ABSTRACT
Abstract: Over recent centuries, the eastern coastal zone of England has been subject to dynamic change as the result of the combined pressure of, inter alia, land-use change, urbanization and industrialization, and episodic natural storm events. There is now a growing weight of evidence to suggest that climate change-related impacts, such as sea-level rise and more frequent and extreme storm surges, pose signicant additional threats to human communities, economic and cultural assets, and ecosystems and habitats. Historical adaptive strategies, dominated by engineered structures of various types, will need to be augmented and/or changed if both people and nature are to build resilience to future stress and shock. This chapter considers past coastal management principles and practices and the emergence of new coastal policy practice in England, drawing lessons for future, more adaptive management strategies such as managed realignment. Although economic analysis such as cost-benet analysis can help to more clearly identify future trade-offs, successful adaptation will require governance reforms and a new approach to matters of stakeholder engagement, compensation and social justice and equity perceptions and realities.
