EEDA
The team successfully completed a research contract on the projected environmental effects along the east of England coastline due to climate change. The report was commissioned by the East of England Development Agency (EEDA) and undertaken in partnership with Globe Regeneration Ltd and Glyn Owen Associates, who are specialists in social and economic development respectively.
The low-lying topography of the East of England coastline is particularly prone to the effects of climate change, such as the projected rises in sea level and the increase in severity and likelihood of storm events. The current policy promoted by the Environment Agency is to encourage a sustainable and dynamic coastline which only uses man-made defenses in areas of high economic value. Areas of the coast will therefore be given back to the sea as part of a ‘managed retreat’ policy. The issue is, however, a social and political issue too. For example, recent reports in both the regional and national news have highlighted that local residents and business owners are blighted by this policy and may lose their property all together. The approach of only defending areas with high economic value also ignores the intrinsic value of important environmental assets that are present along the coastline.
The ‘business-as-usual’ approach to coastal defense and management is becoming less applicable as the effects of climate change become more serious and occur at an accelerated rate. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) project a global average surface temperature of between 1.1oC and 6.4oC at 2090 to 2099 (relative to 1980 to 1999). This corresponds to a projected sea level rise of between 0.18 m and 0.59 m. The ongoing challenge of managing the east of England coastline is to develop a naturally functioning coastal system with minimal loss and disruption to the environment and local communities. The Report, which feeds into the larger coastal initiative work, provided a range of economic, social and environmental recommendations. These included increasing economic activity within coastal communities, increasing the number of affordable homes, avoiding development within flood risk areas and recognising the value of the regions biodiversity.
The ‘business-as-usual’ approach to coastal defense and management is becoming less applicable as the effects of climate change become more serious and occur at an accelerated rate. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) project a global average surface temperature of between 1.1oC and 6.4oC at 2090 to 2099 (relative to 1980 to 1999). This corresponds to a projected sea level rise of between 0.18 m and 0.59 m. The ongoing challenge of managing the east of England coastline is to develop a naturally functioning coastal system with minimal loss and disruption to the environment and local communities. The Report, which feeds into the larger coastal initiative work, provided a range of economic, social and environmental recommendations. These included increasing economic activity within coastal communities, increasing the number of affordable homes, avoiding development within flood risk areas and recognising the value of the regions biodiversity.
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