Conflicts, Winners and Losers
Policy decisions can lead to conflicts between different players (homeowners, local authorities, environmental pressure groups) with perceived winners and losers in countries at different levels of development.
Coastal management decisions directly affect people's lives. These effects can be positive or negative, producing perceived:
In some ways this is inevitable because:
There are examples where all stakeholders agree on a course of action. The Blackwater Estuary in Essex is an area of tidal salt marsh and low-lying farmland.
The solution adopted was radical.
The Blackwater Estuary shows that environmentalists, landowners, coastal managers and local people and businesses can all be kept happy, even when radical plans are adopted.
Coastal management decisions directly affect people's lives. These effects can be positive or negative, producing perceived:
- winners: people who gain from a decision, either economically (their property is safe), environmentally (habitats are conserved) or socially (communities can remain in place)
- losers: people who are likely to lose property, their business or job, be forced to move, or see the coastline be 'concreted over' and see this as an environmental negative.
In some ways this is inevitable because:
- coastal managers produce plans for entire SMP areas, so some areas are protected whilst others are not
- local councils and governments (DEFRA) have limited resources, meaning not all places can be protected
There are examples where all stakeholders agree on a course of action. The Blackwater Estuary in Essex is an area of tidal salt marsh and low-lying farmland.
- Prone to flooding and coastal erosion, the farmland was traditionally protected by flood embankments and revetments
- Over the last 30 years it has become clear that building higher and more coastal defences in places such as Blackwater is not sustainable.
The solution adopted was radical.
- In 2000 Essex Wildlife Trust purchased Abbotts Hall Farm on Blackwater Estuary, which was threatened by erosion and flooding.
- A 4000 ha managed realignment scheme was implemented by creating five breaches in the sea wall in 2002.
- This allowed new salt marshes to form inland.
- The Abbotts Hall Farm owners received the market price for their threatened farm
- The very high costs of a 'hold the line' policy were avoided, by flood risk was reduced
- Water quality in the estuary improved because of expansion of reed beds that filter and clean the water.
- New paths and walkways were created for leisure activities
- Additional income streams from ecotourism and wildlife watching were created.
- Important bird (dunlin, redshank, geese) and fish (bass and herring) nurseries were enhanced.
The Blackwater Estuary shows that environmentalists, landowners, coastal managers and local people and businesses can all be kept happy, even when radical plans are adopted.
Coastal Management in the Developing World
In many parts of the developing world, such as the Maldives, parts of Vietnam, and the West African coast, erosion is rapid, often because of a combination of:
In many cases the main 'losers' are the poorest people. Farmers and residents usually lack a formal land-title so cannot claim compensation (even if it were available).
Coastlines become more vulnerable to sea level rise, the impact of tropical cyclone storms and even tsunami.
When these disasters strike it is the poorest that lose everything.
In many cases it is individual property owners that take responsibility for coastal defences in the absence of local council or government plans.
- upstream dams reducing sediment supply to the coast and disrupting local sediment cells
- rapid unplanned coastal development, urbanisation and the development of tourist resorts with piecemeal defences and no overall plan
- widespread destruction of mangrove forests for fuelwood and shrimp-ponds, exposing soft sediment to rapid erosion.
In many cases the main 'losers' are the poorest people. Farmers and residents usually lack a formal land-title so cannot claim compensation (even if it were available).
Coastlines become more vulnerable to sea level rise, the impact of tropical cyclone storms and even tsunami.
When these disasters strike it is the poorest that lose everything.
In many cases it is individual property owners that take responsibility for coastal defences in the absence of local council or government plans.