New Zealand coastal system boundaries, connections and management

Abstract:    Understanding coastal boundaries, connections and drivers of landscape change is integral to effective coastal planning and management. This concept is explored here through case studies representing two very different New Zealand systems: embayed sand beaches in eastern and western open-coast settings; and mixed sand and gravel coast river-mouth lagoons. When framed within a resource and environmental management context these studies indicate that national recognition of the dynamic and interactive nature of coastal environments is a relatively new and amorphous phenomenon in New Zealand and, as such, has been ineffective in driving integrated regional management practices and sustainable coastal outcomes.     

A commentary on coastal research in New Zealand universities

Abstract:    University research in coastal geomorphology, processes and management has made a major contribution to the fundamental understanding of coastal systems in New Zealand over the past 43 years. This article examines the growth in university-based coastal research since 1964 and discusses the geographical pattern and themes of this research. Data indicate a significant geographical concentration of research effort and focus on a narrow range of research themes. Underlying reasons for these characteristics of New Zealand coastal research are explored and challenges facing university based research are discussed. Such challenges can be overcome through a more coordinated research effort to realize the huge potential to undertake coastal science of national relevance and international significance.     

'There is a tide': An examination of the evolution of New Zealand Coastal Policy Statements

Abstract:   In this paper the proposed New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement is set within the context of its Resource Management Act legislative framework and in terms of the evolution of the fundamental influence of policy statements on coastal management in New Zealand. This discussion is coupled with an examination of the development of strong policy directions in the proposed statement and the potential impact of giving effect to these policies on the regional and unitary authorities tasked with this responsibility.     

Coastal defence and the Habitats Directive: predictions of habitat change in England and Wales

Future coastal defence policies and 'natural' processes will have an impact on habitats within Special Areas of Conservation (SAC), Special Protection Areas (SPA) and Ramsar sites. An overview of the potential nature and extent of these changes (losses or gains over the next 50 years) around the coast of England and Wales was carried out to inform policy decisions on the legal and funding aspects of coastal defence options and possible habitat replacement. It is predicted that there could be a net loss of freshwater and brackish habitat of around 4000 hectares, together with a net gain of intertidal (saltmarsh and mudflat/sandflat) habitats of around 770 hectares, with the gains associated with managed retreat ( c .12 500 ha) balancing the expected losses due to coastal squeeze and erosion on the unprotected coast. The likely costs of freshwater and brackish habitat replacement, on a hectare-for-hectare basis, is estimated to be in the order of £50–60 million, including site purchase, set-up and on-going management costs.     

Indian Ocean tsunamis: environmental and socio-economic impacts in Langkawi, Malaysia

We report the results of a study of the physical characteristics and socio-economic impacts of the Indian Ocean Tsunami of 26 December 2004 on the tourist island of Langkawi, Malaysia. In comparison with many other locations struck by the tsunami, the immediate physical and socio-economic impacts in Langkawi were relatively minor. A detailed survey of the watermark and ground elevations was undertaken in the worst affected area between Sungei Kuala Teriang and Sungei Kuala Melaka. Here, the tsunami reached a maximum elevation of 4.29 m as it crossed the coast, with a maximum flow depth of 2.0 m and a very consistent run-up elevation relative to mean sea level of 300 ± 10 cm. The tsunami inundated inshore areas for 300 m and penetrated inland along creeks for 500–1000 m. Structural damage to buildings was confined to within 50–150 m of the shoreline where about 10% of the houses were completely destroyed and 60–70% suffered significant structural damage. Damage was particularly severe in areas where there was no engineered coastal protection, but while coastal revetments did provide enhanced protection for houses at the waterfront, the coastline in the study area appeared to be more heavily impacted than elsewhere in Langkawi because wave energy was focused on the area by offshore breakwaters built to protect the Langkawi port and airport. Emergency response after the tsunami was rapid and efficient but would have been improved if the local police station had not been rendered inoperative by the first wave, and if a mechanism had been in place to ensure that informal advance warnings transmitted between Phuket (Thailand), Langkawi and Penang (Malaysia) by tourist operators could have been more widely disseminated.     

Teleseismic delay-time tomography of the upper mantle beneath southeastern India: imprint of Indo–Antarctica rifting

A 3-D P -velocity map of the crust and upper mantle beneath the southeastern part of India has been reconstructed through the inversion of teleseismic traveltimes. Salient geological features in the study region include the Archean Dharwar Craton and Eastern Ghat metamorphic belt (EGMB), and the Proterozoic Cuddapah and Godavari basins. The Krishna–Godavari basin, on the eastern coastal margin, evolved in response to the Indo–Antarctica breakup. A 24-station temporary network provided 1161 traveltimes, which were used to model 3-D P -velocity variation. The velocity model accounts of 80 per cent of the observed data variance. The velocity picture to a depth of 120 km shows two patterns: a high velocity beneath the interior domain (Dharwar craton and Cuddapah basin), and a lower velocity beneath the eastern margin region (EGMB and coastal basin). Across the array velocity variations of 7–10 per cent in the crust (0–40 km) and 3–5 per cent in the uppermost mantle (40–120 km) are observed. At deeper levels (120–210 km) the upper-mantle velocity differences are insignificant among different geological units. The presence of such a low velocity along the eastern margin suggests significantly thin lithosphere (<100 km) beneath it compared to a thick lithosphere (>200 km) beneath the eastern Dharwar craton. Such lithospheric thinning could be a consequence of Indo–Antarctica break-up.     

National policy and management responses to the hazard of coastal erosion in Britain and the United States

Since national governments have become actively involved in environmental planning, and coastal management in particular, collective and individual responses to coastal erosion hazards have become increasingly influenced by public policy. This paper analyses and compares coastal erosion management policies in Britain and the United States. Both countries experience similar problems of population concentration along unstable coastlines, and yet they have developed quite different approaches to their solution.Coastal erosion management in Britain is dominated by the Coast Protection Act of 1949, which provides for a coherent and centrally organized approach, but is biased towards engineering responses, to the relative exclusion of alternative management techniques. In contrast, the United States has developed an elaborate framework for coastal erosion management. Traditional engineering responses continue under the auspices of the Corps of Engineers, but coastal zone management legislation has introduced a new philosophy into public policy whereby nonstructural measures are preferred. However, the US approach suffers from inconsistent implementation and the influence of private landowners, who favour cheap and often ineffective structural responses.Based on a comparison of the strengths and weaknesses of each system, a model for the development of coastal erosion management policies is proposed. In particular, the model emphasizes the need to consider all possible alternative solutions, giving priority to those which respect the geomorphological nature of coastal erosion. It is suggested that coastal erosion management should become an integral part of the planning process, promoting community needs over individual requirements and favouring the use of non-structural measures and appropriate land-use controls.     

Coastal-marine nature management in Pacific Russia and Northern Vietnam: Notions,structural features,and types

Coastal-marine nature management is treated as a spatiotemporal structure consisting of two interrelated components: the coastal territorial component occurring in the coastal territory, and the coastal aquatic component occurring within the coastal aquatic area as well as the sea shores connecting them. The study revealed the components of the main and concomitant uses of natural resources which have evolved directly across the land and sea areas of mining of separate kinds of natural resources and having technogenic impacts on them. From a combination of natural resources as well as of spatial scales of the main and concomitant uses of natural resources on the coastal territory and in coastal waters, we identified the main types of coastal-marine nature management in the southern areas of Pacific Russia and in Northern Vietnam: different kinds of nature management including the utilization of the territory for industrial-residential and transportation purposes as well as for cultivation of rice and vegetable crops, extraction of building materials, other mineral resources, forest use, extraction of marine salt from the sea water, coastal fisheries, various forms of mariculture, marine recreation, etc. A fragment of the cartographic assessment of the current types of coastal-marine nature management is presented for the southern coastal areas of Pacific Russia.     

基于全球变化视角的滨海旅游资源可持续发展对策研究(英文)

滨海旅游是最传统的、主要的旅游形式,也是现代旅游增长最快的领域,在国内外均具有举足轻重的地位。全球变化很可能是由人类活动引起,并且影响着旅游业的发展。旅游业通过使用交通运输系统尤其是航空旅行、旅游目的地住宿餐饮等活动排放大量温室气体,对全球变化做出贡献。可持续滨海旅游以可持续的资源开发和管理为基础,在全球变化视角下,要达到这一目标,需要在滨海旅游模式与产品类型转变、旅游资源利用方式转变、利益相关者协作等方面对滨海旅游资源进行优化开发和有效管理:以绿色思维指导低碳旅游模式,发展生态旅游和替代性旅游等新型产品;提倡降碳减排、发展碳补偿和碳经济、制定碳排放标准、鼓励新型节油节能科技应用;鼓励社区参与,平衡利益相关者的收益和兴趣,尤其是探察当地社区居民、旅游者和政府工作人员对全球变化的看法、态度、责任感和共识。这些措施将在规划—管理—监督—评估动态模型中得到优化。由于相关研究的可用数据有限,本文所引用数据部分来自于对旅游整体的研究结果,是为不足之处。     

基于滨海环境资源特点的大连旅游承载状态评价

旅游环境承载力涉及多维度属性相互制约影响,而传统方法中对于各属性间影响程度及游客偏好选择的判定则较多依赖于个体的主观感知。因此,针对处理多属性综合评价中存在的模糊性及主观性,提出基于蒙特卡罗模拟修正的模糊综合评价模型。结果表明,借助上述模糊综合评价修正模型针对大连滨海旅游环境承载力进行解释与分析,成功缓解了在模型度量与数据分析环节所出现的主观偏误缺陷,从而有效提升了大连市滨海旅游景区有关阈值综合评价体系的科学性与稳健性。评价结果表明,当前大连市滨海旅游环境承载力状态可以判定为“适载”;在影响滨海旅游环境承载力的6项要素中,游憩环境要素与气候要素的评价分数较高,最低评分数值指标为景区游客管理状态。     

Estimating the fluvial sediment input to the coastal sediment budget: A case study of Ghana

Knowledge of fluvial sediment supply to the coastal sediment budget is important for the assessment of the impacts on coastal stability. Such knowledge is valuable for designing coastal engineering schemes and the development of shoreline management planning policies. It also facilitates understanding of the connection between rivers in the hinterland and adjoining coastal systems. Ghana's coast has many fluvial sediment sources and this paper provides the first quantitative assessments of their contributions to the coastal sediment budget. The methods use largely existing data and attempt to cover all of Ghana's significant coastal rivers. Initially work was hindered by insufficient direct measured data. However, the problem was overcome by the application of a regression approach, which provides an estimated sediment yield for non-gauged rivers based on data from gauged rivers with similar characteristics. The regression approach was effective because a regional coherence in behaviour was determined between those rivers, where direct measured data were available. The results of the assessment revealed that Ghana's coast is dissected by many south-draining rivers, stream and lagoons. These rivers, streams and lagoons supply significant amounts of sediment to coastal lowlands and therefore contribute importantly to beaches. Anthropogenic impoundment of fluvial sediment, especially the Akosombo dam on the Volta River, has reduced the total fluvial sediment input to the coast from about 71 × 10⁶ m³/a before 1964 (pre-Akosombo dam) to about 7 × 10⁶ m³/a at present (post-Akosombo dam). This sharp reduction threatened the stability of the east coast and prompted an expensive ($83 million) defence scheme to be implemented to protect 8.4 km-long coastline at Keta. Sections of Ghana's coast are closely connected to the hinterland through the fluvial sediment input from local rivers. Therefore, development in the hinterland that alters the fluvial sediment input from those local rivers could have significant effects on the coast. There is the need, therefore, to ensure that catchment management plans and coastal management plans are integrated or interconnected.     

Participatory GIS to inform coral reef ecosystem management: Mapping human coastal and ocean uses in Hawaii

Sociospatial information is critical to marine and coastal ecosystem management. The Hawaii Coastal Uses Mapping Project used a participatory geographic information systems (PGIS) methodology to gather local knowledge regarding the location and intensity of coastal human activities in Hawaii's priority sites for coral reef management. PGIS provided an efficient and effective means of obtaining information in a data-poor context, particularly at a scale and location where considerable local knowledge is held by community members and resource users. We detail the PGIS methods developed to collect sociospatial data on human uses in the project regions and discuss important considerations regarding the practice of PGIS that emerged from the mapping process, as well as implications for the production and documentation of spatial knowledge. Key themes include: issues of scale and appropriateness in using PGIS as a method for mapping human coastal and marine activities; data validity, authority, and the nature of local knowledge; community trust, engagement, and collaboration; and utility for coral reef management. While several factors limit local agencies' ability to use this spatial information to date, natural resource managers found the participatory mapping process to be highly valuable for stakeholder identification and engagement, and the maps provide a resource to state and federal managers to better understand the human implications of future management scenarios.     

沿海城市自然灾害风险研究

自然灾害是当代国际社会、学术界普遍关注的热点问题。随着自然灾害突发强度、频度和广度的不断增长,自然灾害预防工作显得格外重要。沿海城市作为人口集聚、国民经济、社会发展重要区域和战略中心,自然灾害带来的损失是剧烈、致命的,亟待开展沿海城市自然灾害风险研究。该领域目前主要探讨的问题：自然灾害类型与风险辨识;脆弱性评价指标体系与评价模型;自然灾害风险评估与风险管理;自然灾害数据管理范式研究等。沿海城市作为自然灾害频发和受损严重的地区,在全球变暖和快速城市化背景下,目前应集中开展自然灾害风险实证研究：沿海城市脆弱性评价指标体系和综合脆弱性评价方法;自然灾害风险评估程序规范和动态评估模型;自然灾害数据管理范式与模板;自然灾害风险评估GIS工具集等。     

The changing nature of, and approaches to, UK coastal management at the start of the twenty-first century

As we enter the twenty-first century, effective coastal management will become more of a central issue for coastal users and governors alike. The new century sees the review of many of the UK's existing management plans, and the subsequent publication of revised versions. Some of these new editions will have to show changes from their predecessors because of natural processes of erosion and accretion, yet other changes will be because of human interference. In this, we mean the continued ignoring of previous management plan recommendations regarding new development and coastal usage. Coastal management needs to adapt and develop, yet along with this, increased education and awareness is also necessary to allow users to understand and appreciate what is being recommended in management plans.     

国外滨海湿地管理的理论进展和实践经验

近年来,我国滨海湿地保护不力,存在法律缺失、多部门管理、中央和地方权责不清等问题。总结了近年来资源环境管理领域的理论进展,梳理了美国、荷兰、日本、韩国、澳大利亚等国在滨海湿地管理的法律制度、管理机制、决策管理、公众参与等方面的经验,为我国提升滨海湿地管理水平提供参考与借鉴。     

Rule-based GIS-modelling for management purposes: A case study from the islands of Froan,Sør-Trøndelag,mid-western Norway

The coastal heath region along the western coast of Norway, dominated by Calluna vulgaris, is undergoing rapid change. Vegetation changes are caused by changes in management, including reduced frequency or abandonment of periodic heath burning and reduced cutting and grazing. The islands of Froan, in the outermost part of Sør-Trøndelag County in mid-western Norway, are dominated by coastal heath in a state of recession due to reduced traditional land use. The coastal heath is acknowledged as vulnerable and valuable by national environmental authorities, and local landscape management is supported by different national subsidies. The authors mapped the vegetation on Froan and used rule-based GIS-modelling to predict the relative potential for future vegetation changes. The model was based on a range of map layers, including management themes such as history of heath burning and peat removal, current practices of sheep grazing, and also themes derived from the vegetation map, such as soil nutrients, soil moisture and present management status. The resulting model output provides relative probabilities of future changes under different land-use scenarios, and highlights where management efforts should be focused in order to maintain the traditional landscape character.     

Coming to Terms with “Integrated Coastal Management”: Problems of Meaning and Method in a New Arena of Resource Regulation

This paper traces the emergence of coastal management in the late twentieth century and assesses the social and spatial implications of the new Integrated Coastal Management (ICM) philosophy that guides national regulatory programs worldwide. A review of the epistemology of ICM reveals its link to the United Nations marine regulatory regime (the Law of the Sea) and the sustainable development paradigm embraced at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development. I suggest that the resulting regulatory regime facilitates the opening of coastal zones worldwide to aggressive state and global capital investment. By promoting the overhaul of existing social and spatial organization in coastal zones and by asserting the primacy of resource access for modern economic interests, ICM may introduce more rather than less social conflict and ecological degradation. To illustrate this dynamic, I examine the case of coral reef management in general, and in the context of the Sri Lankan ICM program.     

Sacred cows in coastal management: the need for a 'cheap and transitory' model

The participative, 'bottom-up' approaches of contemporary European ICZM (integrated coastal zone management) are ineffectual and unsustainable. The approach lacks the authority and resources to deliver ICZM and should be abandoned. A new model of ICZM in a predominantly sectoral administrative framework is presented. It requires that capacity be built in existing statutory authorities and in-house ICZM groups be established. Time-limited participatory projects would be used to gain information on conflicts and issues that transcend existing sectoral boundaries, but this information would be passed to the established statutory authorities for action. A sound statutory and legislative basis is the essential prerequisite for effective coastal management – not voluntary partnerships.     

Vulnerability of Kuwait coast to sea level rise

Assessing coastal vulnerability to sea level rise (SLR) at local and regional scales is a fundamental step for designing successful long-term coastal management plans. This study was thus designed to assess Kuwait coastal vulnerability to SLR at four scenarios (.5, 1, 1.5 and 2 m). Potential inundated areas and the number of people at risk were estimated based on these SLR scenarios. A coastal vulnerability index (CVI) map of Kuwait was then computed based on the lowest scenario using eight parameters: elevation, coastal slope, geomorphology, distance to 20-m isobath, population, land use, cultural heritage and transportation. The geographic distribution of inundated areas at an SLR of .5 m revealed that the northern islands of Kuwait and coastal areas along Kuwait Bay would be highly impacted, whereas the coastal area near Shuaibah Port was the most influenced among the southern coasts. Most of the coastal area exhibited a moderate vulnerability to SLR, especially the northern islands. This study presented an initial vulnerability assessment for Kuwait coasts to SLR, which can be extended with more variables. The integrated remote sensing and geographic information system methodology demonstrated in this study can be applied in similar studies elsewhere.     

13世纪以来中国海洋盐业动态演变及驱动因素

海洋盐业是中国海洋经济的重要部分,也是沿海传统产业之一,13世纪以来不断发展演变。将沿海分为北、东、南3个地带,搜集整理与海盐经济相关的多种历史文献及方志资料,运用地理学方法分析评估了海洋盐业百年尺度的动态演化过程,并比较了资源环境与管理政策的驱动作用及其差异。研究表明：① 沿海盐业表现为传统煎法长期主导、逐步废煎改晒的过程,不同盐区的演化进程存在显著差异,北部盐区最快,东部次之,南部整体发展缓慢;② 海盐生产重心长期位于东部的两淮盐区,19世纪后期向北部盐区快速迁移;③ 资源环境与生态差异促进了各岸段海盐生产演化分异,垄断性管理政策迟滞了海洋盐业的空间集聚进程,未来沿海开发与海洋盐业的可持续发展将主要依靠基于资源生态约束的管理政策与技术。