University provides framework on coastal infrastructure

Heavy storms during winter caused damage to the beach and some car parks at Apollo Bay.

MARINE ecologists are urging a serious rethink of Australia’s coastal infrastructure.

Scientists from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) have recently released a framework for guiding the building and management of coastal infrastructure.

Locally, coastal infrastructure has been under the spotlight. Last week, Corangamite federal member Libby Coker said the Coalition’s promised $6 million to protect her electorate’s coastal environments was inadequate.

Coker’s criticism was about the need to protect infrastructure as well as the environment.

“It’s not only sand dunes that are being washed away, but roads, footpaths and even toilet blocks,” she said.

Storms during winter also washed away large amounts of sand from Apollo Bay’s beaches, affecting car parks close to the Great Ocean Road.

UNSW’s framework looks to ensure that coastal infrastructure is built in a coast-effective and environmentally friendly way.

The university’s school of biological, earth and environmental sciences Dr Mariana Mayer Pinto said the impacts of climate change must be considered when building on the coast.

“More than 40 per cent of the global population live within 100km of the coast, so coastal ecosystems and biodiversity are arguably the most impacted by the combined effects of climate change and urbanisation.

“Our framework proposes some creative, evidence-based changes to the design of built infrastructure that should increase the overall resistance and resilience of coastal systems.”

UNSW Dean of Science, Professor Emma Johnston, says environmental impacts are often overlooked with coastal infrastructure.

“There’s a lack of policy and incentives driving ecologically sustainable development on or below the waterline – often, decision makers are choosing the option that works for navigation or coastal defence, but they’re missing the opportunity to design for nature as well.”

The UNSW framework considers different factors coastal communities face around the world.

It is the first framework to look at the building and management of coastal infrastructure at a global scale.