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Nature-based Solutions for sandy coasts as sustainable adaptation measures to climate change - a contribution to the broadened conceptual understanding of NbS from an engineering as well as a societal perspective
Citation Link: https://doi.org/10.15480/882.13095
Publikationstyp
Doctoral Thesis
Date Issued
2024
Sprache
English
Author(s)
Herausgeber*innen
Advisor
Title Granting Institution
Technische Universität Hamuburg
Place of Title Granting Institution
Hamburg
Examination Date
2024-06-07
Institute
TORE-DOI
First published in
Number in series
26
Volume
26
Citation
Hamburger Wasserbau-Schriften 26 (2024)
Publisher
Institut für Wasserbau
For centuries, coastal protection was characterized by the fight against nature. Nowadays it enables a safe life and economic activity along the coast, but climate change poses new challenges to the existing coastal protection and requires substantial adaptations. In combination with a paradigm shift in society's view of the coastal landscape and nature in general, a discourse on future technically possible, sustainable and sensible coastal protection is stimulated. Nature-based Solutions (NbS) represent promising adaptations for sandy coasts, providing ecological and societal benefits in addition to protection. In order for these to find their way into future common practice and to fully exploit their potential for Water, Nature and People, a broadened understanding of NbS from both engineering and societal perspectives is needed to facilitate cooperation at all levels.
The present thesis starts off at this point. Adopting an inter- and transdisciplinary approach allows the issues to be considered and analysed from different scientific disciplines as well as actors’ perspectives. By combining a broad spectrum of analytical tools, insights can be generated that go beyond the spectrum of the disciplines involved. Exemplary for sandy coasts, the North Frisian Islands of Amrum and Föhr are selected as investigation area. An insight into the evolution of coastal protection and its characterising rationale is obtained through a systematic literature review. How this rationale is anchored in the minds of people is investigated with an analysis of the assessment of protective measures based on conducted semi-structured interviews. In combination, both analyses reveal a dynamic evolution characterised by experimenting and tinkering with various types of coastal protection. Well-established measures like diking or stalk plantings in dunes, are prevailingly assessed as useful, adequate and trustworthy for the time being. Supposedly new concepts like NbS are initially often met with scepticism as they cannot be readily placed in the existing category system of coastal protection. The conducted review of coastal ecosystems as NbS discloses that they offer a chance to close this gap. Thanks to their inherent resilience, in addition to the existing coastal protection, NbS represent a sustainable adaptation option to climate change. To broaden the understanding of NbS from an engineering perspective, a conceptual analysis of the underlying processes within coastal ecosystems reveals and analyses the properties of NbS which can be fine-tuned and their role and interrelationships with regard to service, resistance and resilience. To broaden the understanding of NbS from a societal perspective, a socio-scientific analysis identifies the coastal dwellers’ key requests towards coastal protection. The Key Societal Requests can help coastal dwellers to contextualise NbS in their established category system of coastal protection and highlight the importance and the potential of societal aspects to coastal engineers.
Both perspectives add to a broadened conceptual understanding of NbS, so that NbS can find way into common practice as sustainable adaptation measures to climate change and, thus, ultimately contribute to the re-diversification of coastal protection for an increased coastal resilience.
The present thesis starts off at this point. Adopting an inter- and transdisciplinary approach allows the issues to be considered and analysed from different scientific disciplines as well as actors’ perspectives. By combining a broad spectrum of analytical tools, insights can be generated that go beyond the spectrum of the disciplines involved. Exemplary for sandy coasts, the North Frisian Islands of Amrum and Föhr are selected as investigation area. An insight into the evolution of coastal protection and its characterising rationale is obtained through a systematic literature review. How this rationale is anchored in the minds of people is investigated with an analysis of the assessment of protective measures based on conducted semi-structured interviews. In combination, both analyses reveal a dynamic evolution characterised by experimenting and tinkering with various types of coastal protection. Well-established measures like diking or stalk plantings in dunes, are prevailingly assessed as useful, adequate and trustworthy for the time being. Supposedly new concepts like NbS are initially often met with scepticism as they cannot be readily placed in the existing category system of coastal protection. The conducted review of coastal ecosystems as NbS discloses that they offer a chance to close this gap. Thanks to their inherent resilience, in addition to the existing coastal protection, NbS represent a sustainable adaptation option to climate change. To broaden the understanding of NbS from an engineering perspective, a conceptual analysis of the underlying processes within coastal ecosystems reveals and analyses the properties of NbS which can be fine-tuned and their role and interrelationships with regard to service, resistance and resilience. To broaden the understanding of NbS from a societal perspective, a socio-scientific analysis identifies the coastal dwellers’ key requests towards coastal protection. The Key Societal Requests can help coastal dwellers to contextualise NbS in their established category system of coastal protection and highlight the importance and the potential of societal aspects to coastal engineers.
Both perspectives add to a broadened conceptual understanding of NbS, so that NbS can find way into common practice as sustainable adaptation measures to climate change and, thus, ultimately contribute to the re-diversification of coastal protection for an increased coastal resilience.
Subjects
Coastal protection
Conceptual understandin
Engineering Scope in NbS
interdisciplinary
Nature-based adaptation
Nature-based Solution
NbS
Sandy coast |Coastal ecosystems
Societal Scope in NbS
Socio-technical endeavour
DDC Class
627: Hydraulic Engineering
Funding(s)
Funding Organisations
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Jordan_Philipp_2024_Nature-based-Solutions-for-sandy-coasts-as-sustainable-adaptation-measures-to-climate-change.pdf
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