Impacts of sea level rise on coastal infrastructures and preparation for development assessment and strategic planning

Abstract

     Beaches and seaside facilities are a vitally important aspect of local character and economy for tourists and residents. Much of a coastal zone is also important because of essential infrastructure it contains, for example sea dikes, coastal roads, harbors, outfalls cables etc. Many of coastal areas have considerable importance from viewpoints of heritage and history. Understanding the impacts of Sea level Rise in these areas will help in both the management and long-term planning of coastal zone and in assessment of how best to respond to problems being experienced along particular stretches of coastline.

     There are several principal effects of SLR that need more attention: beach recession and loss of beach amenity; increased incidence of oceanic inundation; gradual decline in the performance of existing coastal protection infrastructure.