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Reefs for coastal protection and
amenity
The sea is rising, millions of people live on the coast, fish are becoming
scarcer and city sewerage and drainage is becoming more expensive. Such a
recipe for disaster, potentially with millions of people impacted, has
never been seen in modern human history. Coastal protection is becoming
more urgent, when resources and funding are simultaneously becoming less
readily available.
The need to bring robust science into solving this massive global problem
has never been more necessary. At Sanctuary Beach, the environment is given
priority. Every option is tested using sophisticated computer models.
Globally there are three main categories of coastal protection
methodologies: beach nourishment, rock walls or groynes. We suggest that
insensitive options should not be adopted. Better blended solutions can be
found.
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Offshore
Reefs
At Sanctuary Beach, we provide the
expertise for "offshore reefs". We are global specialists and Dr
Black was the first in the world to introduce the concept of offshore, multi-purpose
reefs for coastal protection and amenity. On a well-designed reef, people
may snorkel and fish life is improved. At the same time, the reef provides
protection to the beach and we can incorporate a quality surfing break.
Such solutions are preferred by most people because they meet the strenuous
demands of the myriad stakeholders who want a better future for their
beaches. Sanctuary Beach is currently designing and building a reef in
India to protect one of India's most iconic shorelines. In another project,
our consultants are advising the Asia Development Bank on ways to mitigate
climate change along the coast.
Many people like reefs because they can be
offshore, underwater and producing benefits beyond coastal protection. The
reefs mimic nature, unlike rock walls which bury the beach being saved, or
groynes which can be unsightly, deflect sediment offshore around their tips
and cause negative downstream effects.
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The
science has shown that reefs control the waves which are the cause of
erosion, rather than putting a "plaster" on the effects by
burying the eroding beach in rocks. Indeed, reefs can save the beach, while
rock walls often just save the land.
Sanctuary Beach takes reefs from scientific design right through to
completed onstruction. They are designed to be
modular so that changes to the environment, sea level rise, damage or
sinkage can be readily rectified.
Please note that reefs are not always the solution and sometimes it's
necessary to blend various options. We also note that all structures in the
sea require maintenance and so we present every client with a maintenance
programme to manage expectations and budgets.
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