So what is being done about it? Well, there are already agencies and programs in place to help manage coasts. the National oceanic and Atmospheric administration, or NOAA, approved the California Coast Management Program in 1978, which is administered by three state agencies. The California Coast Commission is in charge of managing development along California's coast everywhere except San Francisco Bay, where the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission manages. lastly, there is the California Coastal Conservancy. this agency purchases, protects, restores, and enhances coastal resources, and provides access to the shore (2).
Coastal management is any actions taken to conserve, restore, or defend the coast against erosion, human activities, or human actions. coastal management has many techniques and methods, one of which is construction. Construction is separated into two types: "hard" and "soft."
- Hard construction is when hard, solid structures are build, usually to prevent, reflect, or absorb "wave energy" from reaching the shore. These structures, ironically, usually cause more erosion, deeming it much less effective.
- Soft construction is a more popular and natural way of protecting the shore. It encourages or restores natural structures that prevent and reduce erosion such as restoring vegetation that had been removed for human purposes or encouraging/nurturing the natural systems that protect the coast (beaches or salt marshes, for example). these techniques are usually cheaper to construct and maintain than those of the hard construction, and can even be self-sustaining.
Surprisingly enough, anyone who visits the beach can help prevent excess erosion. As explained in my previous post, abrasion, a process of erosion, takes place due to hard, solid objects picked up by the waves. When we leave toys or trash on the beach, high tide and winds can put it into the ocean, where it could cause more sand to be dragged out into sea. The toys or trash could also be carried farther down the coast and potentially be pounded against sea cliffs.
Please do all you can to help maintain beaches and other ocean habitats. You can also contact coastal services and see how you might be able to help further.
Works Cited
"Coastal Management." - Coastal Wiki. Flanders Marine Institute, 18 June 2013. Web. 18 Jan. 2016. (1)
"OFFICE FOR COASTAL MANAGEMENT." NOAA Office for Coastal Management. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Jan. 2016. (2)