ABSTRACT
The study of a country's coastline in many parts of the world is a study of man's ingenuity over nature. The coastline has and continues to attract the majority of a country's population. The impact of the wind, the waves, and the tides, are some of the forces that are continually changing the coastline. The coastline should ideally be in a balance, that is, the forces of nature should be accommodated without damage of a significant amount occurring. There are a number of forces that are acting on the coastline, and while many of them are natural many of them are often aided and abetted by human intervention. In Europe responsibility for the coastline is largely the responsibility of the central government with this authority delegated to water authorities and other bodies. The salt marsh can be defined as an intertidal area of fine sediment stabilised by vegetation, occurring extensively along the seaward edges of low-lying coastal areas.
