Coastal Squeeze
When these dynamic habitats can't shift naturally inland, we will lose them - and all the wonderful wildlife that add to our enjoyment of the coast. The habitats become trapped - squeezed - between rising sea-levels on one side, and infrastructure such as sea walls, roads and natural features such as hills on the other - a concept referred to as coastal squeeze.
Our recent , Shifting Shores report (PDF / 1.5703125MB) download
documenting our vision on the coast for the next 10 years, recommends that where possible, we avoid getting into a costly cycle of building and repairing sea defences and instead work with nature by taking an adaptive approach.
Roll Back
By not maintaining or removing hard defences we allow valuable and rare habitats to ‘roll back’ further inland and becoming more resilient to rising sea-levels. So, the areas where it is possible to roll back are really important if we are to keep our amazing coastal wildlife thriving.
Our work with neighbours at Abereiddi, Pembrokeshire is a great example of roll back.
Compensatory Habitats
Coastal squeeze means that an equivalent to nearly 250 football pitches of salt marsh is being lost every year. Where a disappearing salt marsh cannot be ‘rolled back’ then we need to look for suitable sites elsewhere.
Our project at Cwm Ivy Marsh is an excellent example of creating compensatory habitats