Future Coasts

Currently, we have a rapidly changing coast due to climatic drivers such as sea level rise, as well as socioeconomic drivers such as population growth and migration towards the coast. Adaptation will be essential in the future development of coastal region, ranging from hard engineering measures to retreating from the sea’s impacts to the hinterland. We must adapt early and deal with uncertainty, and new approaches such as adaptive management and adaptation pathways are coming more and more essential in dealing with uncertainties. Coastal community stakeholders must be involved in the planning and decision making processes, considered both nature and society’s system dynamics in an integrated coastal zone management. There are various processes and tasks along the coasts that people are facing including coastal protection, recreation and tourism, shipping and harbor industries, fisheries and aquaculture, environmental and water quality management, and the production of energy and building materials. Integrated coastal zone management aims to mitigate and reduce risks from flooding and sustainably use coastal resources. We must have measures that are founded on ecosystem values, which are called ecosystem-based management. Examples are given of this ecosystem-based management. 

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