COMPENSATION AND COASTAL PROTECTION

In this presentation, the authors examine the circumstances in which public bodies and professionals retained by them can be liable to pay monetary compensation for erosion damage. Coastal engineering, together with the analysis of coastal processes, play an important role in this legal landscape. Public bodies may come under a duty to implement defensive works; but equally they may be responsible for adverse impacts from them, such as end effects erosion. Coastal engineers may be engaged to provide critical protective works; but they may be liable where works are not designed or built to required standards or for stipulated purposes. Difficulties in assessing likely risk due to changes associated with climate change add an additional dimension with the increased risk of failure of protective works facing conditions which may not have previously been considered in the design criteria. Drawing from a decade of experience acting for litigants and property owners in erosion hotspots in New South Wales, the authors identify the key principles that apply in Australia and other common law jurisdiction and discuss how these rules can apply to scenarios where a disaster arises on any coastline. Some of the cases covered were included in the 2017 review by the United Nations entitled "The Status of Climate Change Litigation".

THE INFLUENCE OF SHORE PROTECTION WORKS ON GULLIES

When studying charts showing the bottom-topography of estuaries in the South-West of Holland, it is striking that in the longitudinal development of gullies local depths occur, which are much greater than the average depth. From a closer consideration it appears that the deepest points are always situated near protective works against erosion of the shore. The connection between the shore protection works and the deep scourholes and its influence on the gully-system will be dealt with in this paper.

SHORELINE ADVANCEMENT BY SEA WALL AND GROYNES AT COCHIN

In the paper "Some coastal engineering problems in India" presented at the Vlth Conference on Coastal Engineering, a mention has been made about experimental protective measures consisting of one mile long sea wall and groynes adopted for giving protection to the coast near Cochin. The protective works mentioned in the above paper are now in operation for the last five years. As there are no major rivers there is very little littoral drift along this coast. The material eroded from the coast forms the main source of littoral transport. The data regarding high water and low water marks along the coast have been recorded, and statistically analysed to assess the efficiency of these measures in respect of shoreline advancement. Results are discussed in the paper. Some experiments have also been carried out in the prototype for a sea wall with bituminous grouting. Behaviour of this type of sea wall has also been discussed in the paper. Since the construction of the experimental measures, protective measures in the shape of either sea wall or sea walls with groynes have been further extended to a 10 mile long reach of the coast. The results of these new works, experiments carried out in a model for evolving the design of protective measures and model limitations have also been included. Fig. 1 shows the plan of the sea wall and groynes in one mile experimental reach.

Zwei Herren von Wädenswil und die Wasserwirtschaft der Mönche von Interlaken | Two lords of Wädenswil and the water resources management of the monks of Interlaken

In 1257 the lords of the castle of Unspunnen granted the monks of Interlaken the right to build protective works against the floods of the torrent Lütschine and to divert some of its water to the monastery. The corresponding charter belies a widespread legend, which attributes to the monks a real correction of the Lütschine.