Coastal erosion

Coastal erosion is a process of change that

occurs at the land sea interface and is severe
problem in Sri Lanka.
It has been estimated that 685 kilometers
of coast line in the south, south west and
the west coast, about 175,000 - 285,000
square meters of coastal land are lost each
year.
Coastal erosion is also matter of issue
because of following reasons:
o 65% of urbanized land area is in coastal
areas.
o Factories producing 2/3 of industrial
output.
o 40% of nations 18 million inhabitants
live in SW coastal districts from
Colombo to Galle.
1

Coastal erosion (contd)

Main cause for coastal erosions are identified as:
o Sand mining
o Coral mining
o Construction of maritime structures
The Master Plan for Coastal Erosion (1989) revealed
that more than 49,000 meters of revetment and
6,360 meters of grayness have been constructed.
Most of these structures were poorly designed and
in some cases led to an increase of coastal erosion.
Poorly designed fishery harbors also have created
coast erosion problems

Refrences
Lareef Zubair and Vidhura Ralapanawe, Upamala Tennakoon,Zeenas Yahiya, and Ruvini Perera,
(2006),Natural Disaster Risks in Sri Lanka: Mapping Hazards and Risk Hotspots
Chandana Seneviratne, (2005), Coastal Zone Management In Sri Lanka: Current Issues And Management
Strategies,
http://servesrilanka.blogspot.jp/2005/02/coastal-zone-management-in-sri-lanka.html [viewed on
11/05/2014]
Srilanka, Disaster Management Centre ,United Nations Development Programme in Sri Lanka, United
Nations Development Programme Regional Centre, Bangkok, (2009), Sri Lanka National Report on Disaster
Risk, Poverty and Human Development Relationship (draft report).
Kem Lowry, The Evolution of Integrated Coastal Management in SriLanka,
http://www.loiczsouthasia.org/pdfdocuments/10-1.pdf, [viewed on 11/05/2014]