Shoreline management plans in England and Wales: a scientific and transparent process

Coastal change, including severe winter storms, requires decision-makers to understand the nature of coastal hazards so they can manage the risks and protect coastal communities. This study has provided the first structured quantitative analysis of the scientific underpinning and transparency associated with key policies dictating the future of the coastline in England and Wales. Based on a content analysis of first and second generation shoreline management plans, it has queried the visibility, clarity and transparency of evidence. Results point to improved evidence and understanding at the regional-scale, but issues associated with the transparency of the science informing policy at local levels. Inconsistencies in performance appear to relate to differing approaches of the consultancies preparing the plans rather than the nature of the coasts, the types of policies or the government guidance informing plan development. The study points to a need for a more thorough quality assurance process at national level and calls for clearer guidance on how these regional coastal adaptation plans and their supporting science should be read and interpreted by relevant stakeholder audiences. There are clear lessons from this study for planning processes elsewhere, especially those involving the downscaling of regionally based data and information. There are also potential applications of our criteria-based approach to other planning systems which require scientific scrutiny and transparency

Adapting to Climate Change in the Severn Estuary Area: The Corporate Response by Local Government

Adapting to climate change is a major challenge for local governments across Europe. This is particularly true for the local governments bordering the dynamic Severn Estuary. Like elsewhere in Europe, the multiple local authorities bordering the Severn, have many functions and are in a unique position to prepare for, and adapt to, anticipated climate change impacts. This paper summarises the results of a Severn Estuary Planning Review. This evaluated local government corporate responses to climate change and reviewed related policies in the development plans of the planning bodies around the estuary. The study revealed areas of policy coherence and divergence. Despite all the local governments having signed up to national political declarations on climate change and having devised or being in the process of devising climate change strategies, the focus remains on mitigation. The limited reference to shoreline management and Integrated Coastal Zone Management poses obstacles to coordinated action, much needed on an estuary divided by administrative borders and institutional barriers. These findings suggest a need for further policy guidance to support local policy development. Whilst presenting examples of good practice, relevant to local governments elsewhere, the stocktaking procedure also has potential for application elsewhere

Welsh legislation in a new era: a stakeholder perspective for coastal management

In Wales, there has been a concerted change in policy direction with a suite of new legislation developed since 2013. Together, these Acts are being presented as a mechanism for affecting real change in how social, economic and environmental issues are addressed across Wales, with a particular focus on an integrated and holistic approach to policy and management across all sectors. From a coastal ecosystem perspective, these Acts have the potential to improve coordination of management, resulting in more sustainable, long-term solutions to the challenges facing Welsh coastal areas. However, despite the positive rhetoric currently being presented alongside these governance changes, their impact remains to be seen. In order for the legislation to realise its expected successes, engagement with practitioners charged with implementing these new Acts is crucial to understanding the opportunities, challenges, successes and failures. Using saltmarshes as a lens through which to examine this new legislation, this paper presents the findings of a series of interviews with stakeholders from north Wales, providing an insight into coastal practitioners’ views of what the legislative changes mean for them. The paper also identifies potential challenges and opportunities associated with the new legislation in the context of coastal management. A SWOT analysis is used to inform a discussion of how the successful application of this innovative, and ground-breaking, suite of legislation in Wales may be achieved. The research found stakeholders to be generally positive about the new legislation, and the changes to coastal management that they signal across Wales. Opportunities discussed included supporting greater collaboration, cross-sector working, interdisciplinarity and the potential to provide a blueprint for the rest of the UK as it navigates the EU exit process. Despite this positivity, concerns were expressed regarding funding and staff resources, lack of adequate support around implementation, among others. This integrated approach to coastal governance clearly stands as an opportunity to bridge traditional sectoral gaps, and instigate more effective dialogue between stakeholders

Creating a climate for learning-experiences of educating existing and future decision-makers about climate change

Climate change is one of the most serious issues to affect modern society. What originated as a scientific question has evolved into a complex political and social issue. The policy context recognises the pivotal role of education in encouraging effective engagement and behavioural responses to projected climate changes. It is relatively easy to nod assent to the principles of climate change education and engagement, but harder to deliver. This paper explores experiences of educating and engaging current and future decision makers, namely pupils, teachers, charity workers, small business owners and councillors on the subject of climate change in Wales. It draws conclusions about the existing climate for learning as well as the potential for overcoming challenges associated with information needs of these existing and future decision-makers. It considers the broader issue of whether current climate change information and education frameworks are fit for purpose and able to support effective climate change mitigation and adaptation activities. The findings suggest that many climate change communications from international organisations are not being received or understood at local levels, indicating a need for further and simpler ‘translation’ of science. Despite a strong formal education system in Wales, there are variations in basic skills (such as map reading and graph interpretation), required for simple climate change science interpretation. Finally, our results point to a need for climate literacy to be gained through interactive long-term learning rather than one-off training, particularly given some of the entrenched views of the older age groups involved in the study

Satellite remote sensing can provide semi-automated monitoring to aid coastal decision-making

Coastlines are projected to face unprecedented pressures over the next century due to climate change-induced changes in sea level, storm, wave, and tidal regimes. This projection of increasing pressure is driving a reappraisal of existing shoreline management practices, with both science and policy calling for future strategies to work with the natural protection provided by coastal habitats such as salt marshes. However, we currently lack the understanding of long-term ecosystem dynamics required to incorporate these habitats into the definitive predictions of risk relied on in coastal protection planning. Satellite remote sensing has the potential to provide data that could address this knowledge gap with its frequent repeat times and global coverage facilitating the production of high temporal frequency time-series over large areas. This study sought to explore this potential in one of the largest coastal plain estuaries the in the UK, the Severn Estuary. The Random Forest machine learning algorithm was used to develop a time-series of marsh extents across the estuary from 1985 to 2020 in Google Earth Engine, with widths also extracted as a proxy for the marshes’ protective capacity. These changes were monitored in six areas that contained the most significant areas of salt marsh across the estuary. This analysis revealed a significant increasing trend in extent and widths (p 90% and a strong agreement found between the detected widths and those found in previous surveys. These findings demonstrate that satellite remote sensing combined with machine learning has the potential to provide valuable insights into changes in the extents of marshes and therefore their protective capacity. This information can be useful in the coastal planning process, allowing decision-makers to assess the sustainability of existing defences fronted by marshes, as well as allowing them to make informed decisions about the location of restoration schemes