Coastal Erosion

Oceans coasts have always been susceptible to coastal erosion and Fiji has a lot of these coasts. There are 2 main reasons as to why coastal erosion may occur, the first is through natural causes and events, the second is through human interference with coastal processes. In general, the beaches and shorelines of Fiji showcase a strong coastal stability. but there are many specific areas which suffer erosion. In Fiji most if not all of coastal erosion is not due to any natural factor but because of human influence. One such case is the erosion at Long Sandy Beach on the island of Matacawa Levu in the resort known as Long Sandy Beach. Jetties were built in order to extend the area of the resort. "This blocked the existing coastal longshore-drift and current direction". This in return led to the reversed circulation hitting the shore and causing the erosion. The jetties had altered and changed the coastal currents which led to erosion over a specific area of the beach. Another example is at Yageta Village on Matacawa Levu Island, the erosion here was initiated due to the removal of "thousands and thousands of sea cucumbers" which ended up affecting the stability of the sand on the beach of the village. In both of these examples we can see the "effects of human interference with the coastal sedimentary conditions."



Rising seas and relocation in Fiji - Policy Forum

PowerPoint Presentation (gov.vu)


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