Coastal planning, education and the Australian context

The Victorian Planning Minister’s response to the ‘Coastal Climate Change Advisor Report’, initiated by the Baillieu government in 2010, identified the need to “initiate ! a skills audit with the view to developing a range of professional development courses to meet the shortfall of professionals with the capability to assess coastal climate change impacts” (Victoria 2012). The following paper addresses this deficiency by examining how Australia’s higher education and further education sectors currently attend to the issue of coastal planning.

A detailed review of a large number of national and international planning programs was undertaken to highlight the subject matter contained in each program with a specific focus on any coastal planning courses. Working from a theoretical perspective, the first part of the paper addresses why a dedicated subject on Coastal Planning is required in the present Australian planning school syllabus, and how such a program would be positioned within the intent of PIA’s Education Policy.

Utilising the benefits of Problem Based learning and Student Centred Learning in relating to delivering a Coastal planning course, the second part of the paper provides a theoretical overview of the types of competencies which students may be expected to attain when undertaking such a course. The third part of the paper proposes a series of 12 lectures to underpin a unit titled “Coastal Planning: The Australian Context” which includes a draft lecture relating to the monitoring of Coastal Erosion in Adelaide.

Adaptation planning for coastal inundation and erosion at the local level : a knowledge systems perspective

Scientific projections for climate change induced sea level rise highlight the potential for serious consequences in low lying coastal areas, through impacts upon: built infrastructure; beneficial uses; and ecological values. An area of particular concern relates to the ways in which issues associated with land may be subject to future inundation and, or, erosion. Responding to such issues is complex and challenging, requiring consideration of multiple sources of evidence (with varying levels of certainty), diverse organisational settings and priorities, and multiple perspectives on what the evidence means. Further, limited attention has been directed towards exploring the knowledge dynamics associated with coastal adaption planning. In this paper we explore the knowledge dynamics associated with coastal adaption planning, in order to highlight the inter-organisational and inter-personal challenges involved. We do so by drawing on the views expressed in semi structured interviews by stakeholders with an interest in coastal climate change. The particular focus is on exploring how different actors perceive coastal adaption planning process, and the tensions, challenges, and implications associated with, and arising from, the way in which coastal adaptation knowledge is exchanged.

Granitic coastal geomorphology: Applying integrated terrestrial and bathymetric LiDAR with multibeam sonar to examine coastal landscape evolution

Coasts composed of resistant lithologies such as granite are generally highly resistant to erosion. They tend to evolve over multiple sea level cycles with highstands acting to remove subaerially weathered material. This often results in a landscape dominated by plunging cliffs with shore platforms rarely occurring. The long-term evolution of these landforms means that throughout the Quaternary these coasts have been variably exposed to different sea level elevations which means erosion may have been concentrated at different elevations from today. Investigations of the submarine landscape of granitic coasts have however been hindered by an inability to accurately image the nearshore morphology. Only with the advent of multibeam sonar and aerial laser surveying can topographic data now be seamlessly collected from above and below sea level. This study tests the utility of these techniques and finds that very accurate measurements can be made of the nearshore thereby allowing researchers to study the submarine profile with the same accuracy as the subaerial profile. From a combination of terrestrial and marine LiDAR data with multibeam sonar data, it is found that the morphology of granite domes is virtually unaffected by erosion at sea level. It appears that evolution of these landscapes on the coast is a very slow process with modern sea level acting only to remove subaerially weathered debris. The size and orientation of the joints determines the erosional potential of the granite. Where joints are densely spaced (<2 m apart) or the bedrock is highly weathered can semi-horizontal surfaces form.