Sea Level Rise and Climate Change

Sea Level Rise and Climate Change

Rising sea levels are threatening coastal infrastructure and amenities world wide. Projections into the future suggest that rates of sea level rise will increase, further exacerbating the problem. Government recommendations call for the incorporation of sea level rise into all coastal projects. We are looking at a future where coastal assets will have to either be protected, relocated, or abandoned. The team at eCoast keeps abreast of latest science on sea level rise working with clients to ensure that their projects conform with government recommendations and best practice.

While projections for the impacts of sea level rise on New Zealand coasts are bad, the situation is even worse for communities on tropical islands. In these areas extreme warm water episodes have led to large scale bleaching of the coral reefs. This causes the corals to die and erode away, reducing the reef’s ability to dissipate energy through wave breaking. When combined with rising sea levels, even more wave energy crosses over the degraded reef, impacting the shoreline and further amplifying already acute erosion problems. For many places this is a life threatening situation as the islands themselves may sit only a few meters above sea level.

eCoast has worked on numerous climate change and sea level rise adaptation projects in tropical environments with clients ranging from national governments to major NGO’s such as the United Nations Development Programme, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. We work to find and recommend sustainable solutions that will help island communities cope with this existential threat.