IT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE SO HARD! APPROACHES TO FORESHORE MANAGEMENT USING ADAPTIVE NATURE-BASED SOLUTIONS AND LIVING FORESHORES

Abstract

The application of coastal, estuarine and river foreshore stabilization and protection has a history of ‘hard’ engineered solutions. Such approaches create species poor environments and often replace diverse natural foreshores. Not without exception, and other than low energy environments that can accommodate a purely vegetation restoration approach, the application of structures such of vertical and subvertical seawalls, rock revetments or similar have predominated. Increasingly, solutions are demonstrating that foreshore erosion protection, improvement and stabilization can have environmental enhancement and biodiversity improvements at its core and, furthermore, offer nature-based solutions that are adaptive to long term trends, such as sea level rise. The discipline is in a dynamic, rapidly evolving and ultimately exciting phase.