Coastal management involves developing strategies Essay

Coastal management involves developing strategies that are designed to protect and preserve the coastal environment. The actions of humans have altered the operation of the natural coastal processes. During our fieldwork we have learned the key issues of coastal management and their strategies and the way they address them at Cronulla Beach. The three key geographical processes that shape the coastal environment are erosion, transportation and deposition. The key issues relating to coastal management at Cronulla beach are Pollution, Tourism, Introduced Plants and Population Growth. Pollution is one main key issue at Cronulla beach because people are littering they are eating on the beach. There are factories near the beach which is very bad for the environment as the smoke from the factories is going into the water is not safe as all the toxic will be in the water and it would not be safe for people to swim. Tourist come to the beach as it is a very popular destination for the residents and tourist. During holiday times the population of these areas can double, placing pressure on the infrastructure and environment of the area. Recreational activities like four-wheel driving places pressure on the coastal environment if it is not carefully managed, large dune areas and beaches where vehicles are given access can be highly susceptible to erosion. Population growth is the overdevelopment and rapid growth of coastal areas occur due to the current Australian trend for people to move from large cities to smaller coastal towns and villages where the lifestyle is more relaxed. Introduced plants have areas along east coast which have become invaded by introduced plants. The bitou brush or Chrysanthemoides Monilifera introduced in Australia in 1908. This plant can overtake native vegetation and this would not offer sand dunes have same protection against wind erosion as it is covered by native vegetation. The management strategies used to address the issues at Cronulla Beach is Seabee wall, fencing and signage/ rubbish bins. Seabee walls are used to minimize the impact of erosion behind the wall and protect road, paths and residential area. The slope encourages the wave to move back out to sea. Where it is reducing the speed of the wave and the lip redirects the wave back out to sea. The holes are to trap the water so the wave slows down and  depthposion bought the sand. There are no sand dunes at Elouera or Wanda in Cronulla because they have sand dunes there and the sand dune would protect what is behind it. Fences are a useful management technique used to ensure adequate access to beach for people while protecting the vegetation that stabilizes the sand dunes. The advantage of fence is that they secure the beach, it shows where people are allowed to walk. Signage is very important when it come to beaches as it tells people what you can and cannot do on the beach basically tells you what you are allowed to do on any beach but the signage stops bad things from happening to the beaches and what you are meant to do on the beach. Rubbish bins are just as important it keeps all the litter away from the beach and makes sure that it does not harm the coastal environment and keeps the beach looking neat and tidy and that it is not going into the water and harm the sea creatures that are in the water. People should not have to go and tidy up after other people who dump their rubbish on the beach. In conclusion, there are many things that we can do for the coastal environment and the issues that relate to beaches and how you can management them through strategies and it is also for the future generations it is to preserve and conserve for them so there is still a beach by the time it is the future.