26 April 2011

This Shrinking Land: Climate Change and Britain’s Coasts - Saturday Evening Lecture, 7th May

Britain may have to accept defeat in the fight to save some coastal regions from the ravages of erosion and climate change, according to a University of Dundee geologist.

Professor Rob Duck will explain that he believes a rethink on how the country’s coastline is managed is necessary when he delivers the final instalment of this year’s Saturday Evening Lecture Series next week.

Professor Duck, Dean of the School of the Environment, is the author of a new book This Shrinking Land: Climate Change and Britain’s Coasts, which argues that adapting to climate change is a far more effective long term option than continuing to fight the forces of nature.

Professor Duck, who has particular expertise in coastal and estuarine processes, will deliver a lecture of the same name at the University’s Dalhousie Building on Saturday, 7th May, the day his book is published.

Day to day erosion and the effects of climate change are endangering some areas and raising questions about the effectiveness of sea defences. In This Shrinking Land, Professor Duck uses historical records of coastal erosion and floods to look at what the future holds for the British coast.

Breaking with orthodoxy, he puts forth the argument for relocating the population inland from particularly vulnerable areas which should be surrendered to the sea in order to concentrate defence efforts elsewhere.

Professor Duck says the recent tragic events in Japan have highlighted the devastating power of nature and the reconstruction of the devastated country may provide the blueprint for other nations seeking to protect citizens living in coastal areas.

'Japan is one of the most economically advanced nations in the world with sophisticated sea defences and yet the devastation the tsunami has caused is incredible,' he said. 'I would imagine that when reconstruction gets underway there will be a major shift away from the coastal areas. This is something we should perhaps be looking at in this country, albeit on a smaller scale.

'Areas of Britain, such as parts of Norfolk, Suffolk, and East Yorkshire are highly vulnerable to the effects of erosion and climate change. There is a village in Norfolk called Happisburgh where houses are at risk of falling into the sea.

'There is potential for people living there to lose everything. We have to think about relocating people to safer places inland. This is nothing new either. It has had to be done in Britain in the past. In recent times, our response has been to build bigger and higher defences but not only does that just transfer the problem elsewhere, we must also look at whether it’s economically viable to keep doing this as the problem becomes more acute.

'Relocation is a highly emotive issue. It is a very contentious because we are talking about people’s homes, lives, memories and emotions and the coast is very seductive. But it is a harsh reality and, yes, there will be winners and losers.

'We are living in straightened economic times with diminishing resources and it is very important how we decide to allocate funds. We will have to prioritise and it is just not economically sensible to defend everywhere.

'There is a chapter in the book entitled ‘Was King Canute right? Can we hold back the sea?’ because the story of King Canute is often misunderstood. He knew he couldn’t hold back the sea and the reason he tried was to show his courtiers that even he was not as powerful as they believed.'

Turning to Japan once more, Professor Duck said that, while Britain is geologically less risky than the Far East, natural disasters have happened in the past and can’t be ruled out in the future.

He continued, 'Britain has been hit by storm surges and tsunamis in the past. There is no reason to think they will not happen again. In fact, there have been predictions of a tsunami hitting south-western England if the western flank of a large volcano in La Palma in the Canaries was to break off.

'It is difficult to predict when events like that might happen but we have a good idea, from historical records and geological information, of where the most vulnerable places are. We just have to learn to adapt to our changing environment rather than try to carry on fighting it.'

Despite this, Professor Duck believes the more apocalyptic predictions about the effects of climate change are wide of the mark but that we should be in no doubt that it will impact upon Britain’s coastline, although not uniformly.

'The British coast is very varied,' he added. 'It ranges from hard durable rock to much softer unstable materials so there are areas of vulnerability and other areas where there isn’t a serious problem.

'Coastal erosion is a natural process. It is nothing new. And the climate is changing. That is a fact. I believe humans are contributing to this, but that issue is almost immaterial. It is changing and we have to deal with it. We have to learn to adapt to climate change rather than continue with a 'defend at all costs' attitude.'

Professor Duck’s lecture will take place in the Dalhousie Building on Saturday, 7th May, at 6pm. The event is free but tickets should be booked in advance via the Events Office on 01382 384413 or from the University’s online store.

Copies of This Shrinking Land: Climate Change and Britain’s Coasts will be available at the talk and from all leading book retailers.

For media enquiries contact:
Grant Hill
Press Officer
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384768
E-MAIL: g.hill@dundee.ac.uk
MOBILE: 07854 953277