Many communities across the UK are living with the impacts of coastal erosion, none more so than in the east of England. There, some areas are currently seeing shorelines recede by several metres per year, and this will accelerate with sea level rise. Homes, businesses and assets are often lost to the sea, with the effects extending far beyond the shoreline. Cascading impact can be felt on services, the economy and community cohesion.
It is not always feasible, affordable or even desirable to protect the entire coast against erosion. Continued release of sediment is often an essential component of a well-functioning and resilient coastline – when erosion removes sediment from one area, it can be deposited somewhere else, and that continual supply of sediment is required to maintain healthy beaches.
At present, the communities impacted by erosion are not funded or supported in adapting to accelerating coastal change, despite the important function and economic benefit of the continued supply of sediment. Therefore, Coastal Partnership East appointed Moffatt & Nichol to lead a team from the British Geological Survey, University College London and Risk & Policy Analysts to explore the concept of the Circular Sediment Economy.
Funded through the Flood and Coast Innovation Programme, this work aims to develop projections of coastal change across a frontage of more than 50 miles over the next 30 years, utilising emerging modeling tools to simulate how these complex coastal systems respond to human interventions and the effects of climate change.
Alongside this, a benefits framework is being developed to quantify the economic impact of different interventions over time. For the first time, the economic benefit of sediment released to our coastlines is being quantified, not just in terms of flood and erosion risk, but to the coast as whole, for example in providing healthy beaches for amenity, or dune habitats.
By linking the services provided by sediment back to its source, we aim to quantify the value erosion provides to the nation, which can in time be utilised to justify investment to enable the affected communities to adapt to unprecedented rates of change.
The project is being delivered in a collaborative way, with the Coastal Partnership East (CPE) team integral to the development of the geomorphological and economic models, to equip them with the knowledge and skills to utilise these tools, and providing CPE with a lasting legacy.
