Project Summary
BAR highlights the importance of effective beach management for coastal defence, dune rehabilitation, tourism and biodiversity conservation. It has identified beaches suffering greatest erosion on both the Channel coasts, is assessing their susceptibility to predicted sea level rise and increased storminess, identifying nature conservation sites that would be lost or damaged as a result (including vegetated shingle and dunes), and identifying the risks for coastal management. Phase II seeks to further enhance cross-Channel research and sharing of information and expertise by implementing the coherent transnational work programme designed in Phase I to better inform regionally coherent coastal and marine management policies.
Project description
Phase I started in February 2003 and finished in January 2005. Phase II continues established work protocols and implements key work priorities identified by Phase I. The existing communication network will expand significantly, with new organizations becoming involved in the project. The overall aim is to establish a long-term database of empirical research, adequate to inform the region's specific management requirements.The BAR project objectives are to:- increase public understanding of beach management in the region
- identify current beach deficits and their causes on the Channel coasts
- assess future deficit risks with increased storminess and sea level rise
- assess the risk of storm wave inundation and coastal flooding; assess the importance of beach dynamics for biodiversity and nature conservation, with particular reference to coastal and sub-littoral habitats, including vegetated shingle and dune building and rehabilitation
- inform beach management policy and practice, particularly artificial beach replenishment and biodiversity conservation (See ANNEX III)
Phase II expands the transnational communication network and continues and extends the project work to ensure that a database of empirical research, adequate to inform the region's management requirements, is established. SMACOPI becomes a project partner to disseminate information to the public via videos, leaflets, interpretative boards and school packs. Both the Observatoire du Littoral Nord Pas-de-Calais and the Conservatoire du Littoral will participate in meetings and help to direct the work. In the long term, the project aims to be self sustaining through the contributions of participant organizations to ensure coherent transnational monitoring and management of the region's beaches.
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Actions envisaged
Phase I of BAR has established Transnational Collaborative Study Groups (Management, Biodiversity, Geomorphology and Interpretation) to direct the key actions. Key actions envisaged for Phase II are as follows:- 1. Understanding the nature of beach materials: implications for erosion. Work leaders: Université du Littoral, Université de Caen, Université de Rouen,University of Sussex Phase I is collating available data on the nature of beach materials for key sites and is examining the role of beach composition in erosion dynamics. Phase II will extend the work protocol to new sites on both sides of the Channel. Phase I focuses on shingle and mixed beaches on the English and French coasts and sand beaches on the French coast. Phase II will expand this work, using expertise of the Université du Littoral, to examine the dynamics of sand beaches on the English BAR coastline.
- 2. Understanding longshore movement of beach material. Work leaders: University of Sussex, Université du Littoral, Université de Caen, Université de Rouen. Phase I is collating and processing existing data on historic and recent longshore movement of beach material. Transnational exchange of information and expertise has established field experimental protocols to measure actual rates of transport of beach materials alongshore and to establish the direction of movement in relation to prevailing wind and wave conditions. Preliminary results from field experiments will be compared with those estimated by numerical models. Phase II will extend the geographical area of the work to new key sites. More extensive data collection is essential to refine results for testing predictive models. Joint fieldwork missions, using complimentary skills of the French and English research teams, are planned to measure longshore transport rates at key sites on the sand and shingle beaches of the BAR project area.
- 3. Understanding beach volume changes: implications for replenishment. Work leaders: University of Sussex, Université de Caen, Université du Littoral, Université de Rouen, SMACOPI. Phase I is collating, and has started processing, available data on beach volume changes on historic and recent timescales. Regular beach surveys are being conducted at key sites that are both 'natural' and managed in order to relate beach volume changes to the nature of beach material, the nearshore wave climate and management practices including redistribution and replenishment. Phase II will consolidate this work and extend it to additional sites. For example, Phase I identified that replenished beaches characteristically contain a higher proportion of sand and respond differently to wave forcing than either pure sand or pure shingle beaches. Phases II and III will examine controls on beach permeability and its influence on beach response to wave action, particularly on managed beaches.
- 4. Biodiversity: implications of beach volume changes for nature conservation. Work leaders: East Sussex County Council, Université du Littoral, University of Sussex, Kent Wildlife Trust, SMACOPI. Phase I is collating and processing available data on biodiversity of shingle and sand beaches and sea cliffs. Recent declines in species distribution are being mapped. The Biodiversity Officers have devised a new survey system for recording shingle vegetation, trialling it on key sites. Research on the germination and propagation of key shingle plant species and their response to changing beach volumes and sea level rise has begun. Phase II will extend the Phase I vegetation survey protocol to other key sites and habitats, including dune and sub-littoral species, assessing the threats posed by changing beach volumes and sea level rise. The biodiversity expertise input to the project will increase with the involvement of SMACOPI and the Kent Marine Officer. Research on key shingle vegetation species will continue.
- 5. A wider discussion forum to enhance existing transnational dialogue on beach management. Work leaders: East Sussex County Council, Université de Rouen, Université de Caen, University of Sussex, Université du Littoral, Kent Wildlife Trust, SMACOPI. Phase I is reviewing existing beach management practices on the Channel coasts and will produce a preliminary report outlining these. Phase II will expand the established network of experts, creating a wider discussion forum to further enhance transnational dialogue on beach management policies and practice. Members of both the French and English teams also sit on the committees of local and regional authorities who design and implement coastal management strategies. BAR project results will thus feed directly into the region's coastal zone management policies.
- 6. Raise awareness of beach management and conservation issues common to both of the eastern Channel coasts. Work Leaders: East Sussex County Council, SMACOPI, Université du Littoral, Kent Wildlife Trust, University of Sussex. Phase I has undertaken many Public Events to highlight the importance of beach management and nature conservation practices, including - public talks, walks, displays and events such as Marine Mania (August 2003, July 2004 organized by ESCC). Bilingual educational materials and leaflets are being prepared for distribution on both sides of the Channel. Bilingual interpretative panels are being prepared for display at public events and at information centres. Phase II will allow the project to increase the number of Public Events targeting a wider audience on both the French and English Channel coast regions. The involvement of the Kent Wildlife Trust and the particpation of SMACOPI will greatly strengthen this key action.
- 7. Future changes under sea-level rise and increased storminess. Work leaders: Centre National de la Reserche Scientifique, ABPmer, Université de Caen, Université du Littoral, Université de Rouen, University of Sussex. Phase I is collating and analysing existing data on sea level rise and increased storminess for the Channel coasts. This work will continue into Phase II of the project to establish a clearer picture of the increased risk of storm surge inundation. Modelling the behaviour of storm surges has been identified as a key priority and ABPmer joins the project team to work on this in Phase II. The results will be combined with research on beach behaviour and will examine the likely effects on the region's biodiversity.
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Target group
A key element of the project is to transpose scientific findings into information for the public and school children. The multi-sectoral approach allows the project to target different audiences, namely: Coastal managers of the region (local and regional authorities, government agencies, nature conservation bodies, voluntary bodies); Citizens of the region (leaflets, press coverage, public lectures and guided walks, educational materials for schools, colleges, public and visitors); International scientific community (conference presentations and scientific papers).Cross-border nature of the project
BAR highlights beach management problems common to both sides of the Channel and where there are key differences. The Transnational Collaborative Study Groups create an effective dialogue between managers, researchers and interpretation experts who have previously worked in isolation. For example, UK coastal managers share their experience of beach recharge strategies with French counterparts who have begun to consider this within the last few years. Similarly, French researchers experienced in the analysis of wave and climate datasets in order to model future scenarios have advised their English counterparts on data collection for this purpose. Phase II increases the size and scope of the transnational communication network. The bilingual web site is accessible to coastal managers, scientists and citizens of the region. Transnational dialogue and pooled expertise is enhancing understanding of the nature of the region and risks it faces in the coastal zone.Impact on wider cross-border development
Beaches are a vital resource for coastal protection (sheltering low lying areas from flooding; protecting cliffs, historic shingle accumulations and dunes from direct wave attack) and an important tourism resource bringing valuable income to the region. BAR contributes to their effective management, in the face of predicted sea level rise and increased storminess, to ensure that this revenue continues to increase. Their effective management will help to ensure that residential and commercial properties are protected, attracting people to the region and helping to maintain a thriving commercial life. The coastal zone includes sub-littoral and intertidal habitats associated with beaches, dunes, historic shingle accumulations, saline lagoons and associated freshwater habitats of biodiversity importance that will be under threat if beach deficits continue. The project contributes to effective monitoring and management of habitats of regional, national and international nature conservation importance. The project covers a wide geographical area within the INTERREG region, strengthens cross border scientific, management and interpretative collaboration, increases knowledge of our respective environments and makes a significant contribution to effective coastal zone management.Value for money
BAR actively increases transnational dialogue between scientists, coastal managers and citizens of the region. It brings together experts with complementary skills in coastal processes, biodiversity and nature conservation, interpretation and coastal zone management, providing a cost effective way of pooling cross-Channel expertise. Such a co-ordinated approach saves overlap and the sharing of resources and datasets makes the work cost-effective. BAR informs citizens of the importance of beaches for coastal protection, tourism and nature conservation. It informs scientists and coastal managers of the present areas of beach deficit and the growing threat of future enhanced coastal erosion, inundation and loss of biodiversity in the region. The results of empirical research feed directly to coastal zone managers who help to direct the research. The transnational exchange of expertise and information helps significantly to inform coastal zone management. Building on information from Phase I will lead to significant savings as tools, techniques and teams are already in place.BAR provides concrete evidence of the need for effective beach management by collecting raw data that has not previously existed. The transnational dialogue ensures that expertise and information is shared, and the outputs are significant not just at a national level but also at a European level. BAR provides a model for transnational co-operation that can be applied to other comparable situations. Without INTERREG funding the established and proposed enhanced transnational network will be lost since there will be much less opportunity to meet regularly to exchange information and expertise.Future of the project.
In the long term, the project aims to be self sustaining through the contributions of participant organizations to ensure coherent transnational monitoring and management of the region's beaches.Back
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