Environmental Change & Management (Use it, Change it, Fix it)

Question 1

What are some natural causes to changes in coastal environment?

Answer 1

Natural causes that change the environment:
- Sea Level Rise
- Tidal Waves
- Storms
- Strong currents
- Erosion

Question 2

What are some human causes to changes in coastal environment?

Answer 2

Humans bring about many changes to the coastal environment through:
- Infrastructure (harbours, ports, roads, apartments etc;)
- Sea walls (humans build sea walls to stop erosion)
- Pollution
- Climate change
- Tourism (walking over a sand dune impacts the coast)
- Overfishing

Question 3

How does Climate Change impact coastal environments?

Answer 3

• Climate change has profound impacts on coastal environments.
• These impacts are primarily driven by rising global temperatures, changing weather patterns, and increased levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
• Sea levels are rising due to climate change, this means that ice is melting and contributing to the ocean’s volume.
• With sea levels rising, erosion is increasing. This erosion not only damages natural habitats but also threatens human infrastructure (buildings, roads etc;)
• Due to climate change, the ocean is getting warmer, this creates hazards for our marine wildlife and our coral reefs.
• Climate change increases coastal flooding.

Question 4

How does human population growth impact the coast? PUT

Answer 4

Human population growth impacts the coast through:
- Pollution: higher population densities leads to greater volumes of sewage and wastewater being generated which can pollute coastal waters. Higher population numbers generally mean more consumption and waste generation, leading to the accumulation of plastics and other waste in coastal areas which harms our ecosystems.
- Urbanisation: as population grows, there is a push for more development, this can lead to the destruction of coastal habitats (mangroves, wetlands, dunes etc;)
- Tourism: an increased population leads to greater tourism impacts such as degradation of ecosystems through overuse, pollution, and physical damage from activities like snorkeling, diving, boating, and off-road vehicle use.

Question 5

What is coastal and marine pollution?

Answer 5

• Coastal and marine pollution refer to the contamination of coastal areas by harmful substances or waste materials.
• Some kinds of pollution include plastic waste, chemical pollution, oil spills, sewage and wastewater etc;

Question 6

How are coastal environments managed?

Answer 6

Coastal environments can be managed through several things:
Sea walls: Seawalls are structures separating land and water, designed to prevent coastal erosion and other damage from wave action and storm tide flooding
Groynes: designed to trap sediment, dissipate wave energy and restrict the transfer of sediment away from the beach through long shore drift.
Sand dunes: Sand dunes provide natural coastal protection against storm surge and high waves, preventing or reducing coastal flooding.
Wetlands: They protect our shores from wave action, reduce the impacts of floods, absorb pollutants and improve water quality.

Question 7

What is the advantage of sea walls?

Answer 7

Prevents erosion of shore & sand dunes

Question 8

What are the disadvantages of sea walls?

Answer 8

• Eyesore (takes away from the beautiful beach landscape/ugly)
• Needs maintenance
• Can cause wave reflection

Question 9

What do we know about Elwood Beach?

Answer 9

• Elwood beach experiences coastal erosion
• Elwood beach is at risk from rising sea levels
• The community has built a sea wall/revetment wall as well as a groyne, the sea wall stops the impacts of erosion, and the groyne traps the water to prevent flooding.

Question 10

What do we know about the Maldives?

Answer 10

• The Maldives is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to rising sea levels due to its low elevation.
• Even a slight rise in sea levels can lead to flooding of many of the islands, endangering the population and their infrastructure.
• The Maldives’ coral reefs are sensitive to changes in sea temperature, with coral bleaching events becoming more frequent due to global warming.
• The Maldives is also at risk of increased storm intensity which can damage the coastline.
• The government has invested in artificial island projects (such as creating new islands to house displaced populations) and coastal protection measures (such as sea walls and sand replenishment) to help their community.

Question 11

What do we know about Bangladesh?

Answer 11

• Bangladesh is at high risk of coastal flooding and rising sea levels.
• The Bay of Bengal makes Bangladesh particularly susceptible to tropical cyclones and storm surges, these storms have caused widespread damage to infrastructure, agriculture, and livelihoods.
• Bangladesh has built flood control dams, and drainage systems to manage their flooding situation.
• There have also been mangrove plantations to absorb storm surges.