Working Group on Coastal Erosion

Chair    :Santaram Mooloo, Mauritius
Rapporteur:Nalin Wikramanayake, Sri Lanka

The Working Group proposed a pilot project on Monitoring and Predicting Coastal Shoreline Change Nilan Wikramanayake presented the report. The pilot project has the following characteristics.

• Project Objectives

• Project Components

• Project Execution

• Expected Products

• Product Users

• Capacity-building

• International co-operation

Project Objectives

Assess historical data and place project sites in their geomorphological and hydrodynamical context; establish a program for monitoring changes in coastal morphology and hydrodynamics, by in situ and remote sensing; establish a data exchange network; develop predictive capability.

Project Components

Shoreline and sea-level monitoring; satellite applications; data-exchange network; monitoring of offshore hydrodynamics; forecasting of nearshore conditions; prediction of shoreline change. Community-based monitoring (community, schools, hotels, local government) will be used as far as possible, with organization, motivation and quality control through a central body, and at various levels of technical sophistication.

Project Execution

A phased approach, beginning with assessment and a shoreline monitoring system; incorporation of local funding; then development of analytical and modeling capability as data become available.

Expected Products

Shoreline definition, with quantified variation and trends; sediment budgets for coastal "cells"; GIS showing erosion-prone areas; forecasts of nearshore wave climate; predictions of coastal erosion during extreme events.

Product Users

Coastal-zone managers; coastal communities; developers and owners of hotels and housing estates; port and marina authorities and users; the scientific community.

Capacity-building

• Satellite-data assimilation
• modeling of coastal processes
• GIS applications.

International co-operation

• Data-management design
• data processing and interpretation and exchange
• exchange of expertise in modeling