Coastal Erosion Farce

mike65

Edit from Irish Spatial Strategy pdf

Coastal Zone Management

SUMMARY AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS

Coastal Erosion/Coastal Deposition

There is firm evidence that rising sea levels, increasing storm frequency, and
wave energy can increase the rate of erosion and incidence of flood-related events (e.g. landlord incursion, wave damage flooding etc) in some areas of the coast.

Some 1500Km of the coastline are at risk from erosion, while some 490Km are in immediate danger. The rate of erosion is currently estimated at 0.2-1.6 metres per annum although rates will vary according to the materials. Some 130-160 Ha of land was lost through coastal erosion in the 1980s.

The areas most vulnerable to coastal erosion are the soft coastlines of the east coast between County Down and County Wexford.

Sea Level Change

Sea level change around the coast of Ireland is estimated at 17-31 cm. over the next 30 years. The difficulty in predicting such change means a wider range of anywhere between 5cm and 46 cm is possible.

The mean annual rise in sea level is likely to be of the order of 0.2mm with an
overall rise between 1990 and 2030 of 0.3m.

The rise in sea level would have serious effects on the coastline, increased
erosion, flooding, breaching of coastal defences and loss of habitat and amenity.

The country would not be affected uniformly; sea-level changes will impact on the south and southeast first then spreading northwards. The greatest impact of flooding would be felt in the urbanised east coast and in the 3 major cities located on the coast, Dublin, Cork and Galway.

On the west coast counties from Cork to Donegal and the Shannon Estuary, the likelihood is that some 150,000 Ha of land is vulnerable to loss by sea-level rise. In addition to loss of land through gradual inundation, the increased storminess and severity of storms expected as the climate changes will exacerbate the potential for coastal damage. The 100-year return period for incidences of extreme levels of water can be expected to be reduced to 5 years.

Overall some 176,000 Ha of coastal land is at risk from sea-level change.

From NDP 2007-2013

Coastal Protection Sub-Programme
Some €23 million will be spent under this Sub-Programme to protect the coastline from erosion and manage the problem of coastal flooding so as to minimise its impact on the commercial and social activities of coastal communities.

The planned investment under the NDP will be a mixture of risk evaluation,development of procedures and guidance for scheme selection,Planning and Development assistance and capital projects of both a hard and soft engineering nature.In areas where protection is not provided,the establishment of surge forecasting and warning systems can help to significantly mitigate flood damage.A list of prioritised capital
projects to be carried out under the Plan will flow from the information framework developed under the Plan.

Funding will be provided for the completion of the National Coastal Protection Strategy Study.This will identify areas at risk from erosion and flooding and will quantify damages arising.The situation,with or without global warming induced sea level rise,will be examined.Initial results from a pilot area on the East coast are expected to be available in Spring 2007.

In areas where the necessity for protection schemes are identified,funding will be provided to the relevant Local Authorities by means of a grant payment.Funding will be on a 75%contribution by the Department
of Communications,Marine and Natural Resources and 25%contribution from the Local Authority.

If you live on the soft east coast I'd be a little worried at such a pathetic level of funding.

Mike.

lostinsuperfunk

landlord incursion

??!!!
I thought you were messing with us, mike65, but it's in the original pdf too!

Slice

Maybe if the 23 million euro were in five euro denominations and stacked together it could at least be used as a wall to protect some of the coastline...