Should we abandon or rebuild coastal defences?

A Case Study of the Coastal Stretch between Akurala and Hikkaduwa in Sri Lanka
ABSTRACT
The scope of this technical Poster is confined to the coastal stretch that runs southwards from the village of Akurala up to Hikkaduwa in southern Sri Lanka. This particular coastal region is prone to sea erosion which eats up the coast at the rate of 1-2m a year. Various factors both natural and manmade - contribute to this situation. As such, the government of Sri Lanka through its Coast Conservation Department (CCD) has taken several measures to rectify the problem. Over the past 6 decades various types of coastal defence structures have been built with mixed results. After the massive destruction caused in this area by the tidal waves of the 2004 tsunami, renewed efforts were undertaken to build effective coastal defences along this stretch at a cost of around 7million US dollars. Considering the socio economic importance of this coastal stretch and the geo-political nature of Sri Lanka, this poster tends to recommend that the existing coastal defences should be strengthened or rebuilt where and when necessary.

45% of the population was involved in this industry. Further, there are off-shore submerged coral reefs 50 200m from the shoreline which have been acting as natural breakwaters protecting the coast from erosion. Lime manufacturers in Akurala obtained their raw materials (corals) in three different ways: 1. Mining the buried coral reefs in the hinterland 2. Collecting the coral debris deposited by waves on the shore. 3. Illegally breaking the off-shore coral reefs including the live corals.

The new measures seem to have been effective in minimising sea erosion. This is evident from the state of the A2 highway which has remained intact since the above mentioned measures.

Figure 3 - Boulder revetments and Groynes between Akurala and Hikkaduwa.

PROPOSALS
Figure 2 Natural coral barrier Mining of the off-shore coral reef barriers has resulted in increased sea erosion in this area. Anchoring of fishing boats and discharging waste water into the sea also have contributed to the disintegration of these coral reefs. The resultant sea erosion caused intermittent damage to the Colombo- Matara (A2) highway at several places. (b) Hikkaduwa which is 7km south of Akurala is the most popular tourist destination in Sri Lanka. Its sandy beaches and colourful marine coral reefs attract thousands of foreign tourists annually. Several hotels have been constructed along its beach. The Hikkaduwa fishery harbour with breakwaters and groynes has also been reconstructed after the tsunami of 2004. Hikkaduwa and the adjacent coastal stretch have sustained severe sea erosion during the past few decades. The major contributing factors have been: 1) Damage to the offshore coral reefs due to illegal mining, natural phenomena like coral bleaching, anchoring of boats, discharge of polluted water into the sea etc... 2) Tidal waves caused by the monsoon weather changes. 3) Sand mining 4) Expansion of the fishery harbour without a proper study of the tidal patterns and drifts. 5) Haphazard infrastructure development by the tourist industry. To safeguard the coast from sea erosion boulder revetments were erected along the coast from Akurala to Hikkaduwa. However, due to lack of maintenance, these revetments started to collapse. In vulnerable places, the boulders have completely vanished allowing sea erosion. Earlier, the Sri Lanka Ports Authority was in charge of coastal defence measures. In 1981 the Coast Conservation Department (CCD) was established for the purpose. However, very minimal maintenance work was done on the existing revetments. A few groynes were also erected by the CCD. The December 2004 tsunami devastated the coastal stretch between Akurala and Hikkaduwa. 2-5m high tidal waves destroyed almost all the houses and other buildings in the area. Even a train carrying more than 1200 passengers was swept away by the waves. Sea water inundated areas up to 2000m from the shore. These tragic events highlighted the necessity of strengthening coastal defences along this stretch. The coastal stretch from Akurala to Hikkaduwa is of great importance to the economy of Sri Lanka. It contributes significantly to the national income through its tourist and fishery industries. Further the vital A2 highway and coast line rail track goes through this stretch. If coastal defence structures are neglected, sea erosion would force all the above industries and transport routes to be moved further away from the coast. This would cost the Sri Lankan government an enormous amount of money and effort. Further such an action would displace thousands of people who live close to the coast. Sri Lanka with its budgetary constraints and large foreign debts, cannot afford to venture into such a massive project.

INTRODUCTION
Sri Lanka is an island nation situated south of the Indian sub-continent between 5 and 10 north of the equator. It has a total land area of 65,000 km2 and a coastline of about 1,585 km of which 300 km are beaches and sand dunes. Sri Lanka is faced with the problem of severe coastal erosion which slowly eats up the coastal land areas of the country. This threat is seriously felt in the western and south western coastal areas where more than 40% of the population lives. The stretch of the coast from Akurala to Hikkaduwa is about 7 km long. The economically vital Colombo Matara highway and the coast line track of the Sri Lanka Railways run parallel to the shore line in close proximity. Over the decades, coastal erosion has repeatedly damaged several portions of the highway, affecting traffic flow and costing millions of rupees in repair and reconstruction. To defend the coast from waves, revetments were erected along the shoreline using large granite boulders. However, with passage of time these boulders got buried in the sand allowing the revetments to disintegrate. Natural off-shore coral reefs found in this region have been acting as effective defences against coastal erosion. However, coral mining for the manufacture of lime has damaged these natural breakwaters thereby accelerating sea erosion.

Figure 4 Proposed Gabion structure As such, we propose that attention should be focused on strengthening the existing coastal defences and on erecting additional structures where and when necessary. In this regard, we propose that the following activities and projects should be initiated: 1. A comprehensive study should be undertaken to chart the tidal cycles, wave energy reflections and sand drifting patterns prevalent in this area of the sea. 2. More Groynes should be constructed corresponding to the findings of the above study. 3. As the present Gabion walls have been proved to be very durable and effective, all the boulder revetments should be gradually replaced with gabion walls. 4. A fund should be established under the present Special Area Management Plan (SAMP) especially for the maintenance and repair of the coastal defence structures. All stake holders, including hoteliers, Fishery cooperatives, local government bodies, the Road Development Authority (RDA) and Sri Lanka Railways should be made to contribute regularly to this fund.

CONCLUSION
Being a very small developing country with a comparatively high population, Sri Lanka cannot afford to waste its land resources. Therefore, it has to safeguard every inch of its land from sea erosion. Consequently it has to depend on coastal defence structures such as breakwaters, groynes and revetments to protect the coastal areas from the detrimental effects of sea erosion. As such, a research based long term plan has to be implemented to erect and maintain such coastal defence structures. Old methods of construction and maintenance which are not cost effective have to be supplemented with modern techniques and equipment. Foreign expertise should be utilised where and when necessary. We believe that, if this project is implemented with a correct vision and managed properly, it would solve the current problems related to coastal erosion.

PRESENT SITUATION
After the tsunami, the CCD has initiated several programs under its Coastal Zone Management Project (CZMP) to protect this coastal area. They include: 1. Banning of coral mining and sand mining. 2.Restriction of infrastructure development along the coast. 3. Construction of high Gabion walls along the shore line. 4. Construction of Groynes at several points to regulate sand drifting. The Sri Lankan government has spent over 7 million US dollars in strengthening the coastal defences in this region. Now 2m high Gabion walls have been completed along the most vulnerable points. In other places Boulder revetments have been reconstructed. Groynes have also been erected between Akurala and Hikkaduwa.

Figure 1 Site Map

SITE DESCRIPTION
(a) Akurala is about 90km south of the capital city Colombo. Akurala and its environs have been famous for their lime kilns which produce lime and slaked lime for the construction industry. There are several buried coral reefs on the land adjacent to the sea shore. They are believed to be the result of Holocene marine transgression which occurred 4000 to 5000 years ago. Coral mining in this area has a history of more than 180 years and about

References:
Rajasuriya, A and White, A.T. . 1995. Coral Reefs of Sri Lanka: Current Status And Resource Management. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.fao.org/docrep/X5627E/x5627e09.htm. [Accessed 03 December 11]. Civil Engineering Sri Lanka. 2011. Stone Filled Wire Baskets and Mattresses Gabions. [ONLINE] Available at: http://goda02.com/stone-filled-wire-baskets-and-mattresses-gabions#respond. [Accessed 03 December 11] Serving Sri Lanka. 2005. COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT IN SRI LANKA: CURRENT ISSUES AND MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES. [ONLINE] Available at: http://servesrilanka.blogspot.com/2005/02/coastal-zone-management-in-sri-lanka.html. [Accessed 01 December 11].