Protecting the Dolphin Coast against global warming

The Ilembe Chamber and Ballito UIP are on the hunt for R2.2 million to study the best practices to protect the coast from the effects of global warming.

Since the release of a United Nations study on climate change that showed a worrying increase in global warming and rising ocean levels as a threat to coastal areas, local authorities have been wanting to study the best defence practices should there be another storm like that in 2007.

The urgency of this issue was discussed during the Ballito UIP agm last year after the IPCC report suggested that climate adaptation measures needed to be taken by national and local government to manage the impact of climate change and defined the risk as an economic threat.

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Ilembe Chamber CEO Cobus Oelofse said KwaDukuza municipality endorsed a proposal for a detailed planning and design study into measures to protect the boardwalk, promenade, and beachfront amenities – integral elements to the district’s local economy.

“An inevitable repeat of the severe 2007 storms will have a monumental impact on beachfront properties along our coast and is highly likely to result in the destruction of the existing Ballito boardwalk.

“The consequences will have a devastating impact on Ballito especially and our regional economy, considering its status as a primary tourism destination and the value of high density coastal real estate, therefore, we must find ways of putting preventative plans in place. Currently, the municipality has soft measures, like sandbanks in place, but we need more.”

KwaDukuza municipality’s beach node concept plan will be used as a foundation for the study and a specialist in the field will be appointed to lead the research and study project.

“The result will be a well-researched, workable and detailed design, with reasonably accurate costing, to be presented to KDM. The project will incorporate engineering and methods of construction, architecture, aesthetics and environmental impacts among other factors. We hope that a Ballito-based research project would be viewed as a pilot project to establish a process for other nodes.”

An application has been made to the US Aid agency for the money.

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