Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Several. general. principles. apply. to. enhancing. the. resilience. of. beach. SESs..
First,. all. the. important. pressures. must. be. identiied. and. addressed.. Second,. pre-
venting.multiple.stresses.that.have.synergistic.effects.enhances.resilience..In.fact,.
the.only.adaptive.management.strategy.for.press.stresses.such.as.lowered.pH.may.
be.the.removal.of.additional.stresses.such.as.pollution.or.off-road.vehicles.(ORVs)..
Third,.management.strategies.must.be.ecosystem.based.(EBM)..Such.management.
recognizes.the.holistic,.inter-relatedness.of.ecosystems.at.various.scales.in.space.
and. time.. It. also. recognizes. the. interdependence. among. ecological,. social,. eco-
nomic,.and.institutional.perspectives;.considers.cumulative.effects;.and.applies.the.
precautionary. principle. (Dovers. and. Handmer. 1995).. A. key. goal. of. EBM. is. to.
sustain.the.ability.of.ecosystems.to.deliver.all.ecosystem.services.rather.than.the.
current.preoccupation.with.the.short-term.provision.of.a.single.service.(McLeod.
et.al..2005).
Fourth,.maintaining.biodiversity.(to.promote.adaptation).and.multiple.examples.
of.each.habitat.type.(to.provide.insurance.and.colonists.following.impacts).enhances.
resilience.. Fifth,. effective. management. needs. substantial. scientiic. knowledge. of.
the.ecosystem.in.question.and.its.coupling.with.socioeconomic.systems..This.need.
is.magniied.by.the.probability.that.climate. change. will.have. novel,.unpredictable.
ecological. effects. (Schneider. and. Root. 1996). or. cause. abrupt,. nonlinear. changes.
(Burkett.et.al..2005)..Existing.knowledge.will.thus.be.inadequate..In.these.circum-
stances,.active.adaptive.management.is.highly.recommended.(Walters.1986;.Folke.
et.al..2002)..Briely,.this.is.a.learn-by-doing.approach.that.views.policies.as.experi-
ments.elucidating.the.processes.affecting.resilience..It.requires.lexible.social.insti-
tutions.that.promote.learning.and.adaptation.
Although.the.EBM/resilience.approach.is.in.its.infancy,.some.suggestions.regard-
ing.beach.resilience.can.be.made.
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A.great.threat.from.climate.change.involves.beach.erosion.and.retreat.because.this.
will.threaten.both.social.systems.(through.loss.of.economy,.amenity,.and.assets).and.
ecological.systems.(via.loss.of.beach.habitat)..Consequently,.the.integrity.of.the.sedi-
ment.budget.is.of.prime.concern.to.beach.ecosystem.resilience..Adaptive.measures.
to.manage.the.sediment.budget.include.the.protection,.vegetation,.and.stabilization.
of.dunes,.and.maintaining.the.supply.of.sediment.from.coastal.rivers..Dune.manage-
ment.is.crucial.because.dunes.provide.a.protective.buffer.and.reservoir.of.sand.that.
is.important.at.times.of.intense.storms.and.erosion.
Unfortunately.some.dunes.have.already.been.impaired.by.human.activities.(Bird.
1996;.Tomlinson.2002;.Alonso.and.Cabrera.2002).and.numerous.dams.now.reduce.
the.supply.of.sediment.to.the.coast.(Sherman.et.al..2002)..Moreover,.dune.manage-
ment.would.only.retard.coastal.retreat..Other.adaptive.strategies.involving.managed.
retreat.(e.g.,.rolling.easements.or.setbacks.that.allow.the.landward.migration.of.the.
coastline). will. be. necessary.. Unfortunately,. setbacks. involving. buyouts. would. be.
extremely.expensive.and.may.be.socially.unacceptable.in.urban.areas..Here,.soci-
ety. may. protect. coastal. assets. via. engineering. solutions. such. as. large-scale. beach.
nourishment.and/or.the.construction.of.seawalls..The.latter,.however,.would.cause.
