Beach Nourishment in Wales – Practical Issues, Multiple Benefits and Ecological Effects

Beaches are a key natural, social and economic resource for Wales. They play a vital role in sustaining coastal tourism and underpin important nature conservation and landscape sites and act as ‘natural’ coastal defences, dissipating wave energy, helping to protect both natural and manmade structures.

In an era of climate change and sea level rise The way that coastal erosion and flood risks are managed is changing and responses, such as building sea walls, groynes, revetments and other large structures are becoming less sustainable, environmentally and financially. Beach nourishment may offer a way of managing risk that works more with natural coastal processes.