
like storms and human element like trampling
- Not all coastal regions can support mangroves, especially areas affected by
violent destructive wave, as mangrove thrive in sheltered areas
- Mangrove require specific climatic condition to grow, hence this option is not
available to every coast

Case example
- Pulau Tekong, Singapore launched a Coastal Protection and Restoration of
Mangrove Biodiversity project
- Around 6000 mangroves sapling were planted, preventing erosion and protect
Pulau Tekong biodiversity

3. Encouraging coral reef growth

- Coral reefs help weaken wave energy and serve as a breeding ground and
nursery for fish
- Artificial reefs can be created by placing lasting material such as steel onto
seafloor
- Corals and other marine creature colonise these material and start to function
as natural reef
Strength
- Enhance natural beauty of beach
- Home to many species of marine organisms

Limitation
- Not easy to encourage growth of corals
- Sites needs to be surveyed to ensure maximum opportunities for growth
- Coral reef sensitive to changed to water quality and temperature
- Hence, coral reefs may not be feasible for all types of coastal environments
- Coral growth may be slow, taking 20-30 years, result may not be significant

Case example
- Maldives, operating a coral-growing programme to help curb severe beach
erosion
- The structure is powered by low-voltage solar-generated electricity, which
accelerates coral growth. As a result, corals are growing three to five times
faster than usual, leading to a diverse marine ecosystem