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The Growing Need for Coastal Expertise

Up until the 1950s, coastal development was undertaken with minimal consideration of natural processes and unfortunate consequences could be both dramatic and costly.

Increasing development along the world’s shorelines, coupled with increasing knowledge of coastal processes, have lead to legislative controls and design standards which address personal safety, property protection, and preservation of the natural environment. In New Zealand the most influential legislation is the Resource Management Act (1991) and its offshoots: the New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement, Regional Plans and Policy Statements, and District Plans. Legislation and design standards are continually being revised to account for the effects of predicted climate change, increasing knowledge of coastal processes and changes in public values toward the environment.

Given the lack of information defining the controlling coastal processes coupled with the serious consequences of coastal hazards, courts and government officials in particular, are quick to invoke the “precautionary principal”. This principal requires decision makers to err on the side of caution when considering development consents where such uncertainty exists. Official conservatism is also related to the present need to protect property developed earlier in the 20th century when sand spits, foredunes and cliffs had proved so alluring as sites for holiday homes.

In recent decades our understanding of coastal processes has increased due to a great extent to innovative computer-based analysis. In addition, high quality, and longer-term, data sets are becoming available for all types of atmospheric, oceanographic and terrestrial data. Sophisticated modelling these data has greatly improved the predictive abilities of both extreme event and environmental impacts. Coastal consultants must keep up with these changes as they have the crucial task of interpreting and applying scientific advances to enable decision-makers to formulate the best possible judgments.

Choosing Your Coastal Expert

Coastal experts come from a wide range of backgrounds. These include environmental engineering, landscape architecture, and scientific backgrounds such as geography, geology, geophysics and oceanography along with a further array of specializations including information technology, mathematics and statistics.

In addition, consultants may be attached to a variety of organizations including universities, small specialist operations, or multi-discipline corporations. Furthermore, many organizations have outside associations or alliances to provide a broader base of expertise, with project teams being formed to address the diverse legal and technical aspects of any particular project.

The consultant you chose must:

  • have the correct specialization and support-base for your particular situation or project;
  • carry out a scientific process-based investigation for your particular site, and
  • be aware of the most up to date coastal science, and be able to apply this information for your particular project’s advantage.