Coasts and landscapes Case Studies

Where is Holderness coast located

The Holderness coast is the fastest eroding stretch of coastline in eastern England near Hull.

What does the Holderness Coast SMP include?

Beach at Hornsea is of great importance, both as a tourist feature and a means of protecting the seawall from wave erosion + winter flooding.
- Groynes have been repaired and new ones built at a cost of over £5.2 million.
- Also steel 'doors' guard the entrance to the beach and the old seawall has been raised slightly.
- Sand dunes in the south beach are being planted with trees (beach nourishment)

- Withernsea is another resort further south.
- There are also groynes and a sea wall, and a wave return wall
- The wall is further protected by rip-rap or rock armour and some beach nourishment.
- These defences costed a total £6.3 million.

- Groynes in Mappleton have been effective however increased erosion south of Mappleton --> Cowden farm in sea.

Disadvantages of the SMP at Holderness Coast.

At Spurn head erosion also poses a lot of threats, however the management strategy here is no longer in place.
- OVER TIME: After successive winters with strong storm surges, Holderness Borough Council decided it couldn't afford to repair the damage
- Was officially abandoned in 1995 --> community coastguards + their families had to move elsewhere and lost employment
- Low value land was abandoned and money was invested into tourist areas
- In the future there may be loss of a heritage coast site and an important bird habitat (Yorkshire Wildlife Trust)

Where are the Sundarbans located?

The Sundarbans are located in the bay of bengal in the delta of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers.

• It spans India(West Bengal) and Bangladesh.

• It covers 60% of Bangladesh.

• Much of it is covered by trees and flooded vegetation

• It is the worlds largest mangrove forest

What are some opportunities in the sundarbans?

Resources can be exploited, tourism, agriculture and a large biodiversity.

More children get careers, learn about how to protect area sustainably

Production of goods, selling timber and used for construction.

What are some challenges in the Sundarbans? - Mitigation

High rates of deforestation. Solution - afforestation and need a license for natural resource exploitation.

What are some challenges in the Sundarbans? - Adaptation

Tropical storms:
- In 2015, 1000 cyclone shelters were built
- Houses built on stilts --> protection from flooding
- Cyclone warning systems - however little funding to do so

Low lying islands prone to flooding:
- NGOs provide education and training about community level preparation for natural disasters
- Growing salt resistant rice

Increased pesticide and fertiliser use is affecting water quality:
- NGOs run education programmes to encourage farmers to return to more traditional ecological friendly methods.

What are some challenges in the Sundarbans?

Vulnerable to coastal erosion, cyclones:
- Loss of 65 sq km from 2000 - 2009 due to coastal processes
- Cyclones bring high energy waves --> can cause coastal erosion
- Solution: Mangrove forests can reduce wave energy by 50% causing material to deposit building up resistance
- Tree roots stabilize the land