Coastal protection

Coastal protection structures have been built on many 'soft' cliff coasts in order to slow or stop the rate of erosion and thus protect capital assets behind the cliff line. In England and Wales the length of coast affected amounts to approximately 860km of artificial structures. These range from sea walls at the toe of the cliff to prevent marine erosion to areas, especially in seaside towns where the whole cliff face is obscured by concrete and other material. This problem is not unique to the UK. Throughout Europe coasts are eroding, yet the desire for a 'sea view' can be irresistible as is shown in the picture taken on the Italian coast near Ravenna.

Caption: 'The restaurant at the edge of the sea' showing the 'coastal protection' measures taken to prevent erosion.

The effect of these activities is to reduce (or eliminate) many of the features associated with cliffs especially those with intermediate rates of erosion (State 2). A survey (Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries & Food 1994). identified over 90 km of new cliff protection works likely to be needed in the next 10 years, resulting in a potential loss of 36% of the remaining soft cliff resource.

General comment: Such defences can have important other impacts. These include both accelerated erosion and sediment starvation at coastal sites down-drift of defended sites.

References

Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries & Food 1994. Coast Protection Survey of England. Survey Report - volume 1, Summary Report. MAFF.