Coastal Issues

Coastal ecosystems are highly productive containing high biological diversity, rich fishery resources and
significant seabed minerals. Coasts also support a diverse array of related industries (e.g. fisheries and
aquaculture, tourism, shipping, oil and gas industries), which provide enormous economic productivity.
However, the shared demands placed by densely populated coastal regions impose stresses on finite
coastal systems and resources. Some major coastal zone issues include the following:

Urban encroachment
Population movement to coastal areas is represented in the form of tourism, recreation, residential and
industrial development. There is a steady increase of population growth in the zone, whereas the land
area is eroded rapidly. This is expected to create a serious ecological imbalance in the otherwise fragile
ecosystem unless some effective coastal management measures are taken up. The net result is more
and more people and infrastructure being located in high hazard areas, and the consequences would be
drastic. The strategic plan is essential to save a sustainable development for our beaches.

Marine resource exploitation

Coastal resource exploitation includes land, forests, coastal waters and wetlands, sand, minerals,
hydrocarbons, and living marine organisms. These lead to overall decrease in biodiversity.

Coastal Erosion
Coastal erosion is the process by which local sea level rise, strong wave action, and coastal flooding wear
down or carry away rocks, soils, and/or sands along the coast. All coastlines are affected by storms and
other natural events that cause erosion; the combination of storm surge at high tide with additional
effects from strong waves creates the most damaging conditions. The extent and severity of the
problem is worsening with global sea level rise, but it differs in different parts of the world.

In the United States, coastal erosion is responsible for roughly $500 million per year in coastal property
loss, including damage to structures and loss of land. To mitigate coastal erosion, the federal
government spends an average of $150 million every year.

Climate Change and Sea Level Rise

The most widely discussed effect of climate change in the marine and coastal environment is the sea
level rise that provoke great challenge in the longer term. Accompanying sea level rise, are other more
immediate climate change impacts upon coastal and marine areas as, saltwater intrusion into
freshwater aquifers, rising water temperatures (affecting the productivity and distribution of fisheries,
causing algal blooms, and damaging corals), storms and storm surges (which are exacerbating erosion),
and ocean acidification (the changing chemistry of the oceans damaging many marine organisms).

Coastal Floods
Coastal flooding can result from a variety of different causes including storm surges created by storms
like hurricanes and tropical cyclones, rising sea levels due to climate change and by tsunamis. It can
result in a wide variety of socio-economic and environmental impacts on different spatial and temporal
scales. Flooding can destroy coastal habitats and can erode dune systems.
Siltation problems in harbors and estuaries
The closure of the harbor and river mouth, caused by sediment accumulation, is a universal problem
found in various countries such as USA, Italy, Spain, Japan, China and Egypt. It does not only affect
navigation process but also may have adverse impacts on salt marsh habitat and decreasing the
hydraulic capacity of the waterway.

Seawater intrusion into the coastal areas

Seawater intrusion causes salinization of fertile soil in low-lying parts of the inland coastal zone. These
areas can therefore become unsuitable for agriculture with considerable social and economic
consequences. Coastal areas can also become less suitable for habitation due to upwelling of brackish
water and salinization of drinking water wells.

Algal Blooms

An algal bloom is a rapid increase or accumulation in the population of algae in freshwater or marine
water systems. It is often recognized by the discoloration in the water from the algae's pigments. Algal
blooms are the result of a nutrient, like nitrogen or phosphorus from various sources (for
example fertilizer runoff or other forms of nutrient pollution), entering the aquatic system and causing
excessive growth of algae. An algal bloom affects the whole ecosystem. The process of the oversupply
of nutrients leading to algae growth and oxygen depletion is called eutrophication.

Harmful algal blooms, or HABs, occur when colonies of algae — simple plants that live in the sea and
freshwater — grow out of control and produce toxic or harmful effects on people, fish, shellfish, marine
mammals and birds. The human illnesses caused by HABs, though rare, can be debilitating or even fatal.

Threats to Biodiversity
Biodiversity loss has become one of the greatest environmental concerns of the last century, owing to
increasing pressure on the environment by humans combined with the realization that our activities can
seriously threaten the future sustainability of marine species and ecosystems. Marine biodiversity is
threatened by the fact that many of the goods and services provided by marine ecosystems are
exploited in a non-sustainable way. In some cases, marine ecosystems are threatened to the extent that
their structure and function are being jeopardized.

The most serious threats to marine biodiversity are:

 Overexploitation - recreational and commercial

 Pollution
 Habitat destruction and fragmentation
 Non-native species invasions
 Global climate change

Threats to marine biodiversity have widespread social, economic, and biological consequences, the
combination of which could threaten our own existence, including:

 Economic losses through reduced productivity

 Dramatic reductions in the numbers of many popular edible fish and shellfish
  Extinction of species that might be useful in developing new medicines
 Reduced ability of ecosystems to respond to disaster

Coastal Hazards
The coastlines of many countries face high risks of damage from certain types of natural disasters. A
major concern is death and property loss by winds and flooding by hurricanes or cyclones. Along many
densely populated coastlines, the risks of natural disasters are being increased by population growth
and unmanaged development projects, including residential urban development. Wind or water damage
from a cyclone (hurricane), flooding by tsunami, wreckage from an earthquake, or coastal erosion from
storms can affect tourism, fishing, port operations, public works, transportation, housing and industry.

Marine Pollution
The United Nations’ definition of marine pollution is ‘the introduction by man, directly or indirectly, of
substances or energy into the marine environment resulting in such deleterious effects as harm to living
resources, hazards to human health, hindrance to marine activities including fishing, impairment of
quality for use of sea water, and reduction of amenities.’ This definition is restricted to pollution caused
by man for which he has control for abatement. The main types of pollutants affecting our marine
environment are:
1) organic pollution which may come from sewage, waters discharged from food processing plants,
sugar refineries and rum and beer distilleries;
2) plant nutrients, such as fertilizers;
3) toxic substances, which include many industrial wastes such as trace metals and petroleum
hydrocarbons, and agricultural pesticides and herbicides;
4) suspended solids from soil erosion, construction sites and quarrying;
5) solid waste or marine debris;
6) hot water discharges, and;
7) pathogenic organisms including viruses and bacteria.
Oil Spills
Oil spills threaten millions of miles of coastline, river systems, lakes, and terrestrial habitat daily,
particularly where extensive oil drilling, refining, and transport take place. The challenge of managing oil
spills around the world is increasing in complexity and magnitude. Oil spills from the tankers provide
examples of the adverse impacts of large amounts of oil on aquatic and coastline ecosystems. Those
spills closest to shore generally have the greatest adverse effects on the environment since the oil would
not have time to disperse before reaching shore and can significantly impact the sensitive habitats of a
variety of organisms.

Solid Waste Pollution in Coastal Areas

Solid waste is an increasing problem in coastal and marine ecosystems. It is one of the global pollution
problems that, if it is not handled correctly, will continue to get worse every year. Marine waste from
various sources can cause negative impacts on the ecosystem, health, social, and economic environment
of the community. In 2010, researchers estimated that 11% of the 2.5 billion metric tons of waste
produced by 6.4 billion people from the coastal areas of 192 countries is plastic waste. East Asia is the
region with the highest growth of waste products in the world. Five countries from East Asia namely
China, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Thailand are responsible for more than 50% of the total
plastic waste in the oceans.

Pollution that occurs on the coast can cause damage to the marine ecosystem, which includes plastic
debris and heavy metals. Plastic can be degraded into micro-sized debris that is harmful to marine
organisms and poses risks to bodily physiological functions such as disturbance to growth, organ
dysfunction, and impaired reproduction rate of marine biota due to the micro plastic substances as well
as accumulation of harmful hydrophobic substances from the surrounding water before they can be
swallowed by marine animals. Likewise, the increase in heavy metals in sea waters has a severe impact
on ecosystems because it has a high level of toxicity, is persistent, and can cause bioaccumulation and
biomagnification in the food chain. Pollution also harms the metabolism of marine biotas, causing stress,
organ damage, and abnormalities in blood circulation, tumors, and even death