The impact of human activity on coastal landscape systems — Eduqas A-Level Geography

Human activity significantly alters coastal landscape systems, disrupting the dynamic equilibrium between erosion, transportation, and deposition. This topic explores how interventions such as hard engineering (e.g., sea walls, groynes), soft engineering (e.g., beach nourishment, dune regeneration), and indirect impacts like climate change and urbanisation modify coastal processes and landforms. Understanding these impacts is crucial for evaluating the sustainability of coastal management strategies and their long-term effects on sediment cells and coastal cells.

In the WJEC A-Level Geography specification, this topic sits within the 'Coastal Landscapes' theme, linking physical geography with human geography. It requires students to apply systems thinking—recognising coasts as open systems with inputs, outputs, and feedback mechanisms. Human activities often act as positive or negative feedback loops, accelerating or slowing natural processes. For example, dredging for navigation can starve downdrift beaches of sediment, leading to increased erosion. Mastering this topic enables students to critically assess real-world case studies, such as the Holderness Coast or the Netherlands' Delta Works, and to propose integrated coastal zone management (ICZM) solutions.

Why does this matter? Coasts are dynamic, high-value environments supporting ecosystems, economies, and communities. Human interventions often have unintended consequences, such as terminal scour at the ends of sea walls or increased erosion downdrift of groynes. By studying these impacts, students develop skills in evaluating cost-benefit analyses, environmental impact assessments, and the trade-offs between development and conservation. This knowledge is essential for informed citizenship and careers in environmental management, planning, and policy-making.

• →Sediment cell: A closed coastal system where sediment input, transfer, and output are balanced; human activities can disrupt this balance, causing erosion or accretion elsewhere.
• →Hard engineering vs. soft engineering: Hard structures (e.g., revetments) provide immediate protection but often exacerbate erosion elsewhere; soft methods (e.g., managed retreat) work with natural processes but require more space and time.
• →Positive and negative feedback: Human actions can trigger feedback loops—e.g., sea wall construction may increase wave reflection, scouring the beach and reducing natural defence, leading to further engineering.
• →Climate change impacts: Sea-level rise and increased storm intensity amplify human-induced changes, requiring adaptive management strategies like coastal realignment.
• →Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM): A holistic approach balancing environmental, economic, and social objectives, often involving stakeholder participation and adaptive management.

• Positive impacts of human activity on coastal processes and landforms including management and conservation
• Negative impacts of human activity on coastal processes and landforms including offshore dredging and erosion of sand dunes
• Case study of one management strategy to manage the impacts of human activity on coastal processes and landforms and landscapes

• 💡Ensure case studies are contemporary (within the last two decades).
• 💡Demonstrate understanding of specialised concepts like interdependence and mitigation in the context of human-coastal interactions.
• 💡Link human activity explicitly to changes in coastal landscape systems.
• 💡Use specific case studies to illustrate your points. For example, refer to the Holderness Coast (UK) where groynes at Mappleton have accelerated erosion south of the village. Mentioning place-specific details shows depth of knowledge.
• 💡Always link human activities to coastal processes and landforms. Don't just list impacts—explain the mechanism. For instance, explain how sea walls increase wave energy reflection, leading to beach lowering and increased erosion at the base.
• 💡Evaluate management strategies using criteria such as cost, effectiveness, environmental impact, and social acceptability. A balanced evaluation that acknowledges trade-offs (e.g., economic benefits vs. ecological costs) scores higher marks.

• Misconception: Hard engineering always solves coastal erosion. Correction: Hard structures often transfer the problem downdrift (e.g., groynes trap sediment, starving beaches further along the coast). They also require high maintenance and can degrade scenic value.
• Misconception: Soft engineering is always environmentally friendly. Correction: While softer, methods like beach nourishment involve dredging from offshore, which can damage marine habitats. Managed retreat may flood farmland, affecting livelihoods.
• Misconception: Human impact is only local. Correction: Coastal systems are interconnected; a change in one part of a sediment cell can affect distant areas. For example, dam construction on rivers reduces sediment supply to deltas, increasing erosion hundreds of kilometres away.