19/10/2009 Report published: POSTnotes on Coastal Management and Ocean Acidification

The Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology has just released a POST note that examines past and present coastal management policy and the main issues arising for the future from predicted sea level rise and higher storm surges.

The note was prepared for POST by Johanna Forster, a PhD researcher working with the Living with Environmental Change Director, Professor Andrew Watkinson, on an ESRC secondment to POST. Other recent POST notes of relevance to LWEC are on ocean acidification, deforestation and biodiversity and climate change.

COASTAL MANAGEMENT
Predicted sea level rise and higher storm surges will increase the risk of coastal erosion and flooding. In response to this challenge, flood and coastal erosion risk
management is undergoing direction and policy change. This POSTnote examines past and present coastal management policy and the main issues arising for the future English coastline.

OCEAN ACIDIFICATION
The increasing amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is acidifying the oceans. The resulting changes to ecosystems and marine biodiversity may have
negative impacts on fisheries and food security and reduce the coastal protection provided by coral reefs. This POSTnote outlines the science behind ocean acidification and summarises the threats to the marine environment.

All previous postnotes are available here http://www.parliament.uk/parliamentary_offices/post/pubs.cfm

You can download the Coastal Management and Ocean Acidification POSTnotes here: