- Marine erosion is an inevitable process, but there are ways to manage it
- 25% of the population live within 25km of the coast, making it important to protect the coastline
- Rates of erosion depend on geology
Coastal management is a challenging issue because decisions have to be made about whether to use soft or hard engineering. Many factors come into this, including cost, sustainability, and future problems which may arise.
Coastal barrages are one type of sea defence. They prevent flooding on major estuaries, acting as a dam across it. They can help to create fresh water lakes, but environmentalists are often opposed to barrages, and the structures can be very expensive as well which is an issue.