Beach and Coastal Environment

Coastal management involves developing strategies that are designed to protect and preserve the coastal environment. The actions of humans have altered the operation of the natural coastal processes. During our fieldwork we have learned the key issues of coastal management and their strategies and the way they address them at Cronulla Beach. The three key geographical processes that shape the coastal environment are erosion, transportation and deposition.
The key issues relating to coastal management at Cronulla beach are Pollution, Tourism, Introduced Plants and Population Growth. Pollution is one main key issue at Cronulla beach because people are littering they are eating on the beach .There are factories near the beach which is very bad for the environment as the smoke from the factories is going into the water is not safe as all the toxic will be in the water and it would not be safe for people to swim.
Tourist come to the beach as it is a very popular destination for the residents and tourist. During holiday times the population of these areas can double, placing pressure on the infrastructure and environment of the area. Recreational activities like four-wheel driving places pressure on the coastal environment if it is not carefully managed, large dune areas and beaches where vehicles are given access can be highly susceptible to erosion.

Population growth is the overdevelopment and rapid growth of coastal areas occur due to the current Australian trend for people to move from large cities to smaller coastal towns and villages where the lifestyle is more relaxed. Introduced plants have areas along east coast which have become invaded by introduced plants. The bitou brush or Chrysanthemoides Monilifera introduced in Australia in 1908. This plant can overtake native vegetation and this would not offer sand dunes have same protection against wind erosion as it is covered by native vegetation.

The management strategies used to address the