Coastal Erosion in Ghana: Causes,Policies, and Management

Coastal erosion is a serious problem that affects the safety and livelihoods of many coastal dwellers along Ghana's coast. Despite the fact that coastal erosion is a natural phenomenon, erosion trends have been largely aggravated by human-induced factors. This study analyzed shoreline change rates for three neighbouring coastal communities in the Central region of Ghana; Elmina, Cape Coast and Moree. Two epochs were analyzed, 1974–2012 (medium-term) and 2005–2012 (short-term), using ArcGIS and Digital Shoreline Analysis System. Overall, the entire study area recorded average shoreline change rates of ?1.24 myear^?1 and ?0.85 myear^?1 in the medium-term and short-term period respectively. Less consolidated shoreline segments recorded higher erosion rates in both periods while cliffs and rocky segments experienced very little erosion or high stability. Because shorelines undergoing chronic erosion do not fully recover after short-term erosion events such as storms, facilities located close to such shorelines are threatened. Taking a proactive approach to coastal erosion management, such as coastal sand mining prevention, inter-sectoral land use management and adopting a construction setback approach may be prudent for the long-term management of the coast since this recognizes future shoreline changes and safeguards coastal landscape for other uses.     

Classification of Beach Erosion Vulnerability on the Yucatan Coast

Beach erosion can have important socioeconomic and environmental consequences, particularly in tropical regions where tourism is a significant source of income. Although caused by natural processes, erosion is often aggravated by disorderly anthropogenic modification of the coast and extreme events. In Yucatan, Mexico, increasing urban development and deficient coastal management strategies as well as hurricanes have affected beach stability. This has highlighted the need for adequate coastal planning and policies that ensure the protection of key coastal ecosystems, such as beaches and sand dunes. To address this, a methodology to classify the coast according to its vulnerability is presented in this work. This methodology assumes that morphological features are indicators of beach evolution and the processes driving it and that these can be associated with different levels of vulnerability. The features considered are beach width, dune vegetation, anthropogenic pressure, and shoreline orientation, which were analyzed through aerial images and a multicriteria evaluation. It was observed that the most vulnerable areas are found near the most developed parts of the coast, where narrow beaches with little dune vegetation dominate. It is expected that this index will be of use to coastal planners and decision makers, particularly in the identification of critical zones.     

规则波作用下沙质岸滩剖面演变研究*

为了探究规则波作用下沙质岸滩的形态变化,在波浪水槽中构建沙质岸滩剖面的演变过程。发现在规则波作用下,沙质岸滩会出现沙坝峰,存在从单一沙坝峰到双沙坝峰的演变过程,且沙坝形成后并非静止不动,而是随时间变化存在离岸和向岸的往复运动。探究水深、周期和植被覆盖对沙质岸滩变化的影响,对其最大冲刷深度、最大淤积深度、冲刷面积和淤积面积进行讨论分析。结果显示,水深的增大会导致沙坝向岸运动,周期的增大会导致岸滩趋于紊乱,植被覆盖对岸滩有稳定作用。     

Managing Shoreline Change Under Increasing Sea-Level Rise in Ghana

Relative sea-level rise will affect vulnerable coastal communities globally. Quantifying this effect on the coastal environment and infrastructure provides critical information that enables coastal managers to develop sustainable mitigation and adaptation measures. Modeling applications have enabled the past, present, and future trends in shoreline morphology to be investigated in detail. Predictive numerical models depend largely on the reliability of the input data. This article reports on using the Soft Cliff and Platform Erosion (SCAPE) numerical model to simulate future shoreline evolution trend in the central Accra coast in Ghana. The model input parameters include historic shoreline recession rates, wave data, tidal data, bathymetry, beach volume, beach topography, historic relative sea-level rise rates, and the shoreline orientation. The data fed the SCAPE numerical model which simulated the emergence of soft rock shore profiles over timescale of decades to centuries, to project future positions of the central Accra shoreline for the next 100 years under different scenarios of climate change. Simulated future shoreline positions overlaid on a 2005 orthophoto map of Accra enabled vulnerable areas and infrastructure at risk to be identified. It emerged that a highly populated community in central Accra will be inundated by 2065, while the Rivera beach resort will be eroded from 2035. A natural fish landing site in Osu (suburb in Accra) will be lost from 2045. The study has demonstrated that considerable ecological, economic, social, and national losses should be expected within the next century. Shoreline change management options should be explored to help mitigate the expected impact of the sea-level rise.     

人工岛围垦技术的探讨

为解决我国沿海地区土地资源短缺制约经济发展的问题,以围垦方式建设人工岛可基本保持海岸的天然原始状态,有利于保护岸线和滨海湿地资源,使项目用海更具科学性和持续性,体现了目前国际上较先进的用海理念。提出人工岛选址和规划建设的原则,初步探讨人工岛总平面布置、堤坝护岸结构选型、陆域填筑施工、陆岛交通方式和对海洋生态环境影响等关键技术问题。     

Shoreline Management Plans and Coastal Cells in Scotland

Coastal sediment cells have been identified for the Scottish coast and, following the example of England and Wales, a trend is emerging towards the production of shoreline management plans (SMPs) for parts the Scottish coast. However, much of the Scottish coast does not have the degree of intracoastal sediment exchange that gives coastal sediment cells their integrity, and so a cell-based strategy for coastal management may not be a suitable response. This article examines the nature of the sediment cells in Scotland, questions whether the adoption of SMPs for all sections of the coastline is an appropriate management response, and suggests alternatives that may better link to integrated coastal zone management.     

宁波舟山港岛屿岸线的利用和整治

针对宁波舟山港岛屿岸线利用开发所遇到的问题,总结宁波舟山港选址和建设码头的经验,对宁波舟山地区港口建设码头选址过程中遇到的各类岛屿岸线问题进行分析,提出采用顺流连岛、炸礁清障、导流堤整治水流、避开转流回流段等整治措施,得出宁波舟山港地区码头选址可采用的有效整治利用岸线的方法。认为:宁波舟山港岛屿岸线整治和利用须使得该段岸线前的往复潮流主轴线基本顺直,避免转流和回流岸段。     

Adapting without Retreating: Responses to Shoreline Change on an Inlet-Associated Coastal Beach

Coastal barrier systems around the world are experiencing higher rates of flooding and shoreline erosion. Property owners on barriers have made significant financial investments in physical protections that shield their nearby properties from these hazards, constituting a type of adaptation to shoreline change. Factors that contribute to adaptation on Plum Island, a developed beach and dune system on the North Shore of Massachusetts, are investigated here. Plum Island experiences patterns of shoreline change that may be representative of many inlet-associated beaches, encompassing an equivocal and dynamically shifting mix of erosion and accretion. In the face of episodic floods and fleeting erosive events, and driven by a combination of strong northeast storms and cycles of erosion and accretion, the value of the average Plum Island residence increases by 34% for properties on the oceanfront where protection comprises a publicly constructed soft structure. Even in the face of state policies that ostensibly discourage physical protection as a means of adaptation, coastal communities face significant political and financial pressures to maintain existing protective structures or to allow contiguous groups of property owners to build new ones through collective action. These factors mitigate against adapting to shoreline change by retreating from the coast, thereby potentially increasing the adverse effects of coastal hazards.     

长江中游牯牛沙水道碍航原因分析

针对牯牛沙水道航道问题,根据近50年河道实测地形资料,分析了牯牛沙水道河床演变特点、碍航特性及浅区成因。结果表明:牯牛沙水道碍航主要是由于过渡段河道宽浅。虽然近年来该河段已实施的一期工程抑制了牯牛沙边滩的冲刷后退,但一期工程高程较低,未改变过渡段宽浅的河道格局,过渡段水流分散,洪枯水流路不一致,一期工程还不能完全有效导引水流冲刷过渡段浅埂,造成过渡段航槽时而出浅;且三峡工程蓄水运用后汛后退水期缩短,浅滩退水冲刷强度减弱,航道条件难以保持稳定的4.5 m水深。     

Measuring the Cost of Beach Retreat

We estimate the cost over the next 50 years of allowing Delaware's ocean beaches to retreat inland. Since most of the costs are expected to be land and capital loss, especially in housing, we focus our attention on measuring that value. We use a hedonic price regression to estimate the value of land and structures in the region using a data set on recent housing sales. Then, using historical rates of erosion along the coast and an inventory of all housing and commercial structures in the threatened coastal area, we predict the value of the land and capital loss assuming that beaches migrate inland at these historic rates. We purge the losses of any amenity values due to proximity to the coast, because these are merely transferred to properties further inland. If erosion rates remain at historic levels, our estimate of the cost of retreat over the next 50 years in present value terms is about $291 million (2000$). The number rises if we assume higher rates of erosion. We compare these estimates to the current costs of nourishing beaches and conclude that nourishment make economic sense, at least over this time period.     

日照港煤码头堆场护岸沙滩修复方案

日照港煤码头区域拟进行城市化改造,其护岸有条件再造为旅游休闲沙滩。分析该区域的自然条件及岸滩演变规律,提出沙滩再造方案,指出后续需要研究解决的关键技术问题。随着港城的发展,城市中心区域港口设施的城市化再造、工业生产岸线的生态化处理是一个发展趋势,该项目有一定的代表意义。     

广东雷州电厂近岸沉积特征及泥沙运动

通过对广东雷州电厂海岸动力地貌进行调查,分析研究了厂址及周边海岸冲刷、堆积或平衡等不同地貌形态特征、岸线冲蚀形态、泥沙运动及海岸演变对电厂取排水深的影响。分析结果表明,水下沉积物以粉砂质粘土和粘土质粉砂分布为主,样品的平均中值粒径为0.0102mm,南部区域略粗于北中区域,从沉积物分布特点和趋势看,近岸与河口区物质偏粗,主要受近岸及河流的影响;而距岸不远的沉积泥沙中值粒径均在0.004mm左右,则明显受海向沉积泥沙的影响。由于工程区处于岬角且泥沙来源数量少,受波浪潮流共同作用,电厂工程区水域海床及岸线多年处于冲淤平衡的基本稳定状态。     

Quantifying anthropogenic shoreline modification of the Hudson River and Estuary from European contact to modern time

Abstract

Anthropogenic modifications to the shoreline of the New York Harbor estuary and the tidal portion of the Hudson River have been mapped and quantitatively assessed. Modifications studied include the filling of tidal salt‐ and freshwater marshes and the creation of fast land as well as dredging, shoreline armoring, and dike installation. Because the Hudson Estuary and River comprise a historically and commercially important harbor and waterway, shoreline modification commenced shortly after European colonization. While in the harbor segment of the estuary only about 20% of the original wetland areas remain today, the tidal Hudson River has seen a net increase in tidal freshwater wetland area of about the same magnitude resulting principally from shoreline railroad construction. Several different methods were used in compilation of the historical shoreline. Because determination of historical shorelines is important to public trust lands and to estuarine rehabilitation, data bases are being constructed incorporating those shorelines. The experience of this project suggests the benefits and problems associated with the techniques used.     

Essentials of general average: A synoptic overview of an ancient maritime law

This article provides a synoptic overview of the concept of general average which is one of the saving acts in maritime law. Its principles were entrenched in the Roman law which acknowledged its origins being rooted in the Sea Law of Rhodes. Its evolution as customary law through the medieval maritime codes of the Mediterranean region is also traced in the article. The reader is then brought into the modern era of the international regime of general average through the advent of the York-Antwerp Rules. The basic principles of general average loss, including expenditures and sacrifices, and general average contributions are introduced through references to a number of leading cases. The current status of this ancient law and practice and debates over its future are briefly addressed in conclusion.     

Cultural Models and Shoreline Social Conflict

Along the coast we witness property conflicts that would seem strange at inland locations. To understand why property conflicts seem particularly common and intense along shorelines, one must appreciate that property is enacted by real people in specific places. The successful enactment of property requires sufficiently shared expectations for behavior. Expectations are formed by consulting cultural models, which are inter-subjectively shared cognitive tools. This article describes seven cultural models of property that can play a role in the enactment of property along the shoreline. These are the sovereignty, community, landscape, ecology, commodity, moral order, and productivity models. A focus on cultural models shows how property conflicts can occur when models are not adequately grounded in real world circumstances, when a cultural model is not shared, or when multiple cultural models conflict. This article argues that all three of these types of failures are more likely to occur along shorelines than with inland property. Finally, even though cultural models of property are not hierarchical, this article argues that too much emphasis is currently being placed on the sovereignty and commodity models, and it suggests ways to reestablish a better balance between all of the cultural models of property.     

The lost waterfront of New York

Abstract

No integrated municipal policy exists for managing the New York City waterfront. Despite much rhetoric and many proposals to renew the city's coast, the municipal government has done little to improve the city's coastal shoreline. External organizations and citizens’ groups have been largely responsible for efforts to improve the use of the city's coastal resources. This article assesses the role of the city government and analyzes the factors affecting its performance in coastal management. It proposes new policies to foster local initiatives and encourages private and public cooperation in the revitalization of the coast. Given the size and diversity of the city's coast, an incremental strategy may be the most feasible and sensible approach to recapture the city's lost waterfront.     

Saving the coast: The British experience

Abstract

This article outlines the steps that have been taken to conserve the coast of Great Britain. It treats the subject historically and emphasizes the ways in which unofficial and official bodies have interacted. Apart from a few very restricted areas, the shoreline is open to all people. The siting of houses, chalets, and huts is strictly controlled. Problems arise from time to time as to the location of nuclear stations, oil storage areas, and similar installations; these issues are settled in full discussions at official inquiries at which all interests—official, business, and conservation–are represented.     

Legal battles on the California coast: A review of the rules

Abstract

Notions of private property have both legal and political importance. In California, as elsewhere in the United States, these ideas are changing. The rate and direction of this evolution is not different on the coast. But the intense heat generated by competing coastal interests does tend to illuminate these issues more clearly on the coast. The full range of these issues has been raised in California, where an historic attempt is now being made to plan and manage the use of coastal resources. In January 1976 the California Legislature will be presented with a coastal plan which promises to inflame the passions of traditional property rights advocates and environmental zealots alike. Much of the rhetoric surrounding this political struggle is already being couched in legal terms. In an effort to delineate a few of the genuine legal issues raised in this planning process, this article summarizes the law of California which is relevant in defining the permitted scope of public regulatory power over private land use.     

Marine Shoreline Management—A 35-Year Evaluation of Outcomes in San Juan County,Washington, US

In 1976, Washington became the first state to implement the federal Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) primarily through the 1971 WA Shoreline Management Act (SMA). However, there has been little effort in Washington to evaluate outcomes of shoreline protection programs post SMA. In 2006–2008, we characterized shoreline conditions in San Juan County over three time periods spanning pre and post SMA and engaged community members to improve effectiveness of shoreline protection. We found modest improvements in forest retention on marine shorelines between pre and post 1977, but few other improvements through time. While we could not measure shoreline construction rates, construction practices for shore armor and overwater structures (docks) have changed very little, despite the increased regulatory standards. The vast majority of shore armor constructed post SMA occurred without mandatory county or state permits likely due to: widespread perception that permits were unnecessary and that permit standards were arbitrary and inconsistently applied; poor understanding of shoreline ecology by community members; lack of county or state enforcement authority and shoreline monitoring programs; and poor permit tracking systems.