Abstract:
Recent coastal storms in southern Africa have highlighted the need for more
proactive management of the coastline. Within the southern and eastern African region the
availability of coastal information is poor. The greatest gap in information is the likely
effects of a combination of severe sea storms and future sea level rise (SLR) on the
shoreline. This lack of information creates a barrier to informed decision making. This
research outlines a practical localized approach to this problem, which can be applied as a
first order assessment within the region. In so doing it provides a cost effective and simple
decision support tool for the built environment and disaster professionals in development
and disaster assessments. In a South African context the newly promulgated Integrated
Coastal Management Act requires that all proposed coastal developments take into
consideration future SLR, however such information currently does not exist, despite it
being vital for informed planning in the coastal zone. This practical approach has been
applied to the coastline of Durban, South Africa as a case study. The outputs are presented
in a Geographic Information System (GIS) based freeware viewer tool enabling ease of
access to both professionals and laypersons. This demonstrates that a simple approach can
provide valuable information about the current and future risk of flooding and coastal
erosion under climate change to buildings, infrastructure as well as natural features along
the coast.
