Building with Nature: in search of resilient storm surge protection strategies

Low-lying, densely populated coastal areas worldwide are under threat, requiring coastal managers to develop new strategies to cope with land subsidence, sea-level rise and the increasing risk of storm-surge-induced floods. Traditional engineering approaches optimizing for safety are often suboptimal with respect to other functions and are neither resilient nor sustainable. Densely populated deltas in particular need more resilient solutions that are robust, sustainable, adaptable, multifunctional and yet economically feasible. Innovative concepts such as ‘Building with Nature’ provide a basis for coastal protection strategies that are able to follow gradual changes in climate and other environmental conditions, while maintaining flood safety, ecological values and socio-economic functions. This paper presents a conceptual framework for Building with Nature that is used to evaluate coastal protection strategies, based on a case study of the Holland coast in the Netherlands. The added value and the limitations of these strategies are discussed.

[1]  C. Field.  Managing the risks of extreme events and disasters to advance climate change adaption , 2012 .

[2]  C. Folke,et al.  Linking Social and Ecological Systems: Management Practices and Social Mechanisms for Building Resilience , 1998 .

[3]  Jerome R. Ravetz,et al.  Challenges in the use of science for sustainable development , 1998 .

[4]  S. Hutchinson,et al.  Towards a sustainable coast: an integrated coastal zone management framework for Shanghai, People's Republic of China , 2001 .

[5]  K. Lulofs,et al.  Implementing "building with nature" in complex governance situations , 2011 .

[6]  Jordan.  Working With Nature , 1998 .

[7]  S. Temmerman,et al.  Sedimentation and response to sea-level rise of a restored marsh with reduced tidal exchange: Comparison with a natural tidal marsh , 2011 .

[8]  M. Stive,et al.  Modelling shoreface profile evolution , 1995 .

[9]  P. Rönnbäck,et al.  Ecosystem services of the tropical seascape: interactions, substitutions and restoration , 2003 .

[10]  H. L. Kleef,et al.  Pilot assessment of depth related distribution of macrofauna in surf zone along Dutch coast and its implications for coastal management , 2008 .

[11]  C. S. Holling.  Adaptive Environmental Assessment and Management , 2005 .

[12]  R. Scholes,et al.  Ecosystems and human well-being: current state and trends , 2005 .

[13]  I. Overeem,et al.  Sinking deltas due to human activities , 2009 .

[14]  J. W. Kamphuis.  Coastal engineering¿quo vadis? , 2006 .

[15]  J. D. Ruig.  Coastline management in The Netherlands: human use versus natural dynamics , 1998 .

[16]  J. Jiggins,et al.  Social learning: an alternative policy instrument for managing in the context of Europe's water. , 2007 .

[17]  R. E. Waterman,et al.  Integrated coastal policy via Building with Nature , 2010 .

[18]  An ensemble study of extreme North Sea storm surges in a changing climate , 2009 .

[19]  R. O'Neill,et al.  The value of the world's ecosystem services and natural capital , 1997, Nature.

[20]  R. Spanhoff,et al.  MORPHOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS AND COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT IN THE NETHERLANDS. , 2003 .

[21]  A. Sterl,et al.  An ensemble study of extreme storm surge related water levels in the North Sea in a changing climate , 2009 .

[22]  W. Hazeleger,et al.  Dutch coasts in transition , 2009 .

[23]  Claudia Pahl-Wostl,et al.  Towards sustainability in the water sector – The importance of human actors and processes of social learning , 2002, Aquatic Sciences.

[24]  S. Carpenter,et al.  Social-Ecological Resilience to Coastal Disasters , 2005, Science.

[25]  Jan P.M. Mulder,et al.  Sustainable development of nourished shorelines; Innovations in project design and realisation , 2010 .

[26]  P. H. Nienhuis,et al.  Changing Estuaries, Changing Views , 2006, Hydrobiologia.

[27]  Carrie V. Kappel,et al.  Ecosystem Services as a Common Language for Coastal Ecosystem‐Based Management , 2010, Conservation biology : the journal of the Society for Conservation Biology.

[28]  A. Wals,et al.  Student Attitudes Towards and Skills for Sustainable Development , 2014 .

[29]  Wiebe E. Bijker.  The Oosterschelde Storm Surge Barrier: A Test Case for Dutch Water Technology, Management, and Politics , 2002 .

[30]  P. W. French.  Managed realignment The developing story of a comparatively new approach to soft engineering , 2006 .

[31]  L. Denys.  Environmental changes in man-made coastal dune pools since 1850 as indicated by sedimentary and epiphytic diatom assemblages (Belgium) , 2003 .

[32]  R. Turner,et al.  A cost–benefit appraisal of coastal managed realignment policy , 2007 .

[33]  Marcel J. F. Stive,et al.  Holocene Evolution of the Coast of Holland , 1992 .

[34]  M. Stive,et al.  Living with Sea-Level Rise and Climate Change: A Case Study of the Netherlands , 2008 .

[35]  Robert Costanza,et al.  A new vision for New Orleans and the Mississippi delta: applying ecological economics and ecological engineering , 2006 .

[36]  Robert Costanza,et al.  The Value of Coastal Wetlands for Hurricane Protection , 2008, Ambio.

[37]  Sven Erik Jørgensen,et al.  Ecological Engineering and Ecosystem Restoration , 2003 .

[38]  J. Rotmans,et al.  The transition in Dutch water management , 2005 .

[39]  Wilco Hazeleger,et al.  Exploring high-end climate change scenarios for flood protection of the Netherlands , 2008 .

[40]  Marten Scheffer,et al.  Critical Transitions in Nature and Society , 2009 .

[41]  C. S. Holling,et al.  Resilience, Adaptability and Transformability in Social–ecological Systems , 2004 .

[42]  Hein van Bohemen,et al.  Critical Transitions In Nature And Society, Princeton Studies in Complexity, M. Scheffer. Princeton University Press (2009), ISBN 0691122040, 30,95 US$ , 2010 .

[43]  R. Misdorp,et al.  Climate of coastal cooperation , 2011 .

[44]  I. Mcharg.  Design With Nature , 1969 .

[45]  Stephen Farber,et al.  The value of coastal wetlands for protection of property against hurricane wind damage , 1987 .

[46]  Bregje K. van Wesenbeeck,et al.  How ecological engineering can serve in coastal protection , 2011 .

[47]  A. Troy,et al.  Linking Ecology and Economics for Ecosystem Management , 2006 .

[48]  Richard C. Thompson,et al.  An ecological perspective on the deployment and design of low-crested and other hard coastal defence structures , 2005 .

[49]  Jeroen C. J. H. Aerts,et al.  Climate Adaptation and Flood Risk in Coastal Cities , 2013 .

[50]  E. Barbier,et al.  The present and future role of coastal wetland vegetation in protecting shorelines: answering recent challenges to the paradigm , 2011 .

[51]  M. Price.  Panarchy: Understanding Transformations in Human and Natural Systems , 2003 .

[52]  Rodger Benson Tomlinson,et al.  Profile Response and Dispersion of Beach Nourishment: Gold Coast, Australia , 2009 .