Environmental disruption from coastal development and human activities

Current Event in Physical Geography

The article by Cornelia Dean "The Aftermath: Costs of Shoring up Coastal Communities" discusses the issues of environmental conversation among populations living next to the sea. Many countries enjoy enormous continuous coastline as compared to others. A country such as Australia has its coastline stretching to about 60,000 kilometers including its islands. The focus also includes close to 10,000 separate beaches. In the world, two-thirds of people living in towns and cities built next to the prime areas take advantage of benefits related to the coastline. Coastal management arrangements include the application and protection of such vast areas like estuaries and other marine ecosystems (Dean (a) 4). The changing evolution of the coastline makes the areas have a natural influence from rainfall, ocean currents, wind, tidal movements, and waves.

The article presents that the coastal zone houses have extended potentially with respect to the use of commercial, settlement, and recreational engagements. The instrumentation holds more cultural and social values for non-Indigenous and Indigenous populations alike. However, in the recent past, human enjoyment and use of the coastline is greatly disrupting processes that translate the intricate ecosystems. The scope of human activities is reduced to the biodiversity of coastlines that help in the maintenance of health. Smaller organisms from the coastal ecosystems are narrowed down to the first link food chains (Dean (a), 3). The implication of population extinction or reduction has an inevitable reverberate across the entire chain. The significant techniques that humans are impacted upon the coastline are fundamental topics in coast management activities.

Critically, the construction of houses across swamps and lagoons, the use of wetlands as landfills, and the development of more sand dunes to establish 'prime' real estate for recreational purposes affect the coastline negatively. Removal of vegetation contributes significantly in the reduction of biodiversity and causing disruption of natural processes forming intricate coastal ecosystems. For example, beaches are established through ongoing erosion and deposition cycles for sand. Storms cause erosion for beaches and their sand that is later re-deposited through the larger waves. In case humans attempt the use of such areas for housing and recreation, the natural cycle faces interruption while sand banks face depletion. With time, this destroys most of the world's beautiful beaches. Although cliff-top housing esthetically pleases, homeowners are dangerous as they interfere with the natural processes (Dean (a) 3). However, their extraction needs quarrying of beaches to disrupt natural cycles forming sand banks while destroying many animals and plants habitats (Dean (b) 6). People also utilize coastlines for purposes of recreational and tourism.

In my opinion, for purposes of enhancing the navigational potential within the coastline, natural channels are deepened or widened through the removal of earth from bottom waterways through processes of dredging. The outcomes include destruction of bottom-dwelling habitats of benthic organisms living within sediments as removed. The stone breakwaters stretch far out into the sea while constructing regions around marinas and ports to lessen the impacts of tidal fluctuations and waves (Dean (b) 5). The negative consequences of the hindered mineral deposition processes and natural erosion have similar content to the ones in inland shores. Vast tracts of land are covered using concrete and bitumen in many large cities that supply enormous rainwater run-off and contaminated storm water amounts. The pollution levels of waterways cause damage to the fragile coastal ecosystems. The additions to such contaminants include petroleum-related pollutants that are emitted from large ships, ferries, and motorboats. The pollutants account for between twenty and thirty percent of marine pollution.

The opposing argument is presented by Cornelia Dean's article "Growing and Growing Vulnerable: Barrier Islands Feeling the Effects of Climate Change" that presents the implications of cost control of off-shoring activity. Opponents of aspects of beach nourishment stand that the undeveloped beaches for dealing with storms. The sands shift for barrier islands through migration to the mainland. However, the beach survives through buildings and roads without pinning down policies. In places as northern New South Wales, Queensland, Western, and South Australia, minerals within the beach sand are mined for economic purposes. The sand minerals include zircon, rutile, and ilmenite. In regions of West Australia, calcareous sand found beneath the seabed can be mined to produce limestone and cement. The large Economic Demonstrated Resource of such minerals makes countries qualify as important exporters of the same.

The critical analysis strategy shows that construction of many playgrounds, golf courses, shopping esplanades, beach car parks, and high-rise resorts are some of the common illustrations. Although such developments are enhanced with the lifestyles of people in the residences, holiday experiences for domestic and foreign tourists have caused significantly negative effects on the precious coastal areas. This extends to the less-frequented areas where sand dunes used for recreational purposes is popularized for driving. Excessive sea activities such as boating on river mouths as well as estuaries lead to erosion of riverbanks. In the end, negative effects have been felt on vegetation among other areas that are important for preservation and maintenance of biodiversity, soil composition, and structure. Protection of international coastlines is dependent on people's capacity to adopt sustainable initiatives in coastal management. It is important to include the considerations of balancing competition of the coast while increasing the levels of marine and estuarine reserves protection against the restriction of further development of coastal areas. It is important to conduct research involved in the making of coastal areas through ecologically sustainable ways.

The cost control strategic factor that hinders protection of coastlines includes lack of extensive regulations forwarded to private sector developers. The other one is that there is different governance levels across the world aimed at managing separate coastline areas. In perspective, the responsibilities involved in coastline management include nautical miles limitations for local, Territory and State government administration (Dean (b) 3). Federal governments have the responsibility of managing waters to about 200 nm. The power division complicates matters as environmental implications of the activities undertaken within coastal zones lack a follow-up on the jurisdictional division. The dynamic equilibrium for coastal zones refers to areas of natural change leading to increased human use. The occupation levels are less than 15% Earth's land surface while accommodating close to 40% of the world population. The estimates are 3.1 billion people living within the first 200 kilometers from coastlines.