The Shoreline between Nature and Society, a Changing Heritage - Vulnerability of Coastal Ecosystems and Adaptation - page 199

the fencing off of flagship ecosystems and habitats that need to be
preserved at all costs; whereas for others, who are indifferent to these
arguments and are carried away by the global dynamic of
“development”, growth brings economic and social well-being. In
between the two opposite positions, we find various levels of
endeavors which often converge in such a way that they intend to
secure a future while preserving the past. Underlying it all, we find the
whole debate around biodiversity a very topical emerging issue
[GOU 10, GOU 12, TOU 12].
To a certain extent, this is the heritage vision that will condition the
policies we will now discuss. These policies cannot remain indifferent
to the current changes observed; however, they are not directly linked
to them. At least, this can be argued in a few lines. The fact that the
debate is temporarily appeased does not stop us from feeling its
effects on the ground.
The Earth's climate has been warming undeniably since the last
third of the 19th Century: the changes in climate show at least an
intermittent trend with a more pronounced warming of the last two
decades. For a change in climate to occur, real structural changes
would be required in particular in the large pivots of the climate
system, such as subtropical anticyclones and, in the ocean, the broad
cold and warm currents. Currently, nothing shows that this is
underway, not even climate models. Incidentally, this is a debate
whose scope and relevance are political and for which scientists
should not be dragged to a place which is not theirs. In terms of
coastal issues, the main relevant element is sea level rise that remains
a slow process. The sea level started to rise in the 1880, as shown by
tide gauges; however, these are few and are all situated in the great
ports of the Northern hemisphere. The accumulation of tide gauges
confirmed the trend of sea level rise that is now monitored by
satellites. The last IPCC predictions remain moderate: 50 cm at most
by the end of this century. Of course, the surfaces situated at the
lowest altitudes will gradually be submerged. We know which are the
places concerned and we also know of a variety of solutions to address
this problem. The remedies are partly technical in terms of resistance
against the sea, and partly political, in the adaptation by retreating