COASTAL AREA

ENVIRONMENTAL AND BLDG

PLANNING
 IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE 2004 TSUNAMI,
EXTENSIVE EFFORTS WERE MOBILIZED TO
IDENTIFY, CHARACTERIZE AND MAP THE
DEVASTATING LOSSES AND IMPACTS. THE
RECOVERY PROCESS CONTINUES TO
GENERATE AWARENESS OF THE NEED FOR AN
INTEGRATED APPROACH TO DECISION-
MAKING IN COASTAL REGIONS THAT
BALANCES THE NEED TO ACCOMMODATE
SEEMINGLY CONFLICTING OBJECTIVES SUCH
AS ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT, HOUSING AND
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. HOWEVER, A
MODEL FOR THIS INTEGRATION DOES NOT
ANALYSIS OF COMMUNITIES THAT HAVE
EXPERIENCED DISASTERS REVEALS THAT TOO
OFTEN IN THE RUSH TO RETURN TO “NORMAL,”
REBUILDING OCCURS IN SUCH A WAY AS TO
RECREATE, AND OFTEN INCREASE EXPOSURE TO
REPEAT HAZARDS, WHILE NOT TAKING INTO
CONSIDERATION LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE
EVENT SUCH AS THE PROTECTIVE ROLE OF
FORESTS AND DENSE VEGETATION BUFFERS.
SUCH RAPID REBUILDING TENDS NOT TO BE
BASED ON PLANS DEVELOPED BEFORE THE EVENT
THAT IDENTIFIED SAFETY SET-BACK DISTANCES,
CREATION OF BUFFER ZONES AND OPTIMAL LAND
USES.
Cumulatively, these annual events result in significant losses.
Reduction of this complex exposure can only be achieved through an
integrated approach to coastal zone management. An integrated
intersectoral approach consists of THREE PRIMARY PHASES:
• Phase I: Hazard Vulnerability and Risk Assessments
• Phase II: Mitigation Strategy Planning
• Phase III: Institutional Issues (to encourage planting of forests and
trees as part of coastal management and cost–benefit analysis to
assist decision-makers to evaluate forest and tree planting
programmes in relation to local social, economic and environmental
priorities)
Phase I: Hazard vulnerability and risk assessments
Phase I establishes the baseline context for integrated
decision-making. It consists of four parts:
Part I: Define the boundaries of the project area (entire
country, one community, etc.)
Part II: Hazard identification
Part III: Vulnerability assessment
Part IV: Risk assessment
Part I.2: Define the boundaries of the project area Objectives:
The coastal hazard assessment will be used as the foundation for long-term coastal
management planning. Because of the multipurpose, multisectoral uses to which the
assessment will be applied, a map of the study area is important. Define mapping protocols
: Define scale and reconcile data sets for baseline variables and features for orientation
which could include:
• coastline and offshore limits of interest;
• waterbodies (rivers, lakes, other inland waterbodies);
• topography;
• major ecosystem features (forests, dunes, others);
• major transportation linkages that may constrain the area available for planting; and
• land uses that impact (or possibly encroach into) ecosystems.
2.2 Part II: Hazard identification Objectives:
Threats vary within comparatively short geographic distances and not all
hazards constitute important threats to each community. It is therefore
necessary to define hazards for further analysis and characterization. Identify
key hazards: On a national basis, the probability of specific hazards occurring in
individual communities will differ depending on such variables as climate,
geology, bathymetry/topography, coastal geometry and land-use patterns. For
some hazards, the entire community will have similar susceptibility, such as
from a cyclone. For others, such as flooding, some portions of the community
may be impacted more than others; for example, low-lying areas are more
susceptible to inundation. For this reason it is important to obtain maps for as
many types of hazards as possible and to clearly delineate the specific
characteristics and small-scale locationbased variables that will become
important considerations when developing a mitigation strategy.
Define incidence of previous disasters and document impacts:
There are extensive data on damage from the 2004 tsunami. In addition to
the tsunami, it is important to analyse damage from lesser, but more
frequent, events to begin assessing cumulative past losses. An electronic
version of data sets will facilitate correlation of multiple variables using GIS.
In some cases GIS maps may not be available, in which case it will be
necessary to rely on qualitative information such as oral histories.
For each hazard, variables could include, but not be limited to:
• inundation boundaries;
• other location indicators; and
• general characteristics including, but not limited to, secondary effects such
as location of scour, sediment transport and others.
2.3 Part III: Vulnerability assessment Objectives: The vulnerability
assessment identifies features that are susceptible to damage
including ecosystems and artificial structures. Societal variables,
including demographic profiles and sites of potential human
mortality such as hospitals and schools, are also defined. Identify
and characterize impacts from prior events: Within the area
identified during the Hazard Analysis, identify and characterize
damage and impacts of prior disasters as well as those impacts that
can be expected from future events such as coastal flooding, riverine
flooding, landslides, cyclones and tsunamis.
Ecosystem features (offshore and onshore):
Ecological features in the offshore and nearshore environments have dual importance because: (a) they are
prone to damage — such as coral reefs, dunes and vegetation including trees, shrubs and grasses; and (b)
they can reduce damage farther inland. They are the first line of protection against most coastal hazards
because they create friction, thereby mitigating the forces of strong winds and waves. Offshore:
• Coral reefs o Reefs constitute natural breakwaters that can reduce coastal erosion. o The health of coral is
indicative of many phenomena which need to be examined. For example, erosion elsewhere can result in
sediment, which is being transported and deposited on the reef; unhealthy reefs can also be indicative of
poor water quality, or of extreme turbulence during cyclone flooding.
• Sand dunes, berms, wetlands and marshes o The presence and condition of dunes and/or berms/wetlands
reduce impact and velocity. o The health of dunes and berms is indicative of various phenomena, including
sediment transport, and deposition rate influenced by erosion, or (conversely) the stabilizing influence of
planting programmes.
• Indications of bank erosion from scouring o Scouring and bank erosion impact vegetation by undercutting
the buffer from direct wave impacts. It also results in sediment transport which can negatively impact the
microecosystem.
Phase II: Mitigation strategy planning
Phase II establishes the means to reduce the risk of losses. Such loss reduction
is achieved through the application of mitigation tools and implementation
strategies that address risk characteristics that are defined during the risk
assessment. The Mitigation Phase consists of two parts:
Part I: Identify mitigation tools;
Part II: Evaluate and select mitigation tools.
Part I: Identify mitigation tools Objectives: A variety of actions to reduce the
likelihood of losses are identified. Specific objectives and implementation
priorities are tailored to community needs and the characteristics of hazard
exposure. Engineered approaches: Engineered barriers must be able to
withstand overtopping wave forces at crest level. Such barriers are expected to
remain stable during the progression of the storm event
Breakwaters and seawalls:
A breakwater is an offshore structure providing protection from wave energy or by deflecting
currents. A seawall is a hard coastal defense constructed onshore to prevent the passage of
waves and to dissipate energy. Modern seawalls tend to be curved to deflect wave energy
back, thereby reducing forces. In the event of overtopping, designs typically incorporate
drainage systems. Seawalls can be effective defenses in the short term. In the long term,
however, the backwash tends to be reflected to the beach material beneath and in front of
the seawall, which is erosive. Specific design solutions and ongoing maintenance are
important considerations to reduce such negative effects.
Dykes and levees:
A dyke (also known as a levee) is an artificial earthen wall built along the edge of a body of
water such as a river or the sea to prevent flooding. Dykes are often found where low banks
or dunes are not strong enough to protect against flooding. Dykes and levees require regular
maintenance, which, if neglected, can have disastrous consequences.
Revetments:
Revetments on banks or bluffs are placed in such a way as to absorb the energy of incoming
waves. They may be either watertight, covering the slope completely, or porous, to allow
water to filter through after the wave energy has been dissipated.
ANY QUESTIONS???

GRACIAS!!!