COASTAL EROSION AND ITS COUNTERMEASURES IN SMALL ISLAND COUNTRIES IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC

Abstract

Coastal zones are precious environment for the small island countries in the South Pacific. The coastal zones consist of sandy beaches, coral reefs and mangroves, which have been kept natural for a long time. However, since around 1960, coastal erosion has become apparent, and today it is a prevailing problem in many islands. In this paper, the present situation of costal erosion is presented based on field and literature surveys for Fiji, Samoa, Tuvalu, Kiribati, etc. There are very few places where modernc oastal engineering was applied to design and construction of coastal protection measures such as seawalls. A major problem is; lack of scientific and technical knowledge for erosion, fragile materials used, lack of appropriate design of coastal structure, and poor financial, institutional and technological ability of governments of the island countries.