Twenty-eighth Report Adapting Institutions to Climate Change Cm ...

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Chapter 2 changes to the coastline resulting from climate change are likely, therefore, to have considerable socio-economic as well as environmental impacts. The potential impacts on coastal habitats and ecosystems are considered in the next section. 2.69 Because there are so many sectoral interests operating in the coastal zone, governance is extremely complicated. The urgent need for some form of holistic management of sectoral interests across the land–sea boundary has been raised on numerous occasions over the last 20 years; see, for example, the 1992 report of the House of Commons Environment Committee on Coastal Protection and Planning. 42 Interest in integrated coastal zone management (ICZM) has been promoted by the EU and governments have produced ICZM strategies. Although the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 does not address ICZM directly, the provisions for marine spatial planning are at least an important step in addressing the maritime side. 2.70 2.71 2.72 The rest of this section is concerned with the landward side of the boundary, and it outlines the challenges that local authorities and other public and private bodies are likely to face in the future. Coastal zones are complex and dynamic regions. The coastline is continually changing due to the dynamic interaction between land and sea, resulting in some stretches of coastline being eroded while others accrete. Changes at one point on the coastline may affect what happens further along the coast, for example by providing sediment which is then carried by longshore drift or by creating new configurations of coastline and altering the wave patterns. Under natural conditions these changes go on all the time altering the shape, extent and nature of the coastal strip of land and usually in a gradual way that happens very slowly on a human timescale. Box 2D lists the main factors determining the character and shape of the coastline. A huge weight of ice disappeared from northern and western Britain at the end of the last glaciation. Land to the north and west of a line roughly from the Severn to the Humber is still slowly ‘bouncing back’ (isostatic readjustment) after removal of the ice sheet, and land to the south and east is sinking. In the 6,000 years since sea levels became relatively stable after the last ice age, erosion has predominated over accretion in the UK, although within a human lifetime the coastline has appeared to be broadly stable. However, increases in the frequency and magnitude of winter storms can have a major impact on the form of the coastline, especially where this occurs alongside sea level rise. Cliffs can become weakened or be made heavier by water saturation, and they are therefore more likely to collapse. The number of cliff landslides happening on the east coast of England in the winter of 2000-01 was much higher than usual and this coincided with increased periods of storminess and heavy rain. 24
2.73 BOX 2D FACTORS AFFECTING THE CHARACTER AND SHAPE OF COASTLINES 43 Geology Nature of rocks/sediments onshore and offshore Rock structure – bedding, joints, faults Position of water-table in coastal cliffs Rate of sediment supply to coastal areas Changes in the Earth’s crust Physical processes Waves – largely influenced by wind and water depth Tides Rates of relative sea level change Rainfall Frequency and intensity of storms Human interference Coastal construction Aggregate extraction Flood and coastal defences against erosion Coastal reclamation Agricultural land drainage There can be no doubt, therefore, that climate change will have a profound impact on the shape of the coastline just through the operation of natural forces. Coastal infrastructure, including coastal defences, ports and harbours, not only alters the appearance of the coastline but also has an influence on natural processes. More than 40% of the coastline of England and Wales has some form of coastal defence. Our present suite of coastal protection structures will be stretched to its full capacity under the conditions predicted for climate change and many may no longer be effective. The Commission saw evidence in south Wales from the National Trust on the scale and extent of the challenges confronting that organisation as it attempts to defend coastal sites and properties under its jurisdiction. 44 Adapting to the changed conditions presents a major institutional challenge. Coastal squeeze 2.74 Low-lying coastlines with sandy or muddy seashores result from the gradual accretion of sediment deposited by tidal action. Because the slope of the seashore is so shallow, the extent of the intertidal zone can vary considerably with changes in sea level. Under natural conditions this can result in the coastline retreating inland as sea levels rise or moving further offshore where sea levels fall. Coastal development tends to form a barrier to this dynamic repositioning of the coastline so that there is no possibility of the coastline retreating inland. As a consequence, coastal habitats such as saltmarshes get squeezed and may eventually be lost altogether. This in turn means that there 25 Chapter 2
Page 1 and 2: Adapting Institutions to Climate Ch
Page 3 and 4: The cover image of an adaptation sn
Page 5 and 6: ROYAL COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL P
Page 7 and 8: Contents vii Paragraph Page Chapter
Page 9 and 10: Specific institutional arrangements
Page 11 and 12: 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Chapter 1 INTRO
Page 13 and 14: 1.9 1.10 What is adaptation? The In
Page 15 and 16: 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 Secondly, much
Page 17 and 18: every circumstance. However, the Co
Page 19 and 20: 2.15 Average global sea levels are
Page 21 and 22: UKCP09 projections differ from thos
Page 23 and 24: level) and those which are only lik
Page 25 and 26: FIGURE 2-II Projected changes to wi
Page 27 and 28: 2.29 Some of the projected temperat
Page 29 and 30: FIGURE 2-IV Change in observed temp
Page 31 and 32: 2.52 2.53 2.54 2.55 2.56 2.57 oxyge
Page 33: 2.63 2.64 2.65 2.66 Not only are ha
Page 37 and 38: y the changing climate as sea level
Page 39 and 40: BIODIVERSITY SUMMARY OF THE IMPACTS
Page 41 and 42: climate change”. 70 The new speci
Page 43 and 44: assemblages of conservation importa
Page 45 and 46: 3.7 3.8 action 1 encourages Member
Page 47 and 48: 3.12 FIGURE 3-I Governance structur
Page 49 and 50: 3.14 FIGURE 3-III Climate change im
Page 51 and 52: 3.19 significant role in determinin
Page 53 and 54: their LAA targets. Making use of qu
Page 55 and 56: 3.31 3.32 3.33 3.34 3.35 Anyone wis
Page 57 and 58: 3.40 3.41 3.42 nature. 39 Other und
Page 59 and 60: 3.47 For each of the exemplars, nat
Page 61 and 62: 3.52 3.53 3.54 River Glaven). The a
Page 63 and 64: 3.60 Planning future provision rais
Page 65 and 66: 3.68 3.69 3.70 ordinary watercourse
Page 67 and 68: 3.73 3.74 3.75 3.76 members of the
Page 69 and 70: 3.84 3.85 3.86 3.87 74 SMPs have a
Page 71 and 72: 3.94 Defra announced on 1 December
Page 73 and 74: 3.101 More than 250 Special Protect
Page 75 and 76: INTRODUCTION 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Chapte
Page 77 and 78: 4.11 4.12 Figure 4-I also introduce
Page 79 and 80: PATH DEPENDENCY 4.18 4.19 4.20 4.21
Page 81 and 82: 4.25 4.26 4.27 Another way of consi
Page 83 and 84: Efficiency 4.36 Efficiency is about
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4.47 4.48 4.49 participation. We re
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4.53 The key elements of framing th
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4.55 next. The Council observed tha
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overarching strategic framework set
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4.70 There was a dilemma running th
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when specific measures are necessar
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4.88 4.89 from flooding. Hot-spots
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BOX 4G LEGAL ASPECTS OF COASTAL PRO
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communicative learning in terms of
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is not limited to a single departme
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INTRODUCTION 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.
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5.11 A number of our recommendation
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5.23 5.24 The Climate Change Act 20
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5.34 5.35 5.36 5.37 Two of our earl
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5.46 The Commission recommends that
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5.57 understood in order that it ca
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5.67 5.68 5.69 5.70 There is no obv
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5.79 underpin the need for the gove
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BOX 5A AN INDICATIVE LIST OF TEN QU
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CHAPTER 1 References 1 Royal Commis
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27 Data from the UK Climate Project
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66 Willis, S.G., Hill, J.K., Thomas
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13 Ibid, page 12. 14 For further de
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51 Ofwat (2009). Final Determinatio
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CHAPTER 4 1 Brooks, N. and Adger, W
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37 There is an extensive literature
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4 Greater London Authority Act 2007
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The European Commission has publish
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The study will, therefore, draw on
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Range of climate change Q2) There a
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Values relating to the natural envi
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Adaptive capacity (also referred to
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species that might survive and subs
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Appendix B CONDUCT OF THE STUDY In
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Forestry Commission Grantham Instit
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UK Collaborative on Development Sci
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VISITS During the course of the stu
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Mark Williams Scottish Water Ruth W
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CHAIRMAN Appendix D MEMBERS OF THE
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PROFESSOR MARIA LEE Professor of
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PROFESSOR JOANNE SCOTT Professor
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Abbreviations ACC Adapting to Clima
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SPA Special Protection Area SSSI Si
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Biodiversity Action Plan 2.99 Birds
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supply and treatment of 3.55 Englan
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water supply and wastewater treatme
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institutional arrangements adaptati
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UK Climate Impacts Programme (UKCIP
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Twenty-eighth Report Adapting Institutions to Climate Change Cm ...

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