Erosion A Concern: NDMO
he National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) has raised its concern on erosion.
In the recent tropical depression NDMO director Apakuki Tuifagalele reports or erosion and the major one was at Qamea village in Taveuni, Cakaudrove.
The report received by the NDMO said there were six (6) houses damaged, 17 houses destroyed, Health Centre destroyed , school destroyed, water source and food crops destroyed.
In a release from NDMO is said, “Erosion is the process where soft shorelines (sand, gravel or cobble) disappear and land is lost.”
EROSION GENERALLY COMES IN TWO FORMS: i. A Natural part of the coastal environment where a soft shore moves and changes in response to cyclic climate conditions
ii. Erosion can be induced by human interference of natural sand movement and budget patterns. Erosion can be slow and ongoing over many years or fast and dramatic following large storm events. Many erosion problems in the Pacific today, occur because of poor planning, inappropriate shoreline development, overcrowding, beach mining for building material and due to reef degradation.
Erosion is a Natural Process It is important to understand that erosion is a natural process and in many cases is accompanied by its equal and opposite process “accretion”. Put simply, sandy shorelines are dynamic and should be expected to shift and change over time, sometimes by 100’s of meters. This process becomes an “erosion problem” if development is not carefully planned to avoid unstable shorelines. Major damage has been reported at Dreketi Village on Qamea island following a massive landslide.
Why is it that erosion seems more of a problem these days? In past times, people lived in harmony with their moving coasts. Their houses could be easily moved to and shoreline homes were built in way which did not disturb shoreline processes (eg. On stilts or pylons). People knew and avoided dangerous or unstable locations. Today, building styles have changed and homes cannot be easily moved or replaced and lack of space often results in people building in locations which are known to be inappropriate.
When such buildings are situated too close to a naturally dynamic shoreline we end up with a human settlement and planning problem which is too expensive. The beach has always moved we just forget to plan for this movement. Example: Relocation of Vunidogoloa Village in Vanualevu. (before and after the relocation) WHAT CAUSES COASTAL EROSION? Facebook
Coastal Engineering: Any development which changes how sand moves to, from or along a beach can cause erosion; these include sea-walls, reclamation, groynes. Causeways, boat channels, clearing of coastal vegetation (eg. Mangroves), changing water flow/current patterns, etc.
Beach Mining Of increasing importance is beach aggregate (sand, gravel and rock) mining. As populations grow, the need for housing and infrastructure means that more and more material is being mining from our beaches.
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