Is het de natuur of de mens die een bedreiging vormt voor kusten en polders?
Baeteman, C. (1998). Is het de natuur of de mens die een bedreiging vormt voor kusten en polders? Meded. Zitt. K. Acad. Overzeese Wet. = Bull. séances Acad. r. sci. O.-m. 44(2): 257-273
In: Mededelingen der Zittingen van de Koninklijke Academie voor Overzeese Wetenschappen = Bulletin des Séances de l'Académie royale des Sciences d'Outre-Mer. Koninklijke Academie voor Overzeese Wetenschappen: Bruxelles. ISSN 0001-4176, more
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| Keywords |
Coastal management
Erosion > Coastal erosion
Polders
Shorelines
Marine/Coastal |
| Author keywords |
Coastal dynamics; Land subsidence; Economic and tourism development |
| Abstract |
Is it Nature or Man which is Threatening Coasts and Polders? — About 50% of the world population lives along the coastal fringe, one of the most fragile, but dynamic environments on earth. Coastal areas are subject to impacts resulting from a great variety of natural hazards. However, some hazards are closely associated with human settlements and the inappropriate actions of men. The emphasis will be put on coastal hazards involved by human activities which can destabilize socio-economic systems, the consequences of which can be tragic and painful. The vast flat plains along major rivers, which belong to the most densely populated areas in the world because of their favourable geographical location, are continuously threatened with coastal erosion, storms, salt-water intrusion, disturbance of the natural drainage, and above all, flooding. These floods, in fact inherent to the development of coastal lowlands, would not be hazardous if so many lives were not involved. The consequences of human intervention in such coastal plains will be illustrated, as well as the conflict between accelerating seafront development and the hazards inherent to water’s edge building which is nothing but a policy dilemma. The vulnerable situation of sinking cities and shoreline erosion will be considered focusing on the natural processes in dynamic coastal environments and the need for a proper coastal zone management system. |
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