winter 2006-2007 the edge

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TheedgeThe magaz ine of CoastNe t

ICM in the

aftermath of the

Asian Tsunami

Oil spill in

Lebanon

When the levees

broke a personal

account

Boscastle

regeneration

after the floods

Winter 2007

Coasts in crisis

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2/162 The edge Winter 2007

CoastNet breathing newlife into coastal matters

Winter 2007

Coasts in crisis

The edgeis a quarterly magazine,sent out to all CoastNet members.

CoastNet is an internationalnetworking organisation thatworks with all coastal interests topromote the exchange of ideas,information and expertise to findlong term solutions to coastalproblems that benefit all. Ourmission is to safeguard the worldscoast and those communities ofpeople and wildlife that depend

upon it for their future.

Editor: Lesley [email protected] by: Cottier & SidawayPrinted by: Gildenburgh Ltd

Submissions

To submit an article for publication, pleaseemail to the editor saving your submissionas a word document. Alternatively, send tothe address below. Letters can be sent to theeditor but we are unable to acknowledgereceipt. The editor reserves the right to editsubmissions.

CoastNet: The Gatehouse,Rowhedge Wharf, High St,Rowhedge, Essex, CO5 7ET.Tel/Fax: 01206 728644Email: [email protected]: www.coastnet.org.uk

CoastNet is governed by an independentBoard of Management and serviced by aSecretariat.Registered charity no 1055763Registered as a company limited byguarantee, company no 3204452

The opinions expressed in the magazine arenot necessarily those of CoastNet. CoastNet, 2007

3 Editorial

4 News

6 Who pays the price?

Manuela de los Rios considers how to

minimise the costs of coastal crises and who

ultimately loses the most.

7 Integrated coastal planning and management

in Asian Tsunami-affected countries

Robert Kay looks at ICM in the aftermath of the

2004 tsunami.

10 Regeneration after the floods how did

Boscastle do it?

Fiona Fraser-Smith takes a look at community

working and a partnership approach to

regeneration.

12 A very dirty war

IUCNs Communication Officer in Lebanon,

Hala Kilani reports on the clean up efforts

following an Israeli air strike that caused the

countrys largest oil spill.

14 When the levees broke

Chari Lopez gives her personal account of

those days before and after the levees broke in

New Orleans.

16 CoastNet events

Contents

7

10

14

12

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3/16The edge Winter 2007 3

planning and to disaster

reduction strategies as to day to

day coastal management issues,

such as local planning and beach

management.

Once disaster has struck, the

management landscape, as well as

the real one, has changed.

Disaster relief necessarily focuses

on human suffering. Disaster

recoveryprovides the opportunity

to build back better as UN

special envoy Bill Clintondeclared after visiting tsunami-hit

areas in 2005. However, the

Indian Ocean experience shows

that without a special effort, the

opportunity to reduce future risk

and to provide environmental

benefit will always be lost to

short-term social and economic

priorities.

EditorialAs you read this issue of The edge, it will be two years since the IndianOcean tsunami wreaked havoc on Boxing Day 2004. The devastation of

coastal communities throughout India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand

was unprecedented in recent history, causing huge loss of life and bringing

social, environmental and economic catastrophe for millions.

It is the value of strategic

planning, using robust process

and good science, that is

paramount if the mistakes of the

past are not to be repeated. Let us

hope that the spate of large-scale

disasters that have occurred in the

past two years, and their

consequent human suffering, will

help us learn from our mistakes

and do better in the future.

Alex Midlen,

Strategic Director

Natural disasters are, by their very

nature, unpredictable, and can hit

us at any time. Such disasters have

two facets. The natural event,

which is a part of the normal

functioning of our planet part of

the cycle of life, and not of itself a

problem. In contrast, there is the

concept of disaster, a purely

human concept. We choose to live

and build in high risk areas,

seemingly oblivious to natures

natural pattern.

This contrast between natural

process and society is at the core of

coastal management. And because

of this, the processes that we apply

in coastal management, the

various tools of integration,

partnership working, community

engagement, understanding the

science of coastal process, should

be applied as much to emergency

8/14/2019 Winter 2006-2007 the Edge


News

Also in the news

q Clinton warns of slow tsunami

progressFormer US President Bill Clinton has

voiced concern at slow progress in

rehousing those left homeless by the

2004 Asian tsunami following his

tour of tsunami-hit nations. The UN

special envoy for tsunami aid

Clinton, said that only about a third

of those affected by the disaster were

back in permanent housing.

Full story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/

go/rss/-/1/hi/world/asia-

pacific/6201350.stm

q Sainsburys flags up sustainability

of fish

The supermarket chain, Sainsburys

is planning to launch a traffic light

system to show the sustainability of

the fish it stocks. The retailer is

planning to colour-code fish products

with red, amber or green symbols

according to their sustainability.

However, the indicators will appearonly on the supermarkets website

and at fish counters, and not on

packaging.

Full story: www.brandrepublic.com/

bulletins/incentive/article/596566/sai

nsburys-flags-sustainability-fish/

q Seagulls Attacking Whales

Off Argentina

A recent report from National

Geographic warns that the seemingly

docile seagull is responsible for a

series of attacks on the southern right

whale off Argentinas southern Valds

Peninsula. Experts say the birds,

which nest near the prime breeding

waters for the endangered whales,

are causing a peck of problems. The

Minister ready for flood

compensation talks

New staff members at CoastNetCoastNet welcomed two new members of staff recently. Manuela de los

Rios has taken the post of Information and Communications Manager

(see Manuelas article on page 6 of this issue) and Alex Midlen has been

appointed as Srategic Director.

Manuela de los Rios: [email protected]

Alex Midlen: [email protected]

CoastNet has now produced a dip-in resource guide to good communication

when engaging the public on coastal and marine issues as reported in the last

issue of The edge.Ten copies are currently being trialed and should shortly be

available to coastal professionals.

For anyone wishing to get hold of a copy or for further information,

please contact Theresa Redding at: [email protected]

Dive straight in new resource

for coastal professionals

Speaking at the most recent All Party

Parliamentary Group (APPG) of coastal

issues, Minister of State for Climate

Change and the Environment, Ian

Pearson, spoke of his interest in

extending the debate on the issue of

compensation for those affected by

coastal flooding and erosion in the UK.

Although funding for erosion and

flood management has increased by 35

per cent since 1997, there is still a long

way to go, Pearson said. He also

recommended the need for a long term

funding scheme and suggested: a 20

year investment strategy concerning all

aspects of water management.

The Minister expressed his readiness

to engage with affected communities

and a genuine interest in continuing

the debate to tackle issues such as

how to take into account social justice,

specifically compensation issues.

The report from this meeting can be

found on the CoastNet website:

www.coastnet.org.uk.

Next meeting of the APPG is planned

for January on the issue of social

justice in relation to flood and

erosion risk.

Coastal bid to BIG LotterCoastNet, in partnership with the Envir

Initiatives Foundation, has put in a bid

coastal initiatives entitled coastal spac

successful bids will be made at the beg

8/14/2019 Winter 2006-2007 the Edge


News

The Coastal Partnerships Working

Group (CPWG) is making good

progress since its establishment in

May 2006. Activities have included:

first meeting May 2006

shared views to inform Marine

Bill consultation May-June 2006

CPWG endorsed by CoastNet

annual Partnerships Forum

June 2006

CPWG email group established

additional meeting to prepare

input for Defra ICZM consultation

July 2006

second CPWG meeting

October 2006

Establishing Coastal Partnerships

Contact Group and UK-wide map

of existing coastal partnerships

(ongoing)

At the meeting to prepare input for

the Defra ICZM consultation, aninstitutional framework for local,

regional and national delivery of

ICZM was drafted. This provides a

starting point for discussion about

the network and partnership services

needed at each level for ICZM

delivery. The group estimated that

3.65 million/year will be required to

provide a good framework for

delivering ICZM services. This

information was submitted as aCPWG response to Defras ICZM

Strategy consultation.

In October the CPWG met for a very

informative meeting with

presentations by Hugh Llewellyn

from the Landscape Conservation

Branch of Defra and Mary Lewis from

the Northumberland Coast AONB.

Many comparisons can be drawn

between the services of 40 AONBs in

England & Wales and a similar

number of Coastal Partnerships. The

key difference is that AONBs receive

Coastal Partnerships

Working Group updategulls are landing on the whales andpecking through their skin to feed onthe blubber, which is an important

source of calories, says biologist

Marcelo Bertellotti of Argentinas

Patagonia University. This is causing

lesions and impacting whale

behavior.The kelp gull is a flexible

eater that hunts insects and

scavenges through trash heaps.

British researchers first observed the

attacks in 1969 but the number of

aggressive birds has grown as the

gull population has increased, thanks

to an abundance of human-supplied

food sources in coastal towns.

Full story: http://news.national

geographic.com/news/2006/12/0612

04-whales-gulls_2.html

q Latin America unites to defend

whales

Opposition to commercial hunting of,

and lethal scientific research on,whales and dolphins has brought

together 12 Latin American countries,

which have begun to discuss a future

regional agreement for preservation,

in opposition to the Japanese-led

bloc of countries that defend hunting.

Civil society organisations fighting to

protect whale species have been

working hand in hand with

government representatives with the

aim of overcoming the defeat

suffered by the conservationist bloc

at the last International Whaling

Commission (IWC) meeting, held in

St Kitts and Nevis in June.

Full story : www.ipsnews.net/news.

asp?idnews=35711

75 per cent match funding from

Central Government (through the

Countryside Agency) and are

underpinned by statutory measures:

Section 89 of the CROW Act (2000)

requires all AONBs to have

management plans requiring relevant

authorities to have regard to them;

and many AONBs have Joint

Advisory Committees of constituent

local authorities under S.102(4) of the

Local Government Act 1972.

The next step is for the establishment

and work of CPWG this year to be

reported to the Coastal Futures

conference in January. This will

involve building on the paper used to

establish the group Coastal

Partnerships: Working Together, our

submissions to Defra on the Marine

Bill & ICZM Strategies, and ongoing

work to establish a wider CoastalPartnerships Contact Group with a

UK-wide map of existing initiatives.

The next meeting is likely to coincide

with the publication of the

Government White Paper on the

Marine Bill, at which time we hope to

meet with the Minister to raise the

profile of the work of coastal

partnerships.

To contact one of the committeemembers with your feedback or for

further information:

Natasha Barker (Chair):

[email protected]

/ [email protected]

Niall Benson (Vice-Chair):

[email protected]

Tracey Hewett (Secretary):

[email protected]

CoastNet is providing the CPWG

with a page on its website for easy

access to reports, papers and

meeting minutes.

ent Council and Neighbourhood

unding under the BIG lottery for

mmunity place. Announcements of

ng of 2007 so fingers crossed.

8/14/2019 Winter 2006-2007 the Edge


How to minimise the costsTo minimise the costs of coastal crises,

we need to (re)construct healthy coastal

ecosystems so that there is built-in

resilience to both human and naturally-

induced change. The Resilience Alliance

suggests three abilities are required to do

this:

Learning

Local knowledge and experience as wellas access to information is essential to

deal with coastal crises. In 1992,

Hurricane Andrew in Florida caused 23

people to lose their lives with economic

losses estimated at $26.5 billion. An

equivalent tropical typhoon in

Bangladesh caused 100,000 deaths and

the displacement of millions. Floridas

institutional capacity, early warning

systems, community experience and

strong networks had been improved by

learning through recent experiences

while social vulnerability in Bangladesh

turned the disaster into an

unmanageable scale and devastation.

Buffering

Natural barriers made little difference to

the impact of the tsunami wave at its

epicentre when it hit the Indonesian

shoreline in 2004. But further away, in

Sri Lanka the energy of smaller waves

was reduced by natural barriers in theshape of extensive vegetation and

mangroves. These barriers reduced

human and property losses. Enhance the

ability and capacity of natural resources,

such as coral reefs, to recover from severe

events and we could build ecosystem

resilience and safeguard the livelihoods

of fisherfolk.

Getting organised

Active civil networks together with good

governance systems make it easier forinstitutions to adapt rapidly when it

comes to managing crisis situations. The

response to the sinking of the Prestige oil

tanker and the subsequent oil spill off

Whos pays the priceof coastal crises?Manuela de los Rios investigates

the Spanish coast in 2002 demonstrates

why this is important. The oil spill

represented the largest environmental

disaster in Spains history polluting

thousands of kilometres of coastline.

Widescale concern from the public led to

thousands of volunteers turning up at

beaches to help with the clean up

operation only to find that tools and

accommodation were not available forall. This inability for quick and effective

adaptation on the part of institutions,

combined with the publics good willed,

but disorganised appearance illustrates

the need for a more organised, structured

society.

We pay, we say sharing

responsibility

For those most directly-affected,

(communities, households and

individuals), a far greater dialogueshould be undertaken with all available

actions clearly discussed so that they can

make decisions and understand

consequences through informed

thought, eg deciding to live in a flood

risk area. If there is something the ICM

community all agree on, it is the need to

understand the human role in creating

vulnerability to evaluate risk.

Differences of power, wealth and

geography pose the greatest threat to our

survival and well- being. We need a new

vision to redefine coastal development

and policies but we must speak the same

language, share recognition of threats

and work towards consensus as all

nations and regions share responsibility

regarding mitigation, adaptation and

resilience in coastal areas. Otherwise we

could all be paying the price of

mismanaged coastal crises.

Imagine...WAR in Lebanon: Amir, hotel

owner, 54, loses his clients

HURRICANE in New Oreleans:

Julie, 27, loses her mother

EROSION in UK: Phillip, 72,

loses his home

FLOODS in Kenya: Chuku, 14,

student, loses access to drinking

water

OIL SPILL in Spain: Gonzalo, 52,fisherman, loses his job

TSUNAMI in Sri Lanka: Sajitha, 12,

loses her school

Could it be me paying?We are all vulnerable to coastal hazards;

factors related to institutional capacity,

technology and infrastructures are one

side of the coin. On the other side,

social and economic characteristicssuch as health, education, networks,

age and gender can determine those

who are most susceptible and less able

to cope and recover from an event.

Prices going upEver visited the United Nations Relief

website? Every single day wars, weather-

related disasters, waterborne diseases,

pollution and other crises, mostly in

coastal areas, make the headlines. And

climate change continues to exacerbate

the problem with ever more frequent

storms and sea level rise.

Life goes on but change happens andwill continue to do so, especially on our

coasts. One out of four people live

within 100 km of the coast. Because we

work and live on the coast we are

subject to the risks that exist in these

much appreciated, but naturally

dynamic and exposed areas.

Manuela de los Rios is CoastNets new

Information and Communications

Manager. Contact her at:

[email protected]

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The edge Winter 2007 7

and Management

The 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami

resulted in the widespread

devastation of coastal

communities throughout the region

from a social, environmental and

economic perspective. The huge loss of

life as a result of the tsunami waves was

coupled with catastrophic destruction

of the coastal zone in areas of India,

Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

Areas most affected were generally

those where marginalised members of

the population were concentrated and

unsustainable management practices

were endemic.

Pre-tsunami policy climate andexacerbation of impacts

A lack of, or poor implementation oradherence to, policy and legislative

frameworks that support coastal area

management within the region

contributed to the unplanned

development of the coastal zone in the

pre-tsunami era and the suite of

problems with which it is associated.

Key issues leading to poor

implementation and adherence at a

regional level include:

the low capacity of affected

countries to participate in

Integrated Coastal Management

(ICM) programmes

the lack of a focal agency or

co-ordinating body for ICM

lack of integration persistence of

fragmentation and sectoral isolation

overlapping of jurisdiction and

misunderstandings over

responsibilities

inadequate legal frameworks to

oversee implementation.

Impacts of the tsunami served to

compound and exacerbate pre-existing

problems related to the aforementioned

The information in this article draws on perspectives from a series of country papers formulated for a workshop on Coastal Area Planning and

Management in Asian tsunami-affected countries, (www.fao.org/forestry/site/35734/en). The workshop in question was held in Bangkok,

Thailand, in September 2006 and forms one of a series of UN Food and Agriculture Organisation run workshops in the region addressing the

range of forestry, fisheries, aquaculture, and agriculture problems faced by Asian countries in the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami.

Integrated Coastal Planning

By Robert Kay, Principal of Coastal Zone Management (Australia)

in Asian tsunami-affected countries

unplanned development. For example,

had designated setback areas been

enforced along the coastal zone it is

likely that the mortality rate of

marginalised fisherfolk and their families

throughout the region would have been

significantly reduced. Although, it is

important to stress that while this is

both intuitively correct, and supported

by anecdotal evidence, rigorous

examination of this issue is still ongoing

and remains a matter for debate.

Post-tsunami managementchallengesThe need to undertake some kind of

coastal management planning process

within the post-tsunami rehabilitation

effort was widely acknowledgedthroughout the region in light of the

significant potential long-term benefits

afforded by an integrated and cross-

sectoral approach.

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8/16

making on-the-ground land-use

planning decisions. This was an

extreme situation in Aceh,

Indonesia where there was

effectively total disruption to local

government operations as staff were

either killed/injured or focusing on

immediate needs of family and

community members. The result

being that local government was

not functioning and decision-

making became problematic.

Requirements for quick action resulted

in many instances, in duplication and

overlap of resources and effort. While

the rebuilding process has strived to

avoid repeating the mistakes of the

past, unco-ordinated initiatives have

meant that rehabilitation and

reconstruction in areas affected by the

2004 Indian Ocean tsunami were not

always economically or

environmentally sustainable. This was

due, in large part, to immediate needs

of post-tsunami reconstruction that

resulted in relief and recovery activities

guided by reactive planning

perspectives. Currently, many of these

projects remain incomplete, unfinished

or have failed to achieve their intended

impact. However, rebuilding/restoration

provides the opportunity to step back

and initiate long-term planning using

the ICM framework/process.

Almost two years after the disaster

there are still a large percentage of

regional coastal populations who are

8 The edge Winter 2007

While the objectives of ICM provide a

sound framework for the long-term

sustainability of projects in the region,

there were a number of barriers to their

effective employment in the immediate

aftermath of the tsunami. Reasons for

this included:

pressure to re-build tsunami-affected

areas as quickly as possible both to

re-house local people and to

encourage tourists to return. often competing agendas of donors

to promote rapid re-development on

one hand, while promoting

sustainable development on the

other (combined with the sheer

complexity and scale of the

international relief effort). Also

many organisations do not have the

capacity or mandate to strike the

balance needed to respond rapidly

while also setting up programmes to

facilitate sustainable development.

perception that ICM is about

ecosystem management and not

about land-use planning, tourism

management, hazard management,

urban development or sustainable

livelihood promotion.

lack of understanding by donors and

national governments regarding the

role of ICM in a disaster situation.

procurement processes faced by

tsunami-affected countries that aretied to the many different needs and

systems of releasing funds by donors.

problems of engaging with local-

level coastal managers charged with

highly vulnerable and ill-equipped to

deal with future disasters. The critical

factor in this context is that ICM

planning strategies are designed to be

long-term pro-active approaches while

its underlying principles can be used to

respond immediately after the relief

stage. In a crisis situation (once

immediate food and shelter needs are

met) ICM was able to assist in rapid

consensus-building to allow informed

decisions to be made. However, thisview of the role of ICM was not

generally shared in the immediate

aftermath of the tsunami although

there are notable local examples of its

success (see photographs).

Consequently, because of this perception

of ICM as fundamentally a long-term

process, there is an emerging view in

the region that ICM practice requires

modification to cope with the

requirement for immediate responses

on short time frames resulting from

sudden events.

Approaches for sustainable ICMExamples following the Asian tsunami

highlight the imperative for quick and

robust ICM tools and techniques that are

accepted as an approach by governments

and donors alike in the case of disasters.

In this context, recent collaboration

among national, provincial and localemergency management agencies and

local communities under the USAID-

funded US Indian Ocean Tsunami

Warning System (IOTWS) Program, has

Extent of areas affected by the 26 December 2004

tsunami (Source: Adapted from AusAid, 2005)

Kamala, Thailand. April 2005,

(credit: Robert Kay)

8/14/2019 Winter 2006-2007 the Edge


led to development of the concept of

Coastal Community Resilience(CCR)

(http://www.us-

iotws.gov/ev_en.php?ID=2142_201&ID

2=DO_TOPIC )

The Coastal CommunityResilience Process (IOTWS)CCR promotes tsunami and other

hazard readiness through better and

more consistent tsunami awareness and

mitigation efforts among communitiesat risk. The main goal is to improve

public safety during tsunami

emergencies and to build resilience

against recurring coastal events. This

approach also has the advantage of

enabling the building of social capital

so that communities have resilience to

better deal with a range of externally-

imposed challenges, for example

economic disasters resulting from

currency crashes.

The concept of CCR blends elements of

disaster management and ICM and

improves communities ability to

transition from relief, recovery to

rebuilding quicker and more effectively.

It provides a promising framework that

has been tested through local scale

workshops and bodes well for future

efforts to minimise social disruption

and mitigate the effects of events and

impacts. While CCR is relevant to ICM

it should not be viewed as areplacement. Rather, CCR appears to

be a useful component to be adopted

into a broader ICM framework ie

protecting against and preparing for

coastal disasters is one component of

the holistic planning process. Indeed,

the CCR concept may become the

conduit through which integration

shortfalls have occurred to date in the

ICM response to the tsunami as

outlined in the next section.

Lessons learnedrelevant to post-tsunamireconstructionIn the aftermath of the

Indian Ocean tsunami it

has become clear that we

must ensure long-term

sustainable goals of ICM

do not become

compromised by reactiveresponses. Although

efforts to rebuild and

reconstruct have been

well intentioned, there

are still a large percentage of regional

coastal populations who are highly

vulnerable and ill-equipped to deal with

future disasters. In this climate, the

marriage of coastal disaster response

plans, principals of CCR and traditional

tools and techniques of ICM may

represent the way forward towards a

holistic planning process. This will

protect against and prepare for future

coastal disasters while at the same time

adding considerable benefit tosustainable responses to the 26

December 2004 tsunami disaster.

Robert Kay is Principal of Coastal

Zone Management (Australia) Pty

Ltd, PO BOX 191, Mosman Park,

Perth, Australia, 6012

Tel +61 (0)8 9284 6460

fax +61 (0)8 9383 3769

Email

[email protected]

Kamala, Thailand July 2005 (credit: Professor

Wong Poh Poh, National University of Singapore)

Koh phi phi Thailand in the aftermath of tsunami 2006

credit: Simon Gurney)

Acknowledgements &DisclaimerThanks to (Ailbhe Travers, Coastal

Zone Management Pty Ltd) for her

assistance with this article and

Jackie Alder for her useful

comments. The funding support

of the UN Food and Agriculture

Organisation is gratefully

acknowledged. The opinions

expressed in this article are those

of the authors only and do

necessarily not represent the views

of any other organisation.

8/14/2019 Winter 2006-2007 the Edge

10/16

Regeneration

after the floods

10 The edge Winter 2007

On 16 August 2004 Boscastle village

was ravaged by floods. It was one of the

most extreme alluvial flooding events

experienced in Britain. Exceptional

rainfall caused the River Valency to

burst its banks and within 24 hours, 200

mm of rain fell with floodwaters

sweeping through the historic

conservation area of the village,

destroying homes, businesses, cars and

the natural environment.

The local authorityNorth Cornwall District Council acted

immediately by taking control of the

flooded area. After 10 days, members of

the community returned to their

properties to start the slow process of

rebuilding their homes and businesses.

Perhaps the single most important act

for Boscastles successful regeneration

was the Council establishing the

In 2004 the Cornish village of Boscastle witnessed one of the most

extreme flooding events ever experienced in Britain. At its peak, the

equivalent of 100 tonnes of water flowed through the village every

second. The resulting disaster affected over 1,000 people with

major community infrastructure demolished. Fiona Fraser-Smithtakes a look at how the community worked together to rebuild the

village and finds a successful partnership approach to regeneration.

Boscastle Regeneration Steering Group

(BRSG) and the Boscastle Chamber of

Commerce. With so many stakeholders

responsible for the region (see key

players in the regeneration of Boscastle)

and with so many decisions to make, a

partnership approach was essential for

effective coordination and planning of

Boscastles regneration. The first

meeting was held, just five weeks after

the flood. Its role? To act as a central

hub and catalyst for all activities and

dialogue associated with the rebuilding

and regeneration of Boscastle.

One of the groups first actions was to

produce a monthly newsletter with

information on all aspects of Boscastles

regeneration. In 2007, the newsletter isstill produced and distributed to all

households in the community through

funding from Government Office.

Regenerationafter the floodsHow did Boscastle do it ?How did Boscastle do it ?

Boscastle the facts Around 1,000 residents and

visitors affected

Miraculously, no fatalities, with

only 1 reported casualty a broken

thumb. 7 helicopters airlifted 100 people

(including 6 firefighters) to safety.

29 out of the 31 Cornwall County

Fire Brigade stations were involved

in the incident and remained at

Boscastle for 7 days, assisting in

the clean-up operation.

58 properties were flooded, 4 of

which were demolished,

A further 40 properties were

flooded in the surrounding area. 4 footbridges along the Valency

Valley were washed away.

100 cars swept down the village

into the harbour.

Infrastructure damage to buildings

and services, cost estimated 2

million.

EnvironmentAgency

EnvironmentAgency

8/14/2019 Winter 2006-2007 the Edge


The national organisationFollowing the floods, the Environment

Agency commissioned a special study

involving various stakeholders. The

findings, published in January 2005,

became a major part of the subsequent

planning process. The findings

confirmed the affected area was an

existing floodplain, with a history of less

severe flooding. It advised that

damaged buildings could be rebuilt or

replaced within the flooded area on the

assumption that an effective flood

protection scheme was also installed.

Planning proposals were designed to

limit the impact of future flooding by

reducing the depth and speed of future

flood events and to re-design areas

where debris became blocked. Work has

now started on the scheme and is duefor completion in Spring 2008. The

building and engineering work will cost

in the region of 4,500,000.

To design a coherent flood prevention

scheme the Environment Agency also

worked through the Steering Group and

with the major landowner in the area,

The National Trust.

The landownerThe National Trust and its local

representative Jeff Cherrington are

playing an important role in the

regeneration of Boscastle. As a local

property owner it already had strong

links with the community which were

galvanised by the flooding. In addition

it was able to contribute to the planning

process due to significant knowledge of

the local infrastructure as well as the

historical aspects of the regeneration.

Post-flood it was important to retain as

much of the local fabric of the

buildings as possible and three Helping

the Harbour days where 60 70 local

people came to help clear the harbour of

stones and debris were organised. Many

of the stones were re-used as people

rebuilt their gardens and properties.

Working strategically through the

steering group, The National Trust

began making plans for restoration and

improvement of the flooded

conservation area. Alongside the Parish

Council it prepared an application for

Objective 1 funding to help sustain the

community and maintain visitornumbers. The application was

successful with 700,000 awarded,

matched by a further 700,000 from the

National Trust and council. For George

Findlay, Parish Council chairman at the

time, the funding allowed them to put

a polish on the village and improve the

appearance of their conservation area.

The communityTwo years after the disaster although

there is still a lot to be done, a

significant amount of progress has been

made. Boscastle has been able to

achieve this through the partnership-

based approach of the Steering Group.

The original community playing field in

the valley was no longer suitable due to

flood risk but through negotiation with

the National Trust, the Parish Council

have been able to obtain a new area.

Funding provided by South West Lions

Club and Objective 1 will enable themto add a childrens play area which the

community did not have before the

floods.

Despite the enormity of the disaster in

August of 2004 Boscastle has survived.

They have worked together as a

community and the Steering Group has

enabled agencies to effectively work

with each other as well as the

community.

Fiona Fraser-Smith

Email: [email protected]

Tel: 07900 212747

The key players in theregeneration of BoscastleThe local authority North

Cornwall District Council among

other things it is responsible for flood

and tidal defences on some rivers and

streams not controlled by the

Environment Agency and to develop

and implement major incident plans.

Was responsible for setting up the

Boscastle Steering Group with the goal

of consensus and communication

The national organisation The

Environment Agency is responsible forflood risk management, maintaining

flood defences on coasts and main

designated rivers, issuing flood

warnings and flood risk advice.

The landowner The National Trust

is a major landowner owning river

banks, footpaths, buildings as well as

300 acres of land in the immediate area

including the harbour area as well as

some key properties such as the Youth

Hostel, Harbour Caf which is being

converted to make the new Visitors

Centre.

The community The Parish

council was responsible for

representing and communicating the

views of the community.

Local business The Boscastle

Chamber of Commerce was set up to

ensure local businesses had adequate

representation in regeneration

decisions.

Local providers These includedcompanies responsible for various

insfrastructure and utilities and

included South West Water, BT,

Western Power and County Highways.

8/14/2019 Winter 2006-2007 the Edge


Hala Kilani, IUCNs Communication Officer for West and Central Asia/North Africa looks at

the environmental effects of the recent hostilities in Lebanon and the mobilisation efforts

for clean-up

Lebanon has constructed a stanch

war legacy for itself. But the

twelfth July war was different

from all the previous ones. Not only did

it claim over 1,000 civilian lives, 40 per

cent of which were children and

destroyed the countrys infrastructure

in only one month, it also stood

out in generating unprecedented

environmental degradation.

A landscape devastatedForest fires from phosphorous shells

and over one million cluster bombs

widely sparkled in the Lebanese

landscape. To date, cluster bombs still

litter the environment sustaining the

war and its impacts. With at least30,000 housing units completely

destroyed and more than 100,000

partially impacted and in the absence of

a strategy to manage such rubble,

mountains of demolition waste

replaced the green valleys and water

bodies of the south and reclaimed

coastal areas.

But the most concerning

environmental catastrophe by far was

the oil spill on Lebanons side of the

Mediterranean Sea that came as a result

of the bombing of a coastal power plant

located in the southern town of Jyeh.

This catastrophe was described by the

Lebanese Ministry of environment as

the worst environmental disaster in

the countrys history.

Israel bombed the power plant on two

occasions. After the first bombing on 13

July 2006 and despite the great risk

entailed, Ministry of Environment staff

hurried to the site and successfully

contained the damage and the spill by

building sand dams around the affectedtanks. But the second bombing on 15

July succeeded in pouring an estimated

15,000 tonnes of heavy fuel into

Lebanons marine environment.

Mobilisation thwartedIn oil spills, an early response is key to

cleaning the environment but

continued hostilities well into August

prevented any response from

materialising. Lebanon did not have

expertise and equipment such as

skimmers and booms to address the

problem. A complete air and sea

blockade obstructed the arrival of

equipment and assistance. Danger and

the numerous bombed bridges hindered

movement of people and vehicles.

Around 150 km of the shoreline was

contaminated, soiling and discolouring

Lebanons famous rocky, pebbly andsandy beaches up to Syria with black

fuel. Centuries old ports like the

Phoenician port of Byblos were invaded

by oil. Scenes of fishing boats floating on

black, thick fuel came from different

parts: Fishermens Wharf in Beirut and

Movenpick Marina, Byblos and Tripoli

harbor.

The long-shore currents moving in a

south-north direction transported the

fuel all the way to the Syrian coast. The

south-north movement of currents was

accompanied by a circular motion that

transferred the fuel from the sea to the

shoreline. This is how large quantities of

oil shored and stabilised in marinas,

harbors, bays and caves.

After the ceasefireResponding to a request by the Ministry

of Environment, IUCN arrived on the

first day of the ceasefire (August 14) tothe war-stricken country to assess the

damage and propose remediation. At the

time, the blockade was still imposed and

the security situation critical. Strict

w Clean up Daileh

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security policies were still active and

disallowed other international

assistance and experts namely from

United Nations agencies from arriving

quickly. Effective response, therefore,

only started 33 days after the spill. This

multiplied the difficulties and thenegative impact on marine life and

beaches.

The bombed bridges and roads

complicated shoreline assessment. But

commitment to environmental

protection mobilised IUCN to travel

along the entire affected sections of the

shoreline. The damage was found to be

extensive. For example, Ramlet el

Baida, the only stretch of public beach

still remaining in Beirut and nesting

site for endangered marine turtles was

heavily oiled. The oil had soaked deep

layers of sand.

Minister of Environment Jacob Sarraf

organised a news conference in early

August calling for help stating the risks,

such as the danger of carcinogenesis in

the case of contact with the toxic

product. After this, several NGOs

volunteered to clean the beach. But itwas still late. The oil had gone deep and

volunteers had to shovel out several

layers of sand, which even now await

treatment and disposal. Removal of

large amounts of sand naturally poses

the risk of erosion.

Around the Jyeh power plant, rivers of

oil had sunk due to the high pressure

induced by the explosion and the

burning of the light and volatile

elements present in the fuel. The Italian

government mobilised resources and

assistance to suction and manually

remove the underwater slick. Two

vessels and a dozen experts from the

Italian coast guards, ministry of

environment and marine research

institutes arrived and worked for several

months.

Submerged oil takes years to degrade

due to lack of oxygen and physical

factors. Moreover, it gets covered with

sediment, which makes the cleaning

operation very difficult and tricky.

A community of people andwildlife devastatedA Lebanese NGO called Bahr

Loubnan backed by France hired

fishermen and divers as part of a

strategy to compensate for their losses.

Many fishermen lost their boats and

revenue as the spill and fear of its

impact on fish decreased market

demand for the product. With

geography exposing half the country to

the Mediterranean, the livelihoods of

more than 30,000 Lebanese families

depend on fishing as an economic

activity.

IUCN was particularly concerned for

Palm Islands Nature Reserve, the only

marine protected area in the country

located 5.5km off the city of Tripoli.

This archipelago of three islands is very

rich in biodiversity. The oil had

polluted this reserve, classified as a

Special Protected Area under the

Barcelona Convention and a Ramsar

site. Palm Islands are a stop over for

migrating birds, some of which are

globally threatened. Endangered

marine Loggerhead and Green turtles

also nest in this site.

Patches of mousse filled the rocky

crevices of the islands and oil covered

their limestone surfaces. The

contamination exposed birds to oiling

and turtles to suffocation. It also killed

inter-tidal life, such as mussels, oysters

and algae, here and in other parts of the

shoreline. An important percentage ofthe fish food chain was therefore

completely destroyed. Fishermen

continue to complain of reduced

numbers of catches.

The clean-upIUCN mobilised funds from the Swiss

Development Agency and clean-up of

the islands started end of October 2006.

The Swiss also took charge of cleaning

the northern side of the shore

extending from a village called Anfeh toTripoli. The United States Agency for

International Development financed

the cleaning of the area extending from

Byblos to Anfeh with $5 million.

Canadian and Japanese funds are

expected to be used for the clean-up of

the southern beaches neighbouring the

power plant.

The edge Winter 2007 13

v Beirut

IUCN started an impact assessment on

marine life around Palm Islands as apilot for a more extensive study of

coastal biodiversity. It is also trying to

raise funds to counter the damage by

declaring new marine reserves.

Despite all the clean-up efforts, experts

agree that pollution will be felt for

years. Although most of the oil may

decompose in three years, traces of the

black oil will continue to visually

pollute the landscape and remind

people of the catastrophe.

Although for us experts, the shoreline

will be clean, if the public even see

small traces they will feel their beaches

are not yet clean, said Xavier Kremer, a

French oil-spill expert with CEDRE, an

NGO which specialises in pollution.

People who live off the sea will

remember this pollution all their lives.

It will stain their memory forever,

Kremer said.

Hala Kilani is IUCNs Communication

Officer for West and Central Asia/North

Africa. Email: [email protected]

8/14/2019 Winter 2006-2007 the Edge


When thelevees brokeOn August 29th 2005 at 0610 New Orleans time, Hurricane Katrina crashed onto the US Gulf Coast,

whipping up winds of up to 170 mph tearing through flood defences of low-lying New Orleans and

flooding 80 per cent of the city. A disaster zone almost the size of the UK was left in Katrinas wake with

1,700 people losing their lives and nearly 80,000 homes destroyed.

The cost of the damage wreaked by Katrina has been estimated to top around $100 billion with

President Bush declaring this one of the worst national disasters in our nation's history.

The statistics of disaster. Incredible? Yes. Shocking? Maybe. Detached from normality and unhinged

from emotions? Definitely. Not so for Chari Lopez, a teacher living and working in New Orleans when

Katrina hit. She gives Lesley Smeardon her personal account before and after the levees broke.

8/14/2019 Winter 2006-2007 the Edge


Cat 5, was something big, so right

after the party we went home, packed

and left. On Sunday we were stuck in

traffic for 16 hours, with stormy

weather, thunder and lightning.

On the Monday morning (29 Aug)

when Katrina hit, there were

reports on National US TV thatthe levees were being breached

and the city was going to flood.

Were you aware of this?

When I first arrived at my job, we were

given hurricane-related training, and

told what a Cat 4 or 5 hurricane could

do. One of the possibilities was the

breaching of the levees, but that was

such a remote idea, no one really

considered it. Every year at hurricane

season we used to talk about it, but noone actually expected it to happen.

Can you describe your

experiences on the day that

Katrina hit? How did Katrina

personally affect you?

By the time the levees were breached,

I was at a friends house in Sulphur

(later to be devastated by Rita). They

didnt have a TV, so we heard the news

by radio. We ran to our closest

neighbour and asked them to let us

watch the news. We couldnt believe it

I was in tears. To see the place you

live in and the city you love being

flooded was hard to accept.

A couple of days after Katrina I was

able to find out that my home hadnt

been flooded although two blocks

away was three feet under water. But

four days later my next door

neighbour phoned to say they had lefttheir house when they saw water

coming through the street. They told

me how heartbreaking it was when

they were leaving the city to see

people who had already lost their lives

in the road.

How long was it before you went

back to New Orleans after the

hurricane? Did you feel that you

were kept well informed?

It took me a month. I kept updated

with what was happening through a

local newspapers web page and

through NOLA.com (New Orleans

local site). I used to check daily for

those looking for disappeared people

and to get information about my

neighbourhood. The website was giving

out information as to which postal

codes were able to go back into the city.

The city was still under military control

and to get your house you needed to

show your ID.

We were able to go back to our homes

after a month under certain conditions

that we brought disinfectant products

and masks, got vaccinated for tetanus,

took water, food and cleaning products.

Most importantly we were not able to

leave our homes from 8pm to 8am

under the curfew.

I was lucky. I lived on a second floor

and my home was fine and nobody had

tried to get in. Everything was very

dirty and messy, but everything was

just fine. I still cant believe it when I

think of all the people who lost their

lives or homes and I still had all my

belongings

What was the single thing that has

stayed in your memory the most,

regarding the events leading up to,

and after Katrina hit?

I remember the day I got back for thefirst time in the city. The smell was

awful, putrid. It was shocking to see

boats in the middle of dry roads, but

the strongest memory was the water

marks on the houses as the waters

lowered and the signs the military

made when they registered the houses.

They posted a sign in paint with the

date, the group who checked the house

and the number of dead people in each

house. I saw too many numbers. Those

people your neighbours who used to

live there now dead. It was the hardest

thing. It is an experience that has

changed my life forever.

What were you doing in New

Orleans at the time the hurricane

hit? Were you living there?

I was living in the Garden District in

one of the university areas. I had been

living there for two years and worked

as a Spanish teacher in an elementary

school at Algiers Point on the other

side of the Mississippi River. On the

Friday, right before Katrina hit, I was

working in school as usual and had

said to my old school mates: Have a

nice weekend. See you on Monday I

have never seen most of them again.

Katrina was first announced as a

hurricane four days before it hit

New Orleans, upgraded to a Cat 5hurricane the day before. But

when were you first aware of the

potential devastation this

hurricane could cause?

After living in New Orleans for two

years, another hurricane was nothing

new. Its true it was Cat 5, but the year

before I had been evacuated to north

Louisiana and nothing happened.

None of my friends were aware how

big the hurricane would be. On the

Saturday night, we were at a birthday

party. Nobody was thinking about

leaving the city, but a local friend

convinced us to go. He had never left

the city before for a hurricane, but a

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CoastNet events

Conferences

Climate Change

Location: CardiffDate: May 2007

SEA Directive andcoastal spatial strategies

Location: NewcastleDate: March 2007

Registration enquiries for all conferences to

[email protected]

All Party Parliamentary Group on coastal

and marine issuesLocation: Grimond Room, Portcullis HouseDate: 25 January 2007

on: Social Justice in Flood and Erosion Risk

Next APPG meeting: May 2007

Partnership forum 2007Date & venue:To be confirmed.

CoastNet emails:

Theresa Redding;

[email protected]

Pat Stitt;

[email protected]

Lesley Smeardon;

[email protected]

Manuela de los Rios;

[email protected]

This publication is partially funded through the Corepoint

project under the Interrreg 3B Programme. Corepoint aims

to establish North West Europe as an internationally

recognised region of excellence in coastal management

by encouraging full implementation of ICZM, highlighting

best practice, providing education by influencing nationalspatial policies for further details please see

http://corepoint.ucc.ie

s For information on any of the conferences listed

please contact CoastNet on 01206 728644 or by email

[email protected]

winter 2006-2007 the edge

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