1. “Spatial variations will determine the sustainable management of the coastal environment.” (850 word analysis of data)
In this essay, how spatial variations such as the location, wind speed, type of waves and type of land use, determine the sustainable management, which is the efficient ways by which coastal environment is dealt with, of the coastal environment, in this case is along the Changi coast, will be analysed.
The location of the site will determine the sustainable management of the coastal environment there. Site A is facing the open sea as compared to Site B which is sheltered by a spit, formed in front of it. Therefore, Site A is more susceptible to wave erosion as compared to Site B as it has a greater fetch and more powerful
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Sites A and B, the beach walk and the creek walk are wooden structures people frequently walk on. Wood is not only vulnerable to wave erosion but it is also susceptible to other natural factors such as fungus when it becomes damp from seawater splashing on it. Fungus weaken the walkway and make it vulnerable to falling. Since, human habitation is high at Sites A and B, it is vital that the wood walkways are kept dry to ensure safety of people walking on them. Therefore, Site A has rip-raps, in the form of large rocks in front of the sea that deflect the impact of waves, keeping the beach walk dry and Site B has a raised platform with stone revetments that reflect waves, keeping the creek walk dry. According to our evaluation on safety, sites A and B had a positive score of 2, indicating that they were indeed safe with the coastal defences. However, Site F, the beach, does not have any wooden elements that humans use and hence the coastal defences there do not have to reflect waves back to the sea but rather reduce destructive energy of waves. Therefore, bakau poles and tree branches were used at Site F. The bakau poles are fairly appropriate defences for Site F and scored a positive score of 1 by our assessment on safety. However, the bakau poles and tree branches cannot be used for Sites A and B as the bakau poles do not reflect waves and hence will not be able to keep the wooden walkways dry …show more content…
Tourists tend to visit places of scenic beauty to relax and appreciate life and from what we observed, the site with the rip-raps was rather scenic. Therefore, coastal defences along the Changi coast do not jeopardize, in fact promote tourism development there.
From our evaluation of the risks posed by the coastal defences, both had a positive score of 1, suggesting that both do not pose any obvious safety risks. People tend to tour in order to attain peace-of-mind. Therefore, safety is tourists’ priority when travelling, they cannot attain peace-of-mind unless they are safe. Therefore, tourists tend to visit places that are safe. Since they do not compromise much on safety, coastal defences along the Changi coast do not endanger tourism