Soft engineering Flashcards
Defintion
Works with natural processes and allows the process of coastal erosion to continue along the coast
Uses natural systems for coastal defence which can absorb and adjust wave energy
Beach nourishment
Aims to replace material that has been lost through longshore drift
Addition of sand or pebbles
Relatively cheap and easy to maintain, looks natural
Needs constant maintenance
Dune stabilisation
Disrupted by human activities
Marram grass planted to stabilise area, fencing areas
Maintains natural environment and cheap
Time consuming and negative responses
Managed retreat
Abandoning current line of sea defences and developing the exposed land in some way eg salt marshes, reduce wave power
Cheap and creates wildlife habitats
do nothing
May be cheaper to let nature take its course and pay compensation to those affected
Cost benefit analysis undertaken to decide what type of management to use
Where costs exceed benefits its unlikely that protection will go ahead
land use management
This strategy involves addressing people’s behaviour and educating the local community by helping them plan for a potential future of coastal erosion and flooding.
For example:
Caravan parks on cliff tops could be moved and re-sited quickly when the time came which meant they could still provide an income from tourism.
Allowing grazing to take place on land that is at risk from flooding rather than planting crops as sheep/cattle can be moved if storms are forecast.
Not everyone will agree to what the local authorities decide as it essentially limits the use of the land that they own.
It doesn’t prevent erosion taking place at all.
Why soft engineering
Different stakeholders are not always happy with hard engineering along the coast. It is often felt that it is an unsustainable method of management. This is because they often cost a lot of money, require constant maintenance and harm the environment.
Soft engineering methods try to work with the physical and natural processes within an area rather than building large man made structures to protect the land from wave attack.
One of the most successful ways of preventing erosion is preserving a wide beach and stable cliffs that can absorb most of the wave energy. Soft engineering methods are usually based on preserving and managing the coast. It therefore looks less artificial and out of place.
