Position Statement on Shoreline Management
Background
Englands coast supports an abundance of wildlife habitats and physical features. These special places depend on the interactions between wind, waves, tides, sediments and geology to shape and sustain thei nature conservation interest. Over time coastal habitats an features change so their effective conservation involves providing sufficient space to allow them to move and evolve in response to the action of the sea.
The Way Ahead
English Nature supports Government policy that all flood and costal erosion risk management schemes should be environmentally acceptable and provides advice to operating authorities on this aspect of all coastal management schemes based on reasoned judgements.
The conservation of important terrestrial and freshwater features that are presently protected by sea defences i a related issue. In the face of rising sea levels defending such sites in situ will often be unsustainable, expensive and exacerbate the problems of the coastal squeeze for intertidal habitats in front of seawalls. In such circumstances the best conservation option will be achieved by manged realignment and re-creating freshwater habitats in sustainable locations elsewhere.
Background
Englands coast supports an abundance of wildlife habitats and physical features. These special places depend on the interactions between wind, waves, tides, sediments and geology to shape and sustain thei nature conservation interest. Over time coastal habitats an features change so their effective conservation involves providing sufficient space to allow them to move and evolve in response to the action of the sea.
The Way Ahead
English Nature supports Government policy that all flood and costal erosion risk management schemes should be environmentally acceptable and provides advice to operating authorities on this aspect of all coastal management schemes based on reasoned judgements.
The conservation of important terrestrial and freshwater features that are presently protected by sea defences i a related issue. In the face of rising sea levels defending such sites in situ will often be unsustainable, expensive and exacerbate the problems of the coastal squeeze for intertidal habitats in front of seawalls. In such circumstances the best conservation option will be achieved by manged realignment and re-creating freshwater habitats in sustainable locations elsewhere.
