Preventing Mitigating Impacts of Sea Level Increase

Case Study: Climate Change and Dealing with Sea Level Increase

Rising sea levels have emerged as one of the major concerns in today’s world because of the increased devastating impacts of climate change or global warming. While increase in sea levels is expected to affect the whole world, some regions will be affected more than others. One of the regions that will be significantly affected by sea level increase in China based on a recent report from Climate Central. China is among one of the major Asian countries that has experienced tremendous economic growth over the past few years. The country is characterized by faster-growing coastal megacities and a population of more than 145 million people. Actually, these coastal cities account for approximately 70% of China’s big cities and 41% of her population (Chen, p.925). These coastal areas play a critical role in the country’s GDP and national industrial output where they account for 55% and 65% respectively.

The rising sea levels will have considerable impact on plants and animals in China, particularly humans. It’s estimated that sea level increase will affect approximately 145 million people as well as agricultural productivity through changes in rainfall, which will in turn negatively impact irrigation systems (Middlehurst par, 1). Sea level increase will contribute to a coastal retreat of 300m annually in China and result in an average erosion of 25m yearly (Cai et al., p.416). Some of the plants that will be affected by sea level increase in China include tea, lychee, citrus and longgan whereas the affected habitat includes different bird species and freshwater habitats like water deer. Since the sea level increase is expected to affect a wider area and worsen, its relatively difficult for species to migrate or adapt to the new conditions. The ecosystems in these regions are coastal and marine ecosystems, which help in generating renewable energy and agricultural productivity. The greatest impacts of sea level increase on this region include increased coastal erosion, intensified flooding, and saltwater intrusion.

Protection Plan
Given the probable devastating impacts of sea level increase on China’s coastal regions, a protection plan that provides relevant mitigation methods and design is crucial towards preventing or lessening impacts. In light of the severity of the problem, long-term planning and up-to-date protection measures are essential towards preventing and lessening the impacts of sea level increase on China’s coastal regions. 

Long-term planning and updated protection measures should be based on structural and non-structural components. The structural component that would help in preventing/mitigating the impacts of sea level increase in these regions is establishment of hard and soft protection structures. As part of integrated coastal zone management and evaluation, the Chinese government should establish vegetation protection techniques and beach nourishment (Cai et al., p.421). Sea walls should be constructed using civil engineering methods and materials that can withstand wave energy force. The non-structural component that should be implemented by the government is land-use control, banning unreasonable sand reclamation and mining, and establishing rules to govern erosion in these regions. These integrated approaches will help prevent or lessen intensified flooding, coastal erosion, and saltwater intrusion.

Even though these measures would help prevent/lessen the impacts of sea level increase, they have some major drawbacks. One of its drawbacks include high costs of implementation, particularly the costs of constructing a seawall. Secondly, the implementation of these measures requires intensive coordination of various stakeholders, which may be relatively difficult to achieve. Third, some of the proposed measures such as land-use control could be unacceptable to the huge populations living in these coastal regions. Therefore, the successful implementation of these approaches requires intensified planning and huge financial investments.

Works Cited
Cai, Feng, Xianze Su, Jianhui Liu, Bing Li, and Gang Lei. "Coastal Erosion in China under the Condition of Global Climate Change and Measures for Its Prevention." Progress in Natural Science19.4 (2009): 415-26. Print.
Chen, Junyong. "The Impact of Sea Level Rise on China's Coastal Areas and Its Disaster Hazard Evaluation." Journal of Coastal Research 13.3 (1997): 925-30. Print.
Middlehurst, Charlotte. "Chinese Cities Most at Risk from Rising Sea Levels." China Dialogue. China Dialogue, 1 June 2016. Web. 08 Mar. 2018. <https://www.chinadialogue.net/blog/8529-Chinese-cities-most-at-risk-from-rising-sea-levels/en>.