Beachwatch Managing Our Beach Erosion
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TOOLKIT BEACHWATCH MANAGING OUR BEACH EROSION Prepared for the Ministry of Environment, Energy & Water with assistance from the Asian Development Bank – Male', Maldives, November 2006 Live & Learn Environmental Education PO Box 3007, Male’ 20-05 Maldives M: (+960) 778 8848 E: [email protected] http://www.idea.org.au/liveandlearn/ Live & Learn Environmental Education 87 Gordon Street Suva, Fiji Islands Tel: +679 331 5868 Fax: +679 330 5868 http://www.idea.org.au/liveandlearn/ Written by Gillian Cambers, Robbie Henderson, Zameela Ahmed, Fathimath Shafeeqa and Jady Smith Proofed by Hussein Naeem and Jady Smith Printed by Cyprea Printers Cover design by Karen Young Page layout by Mariyam Maalika Photographs courtesy of Zameela Ahmed , Robbie Henderson, Fathimath Shafeeqa and Jady Smith © Copyright: Live & Learn Environmental Education ISBN 99915-95-07-5 Disclaimer: This toolkit was prepared by consultants for the Asian Development Bank. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in it do not necessarily represent the views of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) or those of its member governments. ADB does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this toolkit and accepts no responsibility for any consequences of their use. CONTENTS BEACHWATCH Introduction .............................................................................................................................................................. 2 Agenda ........................................................................................................................................................................... 4 Deciding who to involve .............................................................................................................................. 5 Holding the first meeting ............................................................................................................................. 6 Beach erosion .......................................................................................................................................................... 7 Making a map of the beach ...................................................................................................................... 8 Developing history of the beach .......................................................................................................... 9 Setting up a program ................................................................................................................................... 10 Beach monitoring data form ................................................................................................................. 11 Beach events record sheet ....................................................................................................................... 12 Hold a meeting to discuss the results ........................................................................................... 13 Preparing for a meeting with stakeholders ............................................................................. 14 FACT SHEETS - Introduction .................................................................................................................. 15 What is beach erosion ................................................................................................................. 16 Building a safe distance from the beach ................................................................... 18 Building a seawall ............................................................................................................................ 20 Building a sloping seawall ....................................................................................................... 22 Building groynes ............................................................................................................................... 23 Building an offshore breakwater ....................................................................................... 24 Nourishing the beach with sand ...................................................................................... 26 INTRODUCTION The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going ot stay where you are SILENCE IS THE NATURE OF MY ISLAND BY FATHMATH WAHEEDHA, GAAFU DHAALU ATOLL EDUCATION CENTER, MALDIVES http://www.sivyouth.org/phase2/?read=180 2003 Nature is an eternal storehouse of great mysteries and enchanting beauties. Nature is a thing of beauty and being in the company of Nature means a joy forever. Maldives is one such country blessed by Mother Nature. The Maldivian islands are a group of beautiful islands located in the Indian Ocean. We are becoming more and more exposed to tourists - mainly from Italy and Germany. For this all our thanks goes to our beautiful sandy beaches and wonderful lagoons with their rich variety of fishes and marine life. All that I see, sense, breathe, feel and adore is my own small island - Thinadhoo. Thinadhoo is a greenish lagoon that measures a diameter of 2kms. It is far more isolated from the capital of Maldives- Male. Therefore we have our own unique set of advantages and disadvantages. 2 BEACHWATCH Our life in a small island is generally associated with life in the lap of nature. My island people indeed lead a very simple life. There is no nerve breaking hustle and bustle. There are no straining hurries and worries. Rather we people believe in simple living. We love a sense of belongingness and share each other’s joys and sorrows. We are free from artificiality of the present modern life. We have no clubs, even no cinema to divert our attention from work. Rather we have our own simple ways of recreation. After a tiring day, the men/women sit under a shady breadfruit tree, gossip among themselves and feel as free as a bird. At times, our elders arrange recreational programs. The youngsters (boys and girls) enliven the whole gathering. Life in a small island, no doubt, has its darker side also. Pollution is beginning to have an effect on our prestigious beaches. The range and quality of marine life around our island and in our lagoons is beginning to suffer as a consequence of pollution. The reef systems around the islands are relatively fragile and if we are not careful about over-fishing and pollution, the very existence of the islands would be in doubt. Even though we lack a lot of things, we are blessed with an enchanting nature. The fresh morning breeze, the ripples in the reef and the dancing coconut trees - all have beauty on their own. Whenever I see strong waves I get great courage to fight the modern world and whenever I am sad the dancing coconut trees bring cheer to my heart. I wish this beauty that I have found in culture tradition and nature would be evergreen. Though I have a lot of things to say, I go silent here because silence is the nature of my island. 3 AGENDA ACTIVITY 1: (15 MINUTES) Deciding who to involve ACTIVITy 2: (1 – 1.5 HOURS) Holding the first meeting ACTIVITy 3: (1 – 1.5 HOURS) Making a RAP on the beach ACTIVITy 4: (1 – 1.5 HOURS) Developing the history of the beach ACTIVITY 5: (1.5 HOURS) Setting up programme to record beach changes ACTIVITY 6: (2 HOURS) Hold meetings to discuss results 4 BEACHWATCH DECIDING WHO 15 minutes 1 TO INVOLVE Duration: Various one-on-one discussions held over several days • Persons involved should include the community near the affected beach, members of the Island Development Committee, Atoll Offices, Regional Development Management Office, persons doing the sand mining • It is possible, as an alternative to bring in different people at this stage of the project, but ideally all affected parties should be invited at the beginning so they can all contribute to the management process Output: List of people to invite to the first meeting 5 ACTIVITIES HOLDING THE 1-1.515 minutes hours 2 FIRST MEETING • Icebreaker: Everyone gets to know each other and their respective interest in this conflict ICEBREAKER ACTIVITY 1. Ask each person to close their eyes and ask themselves what is the most important thing they want to gain from this meeting/activity 2. Ask each person to turn to one of their neighbours, and to spend 5 minutes telling their neighbour 3 items: • their name • the island where they live • the most important thing they hope to gain from this meeting 3. Have each person introduce their neighbour: • name of their neighbour • island where their neighbour lives • what their neighbour hopes to gain from the meeting • Decide on a chairperson, and a person to take notes • Start by reading out loud the Fact Sheet on beach erosion (see overleaf), pause after each bullet point to see if the group agrees with the statement in the context of your island. Use the bulleted items as a starting point for discussion. Where is the most serious beach erosion on the island? What time of year does erosion take place? How long has it been taking place? What does the group think causes the erosion? Is beach sand mining part of the erosion problem? • The purpose of the meeting is to give everyone a chance to put forward their views on the sand mining conflict and to indicate whether they are willing to commit their time and energy to help solve the problem Needs: Meeting room, copies of the fact sheet, flip chart and markers Outputs: Notes about the sand mining problem Names of a group of people willing to give some time to try and manage this problem Names of knowledgeable persons within the community/island/atoll 6 COPING WITH