Cape Town assesses the future of its coastline

Most of us have heard that the sea level is rising and with a huge chunk of ice the size of Luxembourg breaking away from the Antarctica last week, its not surprising that the people of Cape Town should be concerned about rising sea levels.

Cape Town should brace itself for bigger storms dumping massive amounts of rain, as climate change takes hold, Gregg Oelofse, the city's head of environmental policy said on Tuesday.
 
Oelofse was speaking at the release of a report on his department's ongoing sea-level rise risk assessment project.
 
This week the City of Cape Town released the results of a proactive Sea Level Rise Risk Assessment to prepare for any possible future effects of climate change on its 307km of coastline.
 
Various departments within the City worked together in conducting the assessment so as to develop a strategy. This five-phase assessment took place over a period of approximately three years. The first phase, saw the development of a computer-based Geographical Information System (GIS) model – namely the Climate Change Sea Level Rise Model – to predict possible sea-level rises.
 
A number of risks and possible impacts were identified during the second phase, after which a comprehensive risk assessment was done. The fourth phase saw the identification of possible mitigation measures.
 
In the final phase, locations that are potentially susceptible to the dangers of climate change were identified.  Areas include Milnerton beach, Sea Point/Green Point Sea Wall, Camps Bay and the Strand to just name a few.
 
The Climate Change Sea Level Rise Model was adapted to establish these areas. This was achieved by factoring in the local biophysical aspects which influence the degree of risk. These biophysical factors include the shape of the sea floor, the presence of islands and the sheltering effect that they provide, swell characteristics and swell/storm direction.
 
The City has initiated a number of strategies to pro-actively deal with the impacts of climate change along the coast, including:
 
1.The development and implementation of the City's coastal protection Zone - a planning mechanism to protect coastline by preventing inappropriate development and preserving coastline.
 
2.Undertaking an institutional assessment to determine the City's capacity for risk management - this will examine the expertise in the City and identify any gaps in strategy.
 
3.The development of the City's coastal management plan. This plan will focus on key priority areas and will provide strategic guidance and management protocols in terms of the City’s daily coastal operational responsibilities.
 
4.To extend the scope of the City's understanding of risk and its preparedness for events ranging from sea levels to inland fresh water flooding.