Problem
Shifting coastlines
Experimental visualization of narrower problems
Other Names:
Unstable coastal zonesMoving shorelines
Changing coasts
Subsiding coastal areas
Nature:
Increasingly shifting ecology of the coastal terrains is a challenge to local communities in developing practical ways of adapting to the constant changes in their environment. Rechannelling upstream of a shallow river allows sea water to to flow further inland. Tidal flooding causes major erosion around houses and salinates much agricultural land, leaving it useless for many crops. The problem of drainage becomes progressively more acute. Shallow wells have a higher salt content, and fresh water may be found in only a few wells further inland. Road construction is impracticable, as it would require many major bridge spans; and tides determine water transport by anything larger than small fishing boats, implying adjustments to schedules and making transportation less adaptable to the community's needs. People are forced to locate farmland away from their villages and thus must travel back and forth. Finally, people begin to leave their villages altogether and relocate near their newly acquired land.
Broader Problems:
Land subsidenceRising sea level Narrower Problems:
Tidal water damageMigrating sand dunesVariable river channelDecreasing coconut productionTidal restrictions on transportation Aggravates:
Coastal erosionSalty paddy fieldsLoss of coastal lagoonsUnstable house structureFragmented community imageLack of coastal developmentDifficult island cultivationExcessive population mobilityThreatened marine coastal habitatsUnsustainable development of coastal zonesEcological disruption of animal breeding groundsProhibitive cost of coastal protection against sea damage Strategies:
Adapting to climate change Values:
InstabilityUnchanging Subject(s):
Geology → Land and coastal formsSocietal Problems → Instability
Society → Communities
Related UN Sustainable Development Goals:
Problem Type:
E: Emanations of other problems Date of last update
08.05.2019 – 20:33 CEST