Evaluate the view that coastal management policies are mainly based on economic
judgement (20 marks)
When assessing what coastal management schemes to use, whether that be hold the line,
do nothing, managed realignment or advance the line, a cost benefit analysis is carried out
to place an economic value on both the costs and the benefits that will occur as a result of
the management scheme. An environmental impact assessment is also carried out to look at
how certain management schemes may affect the environment.
Economic judgement plays a vital role in the decision making process when considering
what management scheme or approach should be used. This can be in terms of land value.
Along the Holderness Coastline, farmland is given a grade from 1 to 5, grade 1 being the
best and 5 being the worst in terms of quality. If the majority of the land along a stretch of
coastline is grade 4 and 5 farmland, there will be little benefit from protecting it as the cost of
implementing the most effective schemes of hard engineering to hold the line will be
expensive and therefore not cost effective. There may be more of an incentive to protect the
higher grade farmland as it will have more of an economic contribution. Other land can be of
value, such as where businesses and certain resources are found. For example the
Easington Gas terminal along the Holderness Coast is protected as it provides the UK with
the majority of its gas and without it, a large amount of gas would be needed from
somewhere else. This makes this stretch of the coastline essential and therefore there is a
large incentive to protect it due to the economic benefits that it brings. As of this, economic
judgements are a main contributing factor to determining how coastlines are managed.
Economic judgement is also a main factor in determining coastal management schemes as
the construction and maintenance of certain schemes are very expensive. Hard engineering
methods that hold the line are very expensive to construct due to the materials and
machinery needed. When carrying out a cost benefit analysis, it will be looked at to see if the
cost of constructing the scheme is worth it for the income that will be made by protecting the
land behind it. If the project is deemed to be too expensive, it will either not go ahead or
another, cheaper scheme, such as soft engineering methods, may be considered. Hard
engineering methods also require regular maintenance to ensure that they work effectively,
adding to the costs. If the local authority, who are the decision makers, believe that the costs
are too high, they will not go through with the scheme, thus making economic judgements
vital in coastal management decision making.
However, environmental judgements also contribute when deciding on coastal management
schemes. An environmental impact assessment will be carried out to look into the impacts
that may occur to the surrounding environment. This is important to consider because some
management schemes, especially hard engineering strategies, can be very destructive as
they require the removal of certain habitats that are then replaced by hard structures, often
stone or concrete, which are hard for animals to inhabit. If environmental factors are not
considered, pressure groups consisting of environmentalists may form to oppose the
scheme due to the expected impacts. Environmental judgements also need to be made as
areas that are of importance, such as nature conservation areas, will be important to
protect.
Judgements involving how schemes will affect natural processes are also considered in the
planning process of coastal management schemes. Environmental impact assessments will
also look at how certain schemes will impact the surrounding natural processes. One
process that can be affected is alongside drift, the movement of sediment along a coastline.
If certain management schemes are used, this process can be interrupted. Groynes trap
sediment at the location where they are placed, allowing the beach to build up, for example
the two £1.2 million pound rock groynes at Mappleton. This then means that less sediment
