- Strategies used shouldn’t cause too much damage to the environmentor to people’s homes and livelihoods and shouldn’t cost too much.
- Hard engineering is often expensive,and it disrupts natural processes.
- Soft engineering schemes tend to be cheaperand require less time and money to They are designed to integrate with the natural environment and it creates areas like marshland and sand dunes, which are habitats.
- Soft engineering is a more sustainable management strategybecause it has a lower environmental impact and economic cost.
Shoreline Management Plans
- Coastline is split into stretches by sediment cells. A planis devised for each cell on how to manage different areas with the aim of protecting important sites without causing problems elsewhere.
- Authorities can decide to hold, advance, or retreatthe line, or to do nothing.
- Allthe local authorities in one sediment cell co-operate in coming up with an SMP.
Integrated Coastal Zone Management
- Considers allelements of the coastal system when coming up with a management strategy.
- Aims to protectthe coastal zone in a relatively natural state, whilst allowing people to use it and develop it in different ways.
- It is integratedin various ways:
- The environment is viewed as a
- Different usesare considered.
- Local, regionaland national levels of authority all have an input into the plan.
- Dynamic strategy- decisions are re-evaluated if the environment or demands on the area