Application of remote sensing video systems to coastline management problems

This contribution evaluates the application of coastal video systems to monitoring and management of coastal stability problems on sandy coastlines. Specifically, video-derived parameters (coastal state indicators or CSIs) are developed which facilitate the measurement of the shoreline evolution (erosion/accretion) and response to storms, seasonal cycles and anthropogenic interventions like beach/shoreface nourishment and dredging. The primary variable which forms the basis for all the CSIs discussed in this contribution is the shoreline position derived from time-averaged video images. These waterlines are used to generate secondary products including shoreline contours at a constant pre-defined level, (intertidal) beach volumes, and momentary shoreline positions which reflect the sand volume in a meter wide section of the intertidal coast. Video-derived coastal state indicators were verified via comparisons with traditional topographical/bathymetric surveying techniques and a good agreement was found in all cases. CSIs were computed for three contrasting sandy coastal environments including an unprotected natural beach, a protected beach and a spit. Firstly, results are presented which demonstrate the advantages of coastal video systems over and above infrequent traditional topographic/bathymetric surveying methods. Namely, the ability of video-derived CSIs to quantify the magnitude, accurate location, precise timing and rates of change associated with individual extreme events and seasonal variability in the wave climate. Secondly, video-derived coastal state indicators were used to monitor two different types of human intervention, including beach nourishments and a dredged pit in a navigation channel. The video-derived datasets of coastal state indicators offered significant improvement to current CZM practices, facilitating better timing of management interventions as well as more effective monitoring of the spatial impact and longevity of these actions.     

‘It׳s part of me’; understanding the values,images and principles of coastal users and their influence on the social acceptability of MPAs

Improving the social acceptability or ‘social licence’ of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) is a key challenge facing countries all around the world. As the world moves slowly towards the establishment of a global network of MPAs, it is increasingly apparent that a greater understanding of social responses to MPAs is required, given they are often met with resistance from local communities. A series of in-depth, semi structured interviews were conducted across coastal users in New South Wales, Australia, including surfers, recreational fishers, professional fishers, spearfishers, walkers, divers, snorkellers, kayakers and other community members. The research identified the values, images and principles at work amongst coastal users to determine the dominant ‘cultural models’ within the community and how these models influenced attitudes towards MPAs. This research indicates that traditional consultation models may not be sufficient to address the full spectrum of community needs, and in fact suggests the need to re-conceive the make -up of ‘the community’ itself. In the context of MPA planning ‘the community’ is not an amalgamation of a range of homogenous stakeholder groups but instead a diverse and complex mix of identities and value systems which are not confined to particular interest groups. Incorporating consideration of the diverse range of values, images and principles found within and across stakeholder groups will require new and innovative approaches to participation and management.     

Management of dynamic navigational channels using video techniques

Dynamic navigation channels, where sediment transport may change the geometry of the channel in short periods of time, are one of the most dangerous environments for ship navigation. The management of the navigation safety at these waterways requires a detailed monitoring program that provides accurate information regarding the sandbank and channel movements. In this paper the potential of video imaging techniques for managing dynamic navigation channels is explored. Small and large port management strategies are analyzed using Teignmouth and Santander ports as case studies. By means of the frame of reference [Van Koningsveld, 2003. Matching Specialist Knowledge with End User Needs. Ph.D. Thesis, Twente University, Enschede, The Netherlands. ISBN 90-365-1897-0.] a characterisation of the management of navigation issues is performed and several specific video-derived Coastal State Indicators (CSIs) are quantified. New algorithms for evaluating these CSIs are developed. In particular, new algorithms for identifying and locating navigation buoys and for the automatic detection of the shoreline (a proxy for the channel location) are presented and validated.In both cases (Teignmouth and Santander ports) the video system is proven to evaluate quantitative CSIs over a broad range of time-scales (hours to years) which cannot be obtained practically with traditional monitoring techniques. The techniques developed here deliver more information to port authorities; facilitating more informed management decisions regarding how, when, or where intervention is required and thus reducing the navigation risk to shipping.     

Web-based and ‘real-time’ beach management system

The last 5 years has seen the rapid advancement of new image analysis methods specifically targeted to support and enhance coastal management practice. In parallel to these developments, greater attention has been given to the use of the Internet to build more manager-oriented information delivery systems. This paper draws upon experience from Australia using a network of Argus coastal imaging sites, to illustrate and discuss the suite of image-derived CZM ‘products’ that is now available to the coastal manager. Both qualitative and quantitative information is routinely delivered via the Internet, ranging from hourly images of the monitoring site to weekly summaries of shoreline variability and longer-term beach-width trends. All monitoring program results and data summaries are accessed via a World Wide Web interface, providing ‘real-time’ delivery direct to the managers’ desktop computer.     

Appraisal and evolution of the littoral ‘sediment cell’ concept in applied coastal management: Experiences from England and Wales

This paper reviews the historic approach to coastal management and the reasons behind the introduction of the littoral ‘sediment cell’ concept to shoreline management planning in England and Wales. It then reviews the strengths and limitations of the approach and makes practical recommendations on how the approach can be further improved to ensure that a robust methodology exists for assessing coastal evolution; thereby providing a foundation for enabling sustainable future management decisions. Such decisions can relate to both the selection of shoreline management practices, and the identification of appropriate land use planning and development control responses. Both of these items need to take account of natural coastal processes and the interactions that occur within coastal systems at various temporal and spatial scales.     

Identification of ‘High Risk Vessels’ in coastal waters

The development of criteria for the identification of ‘High Risk Vessels’ (HRV) in European waters would allow coastal States to monitor the movements of ships posing significant risk to their interests. However, the pro-active monitoring by coastal States can only be carried out in compliance with the requirements of international law of the sea and with the framework of rights and duties of coastal States established in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. This paper proposes ‘HRV’ criteria on the basis of technical standards and rules widely accepted by States through Port State Control Agreements, thus providing a legal basis for the monitoring of ‘HRV’ by coastal States.     

Comparing resident and tourist preferences for public beach access and related amenities

As coastal destinations continue to grow, due to tourism and residential expansion, the demand for public beach access and related amenities will also increase. The issue confronting management agencies responsible for providing and maintaining public beach access and related amenities is the varying needs and preferences of both residents and tourists of coastal destinations. The purpose of this paper is to provide comprehensive information about coastal recreational needs of residents and tourists with regards to public beach access and associated amenities using the stated preference choice method. Overall, the results indicate tourists were more interested in additional public beach access points and commercial development, while residents supported beach rules and regulations but opposed high levels of crowding and noise. Implications of these results for management agencies include the utilization of parking fees to subsidize additional public beach access points, identifying appropriate types and levels of commercial development that moderate the use of coastal resources by tourists and day-trip users, and implementing beach rules and regulations that reduce the potential for conflict between user groups. Providing management agencies with comprehensive information of the preferences of different beach user groups can assist in the development of more effective policies and management programs.     

Coastal risk adaptation: the potential role of accessible geospatial Big Data

Increasing numbers of people are living in and using coastal areas. Combined with the presence of pervasive coastal threats, such as flooding and erosion, this is having widespread impacts on coastal populations, infrastructure and ecosystems. For the right adaptive strategies to be adopted, and planning decisions to be made, rigorous evaluation of the available options is required. This evaluation hinges on the availability and use of suitable datasets. For knowledge to be derived from coastal datasets, such data needs to be combined and analysed in an effective manner. This paper reviews a wide range of literature relating to data-driven approaches to coastal risk evaluation, revealing how limitations have been imposed on many of these methods, due to restrictions in computing power and access to data. The rapidly emerging field of ‘Big Data’ can help overcome many of these hurdles. ‘Big Data’ involves powerful computer infrastructures, enabling storage, processing and real-time analysis of large volumes and varieties of data, in a fast and reliable manner. Through consideration of examples of how ‘Big Data’ technologies are being applied to fields related to coastal risk, it becomes apparent that geospatial Big Data solutions hold clear potential to improve the process of risk based decision making on the coast. ‘Big Data’ does not provide a stand-alone solution to the issues and gaps outlined in this paper, yet these technological methods hold the potential to optimise data-driven approaches, enabling robust risk profiles to be generated for coastal regions.     

THESEUS decision support system for coastal risk management

While planning coastal risk management strategies, coastal managers need to assess risk across a range of spatial and temporal scales. GIS-based tools are one efficient way to support them in the decision making process through a scenarios analysis starting from social, economic and environmental information integrated into a common platform. However, this integration process requires a significant effort from a team of scientists in terms of a) identifying the appropriate scales and data resolution for analysing social, environmental and economic issues; b) selecting and linking an appropriate set of tools to build a coupled model; c) representing key emerging (and hence challenging) research issues, such as risk perception and social resilience in the model; d) developing multi-criteria analysis to integrate social, environmental, economic impacts; and e) accounting for the expectations of the stakeholders and therefore optimizing the opportunity for them to interact with the tool development and with the final tool itself.In this spirit, this paper presents an open-source Spatial Decision Support System developed within the THESEUS Project to help decision makers to scopeg optimal strategies to minimise coastal risks. The exploratory tool allows the users to perform an integrated coastal risk assessment, to analyse the effects of different combinations of engineering, social, economic and ecologically based mitigation options, across short (2020s), medium (2050s) and long-term (2080s) scenarios, taking into account physical and non-physical drivers, such as climate change, subsidence, population and economic growth.     

Scientists’ prioritization of global coastal research questions

Complex coastal management challenges often span ecological and political boundaries, and involve competing demands from groups advocating alternative coastal management strategies. As a consequence, policy-makers require scientific evidence from across a range of disciplines. Implementing cross-disciplinary research and facilitating science-policy engagement are, however, a significant challenge in its own right. Seven recent ecologically oriented ‘big question’ exercises identified a variety of research questions potentially important for coastal and marine management. In this research, 592 coastal scientists from 91 different countries completed a survey that ranked those 20 coastally oriented research questions. There was a clear overall ordering of aggregated coastal research priorities but scientists did exhibit heterogeneity regarding priorities. Some prioritized ecological issues while others focused more on issues such as coastal resource use or global environmental change. The differences in opinion were largely disciplinary-based, highlighting the importance of, and challenges in, encouraging scientific collaboration across disciplines to support effective coastal zone management. In addition to the ranking of existing questions, scientists submitted an additional 340 potential priority research questions, thus broadening the participatory nature of the original exercises. New questions regarding coastal processes, contaminants and pollution, and monitoring were prominent. This first synthesis across ‘big question’ exercises should provide valuable insights into the diversity of scientists’ opinions and help policy makers understand potentially conflicting science advice.     

Lessons learned from ‘decentralized’ ICM: an analysis of Canada's Atlantic Coastal Action Program and China's Xiamen ICM Program

Integrated coastal management (ICM) is a management process used by stakeholders in decision making to determine how coastal areas will be used and what activities can take place in them. While many ICM Programs are national government initiatives, some ICM Programs are ‘decentralized’, managed by community groups or local governments. This paper describes the Atlantic Coastal Action Program (ACAP), an ICM Program in Atlantic Canada, and the Xiamen ICM Program, in Xiamen, China, and discusses their major differences. The most important difference between the two ICM Programs is that ACAP is a community-based program that uses a multi-stakeholder approach and consensus decision making, while the Xiamen ICM Program is managed by a coordinating office within a local government. After comparing the two programs, some general lessons learned about decentralized ICM from these case studies are noted. It is concluded that the appropriate use of either model for ICM depends on the cultural, economic and political environment of the program. However, stakeholder involvement, scientific consultation and the use of a detailed management plan are important components of any decentralized ICM program.     

The rise of the scientific fisherman: Mobilising knowledge and negotiating user rights in the Devon inshore brown crab fishery,UK

This article draws on a process of collaborative research associated with the brown crab fishery in Devon, UK. It charts the mobilisation of knowledge in the struggle over ‘ownership’ and influence in the coastal zone. Using methods from the social and behavioural sciences the article outlines different perspectives on a number of key contestations across the domains of sustainable use and a new conservation agenda ushered in by the introduction of European and UK national marine spatial planning tools for the South Coast of England. Along with their introduction and the ‘opening up’ of marine space, new opportunities emerge for fishers, who, by building alliances with scientists and managers, and by drawing upon the methods and materials of science, are better able to negotiate for their own interests over access and control of marine resources. The paper concludes by outlining the emergence of a new type of scientifically literate fisherman, a ‘political actor with a new crew’, better able to implement collective actions towards the sustainable use of brown crab resources.     

The utility of surfers’ wave knowledge for coastal management

In the face of environmental change, managing coastal resources effectively to benefit coastal stakeholders means understanding both complex coastal processes and the needs of stakeholders. Surfers are a culturally and economically significant group of coastal resource users who, in the act of participating in their sport, can acquire deep knowledge about the coastal environment and about wave resources in particular. As the primary users of wave resources, surfers could contribute substantially to both understanding the resources themselves and supplying locally-relevant data to inform their management. This study investigates the local knowledge of surfers through two surveys of more than one thousand California surfers and promulgates, based on survey data, a formal definition of surfers’ local knowledge as "wave knowledge." In so doing, this study makes the case that wave knowledge can be used to inform coastal management decision-making in those situations where wave resources, and thus the growing stakeholder group of surfers, could possibly be affected.     

A comparison between coastal hazard planning in New Zealand and the evolving approach in England and Wales

There is concern in England and Wales over the complexity and short comings of the current arrangements for coastal hazard planning and management. At a time of major constitutional reform involving a strengthened role for regional government, the UK needs to learn from other countries with a strong regional dimension which have developed successful systems for coastal hazard planning and management. New Zealand provides such an example. Recent local government reform and the ‘revolutionary’ Resource Management Act (RMA) 1991 have created a new organisational and administrative framework for coastal hazard planning and policy development in New Zealand which fosters integration, involves all levels of government and extends offshore. This paper provides a comparison of the regional dimension of coastal hazard planning in the two areas, focusing on the status, scope and jurisdiction of regional planning bodies and initiatives as well as investigating issues relating to intergovernmental and cross-sectoral links and public involvement. Although the widely acclaimed RMA is not the panacea for coastal management it was once hoped to be, the New Zealand experience illustrates the advantages of clearly defined roles for different levels of government, with emphasis on regional decision-making and extensive community involvement.     

Exploring concepts of fisheries ‘dependency’ and ‘community’ in Scotland

There is a growing argument that the biological priorities of Europe's Common Fisheries Policy – to halt the depletion of commercial fish stocks – are not a straightforward solution to the problems currently facing international fisheries management and that social objectives need to be incorporated into policy. However, existing notions of fisheries ‘dependency’ and ‘community’ remain poorly understood and leave decision-makers struggling to address social and cultural issues. By investigating further concepts of ‘dependency’, ‘community’ and some of the social issues facing Fisheries Dependent Areas in Scotland, this research explores the complex shape of coastal fishing communities and the conditions of dependency on fishing that coastal areas face. In this paper preliminary findings from an in-depth case study of Fraserburgh in the north east of Scotland are presented to explore the potential meaning and justification of social objectives in fisheries policy.     

Beach recreation planning using video-derived coastal state indicators

This contribution proposes Coastal State Indicators (CSIs) for application to different aspects of recreational beach management. The beaches considered in this study are important leisure and tourism resources and of primary concern to the managers responsible is the recreational carrying capacity of the beach. Given the range of factors which potentially affect the carrying capacity this contribution is restricted to just two variables: the level of beach-use and safety. For each variable a detailed management framework is proposed together with a specific methodology to monitor appropriate CSIs. In all the cases, the proposed indicators make use of the capabilities of Argus video-cameras to record multi-purpose information in a single image. Specific algorithms are developed to deliver video-derived variables which are combined with supplementary data (e.g. wave and tide information) to yield beach management CSIs. The application of these CSIs is illustrated via two case studies.     

Ecosystem-based fisheries management: progress in the NE Atlantic

Fisheries management in the NE Atlantic has recently adopted a precautionary approach to setting catch limits. This has been accompanied by the development of more complex and multi-species modelling tools for predicting stock size and structure. The scientific community are now being asked to provide an ‘ecosystem-based approach’ to fisheries management. In this paper, we consider the science needs of this shift to a consideration of more complex systems to include both ecological and socio-economic components. At present, this involves use of the precautionary approach and multi-species management regimes, but will need to include multi-annual quota assessment, ‘stake-holder’ involvement and marine protected areas. How will these approaches sit together and how will science support them? As an example, we will consider what management of the North Sea demersal fishery may involve in 20 years time.     

Establishing attitudes and perceptions of recreational boat users based in the River Hamble Estuary,UK, towards Marine Conservation Zones

Research was completed focusing on a population of recreational boat users with moorings on the River Hamble Estuary, United Kingdom. Issues explored include: (1) boater setting preferences; (2) sources of perceived conflict; and (3) understanding and support for Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs). Several sources of perceived conflict emerged. Action taken to address conflict must be problem specific, targeting the individual as opposed to the activity in general. Results suggest that there is little awareness and a lack of understanding and support amongst recreational boaters with regards to the role of MCZs. The MCZ Project was set up in 2009 in order to work with sea users and interest groups to make site recommendations. Many participants in this research stated that the MCZ Project has: taken an unbalanced approach, represents overregulation, and poses a threat to safe anchorages. It is apparent that compliance and support for management tools being employed will be achieved only if the process is transparent and inclusive. An appropriate and equitable mechanism must be developed in order to move beyond ‘public consultation’ to ensure stakeholders are more fully engaged in both the implementation and management of MCZs. Such strategies will help to alleviate feelings of powerlessness as is so often the case in public consultation.     

Remote sensing of coastal interactions in the Mediterranean region

The coastal regions of the Mediterranean are the site of countless economic and recreational activities, but are threatened by dramatic dangers of misuse and pollution. Adequate tools are needed to study the environmental pressure imposed on these regions by the conflicting needs of protecting their ecological balance and exploiting their natural resources. Coastal ecosystems are very sensitive to the environmental impact of land use in watersheds, along the coast and further inland, of fluvial discharges, and of marine processes. Weathering, erosion, or waste disposal on land, as well as other activities at sea, such as shipping, dumping or oil extraction, are but a few of the factors which would require that the coastal areas be suitably monitored. Modern techniques of environmental assessment call for the use of integrated observation systems. The collection of data with traditional coastal installations remains an important component of such research. However, the large space scales and short time scales of many near-coastal and/or marine processes require the use of (orbital) remote sensors. In particular, optical sensors, operating in the visible/infrared spectral region, have shown their usefulness for providing novel information on physical, geo-chemical and biological processes of the coastal area. Optical remote sensing of the coastal zone finds applications in studies of land use, surface cover, hydrology and coastal ecology at large; of water quality and sediment transport, coastal runoff and circulation, or dynamical processes (looking, e.g., at the evolution of pigment and/or temperature patterns, and their distribution as related to plankton dynamics, currents or river plumes); as well as in those of energy transfer, carbon cycling and climatology in general. Selected applications of optical observation techniques in the Mediterranean region, conducted in the framework of international demonstration programmes (i.e. the Ocean Colour European Archive Network, OCEAN, Project), provide examples of the remote sensing potential in the field of integrated coastal/marine environmental management.