Coastal Protection Measures – Case of Small Island Developing States to Address Sea-level Rise

Small Island Developing States are considered as one of most severely affected by climate change and sea-level rise. Some atoll nations would virtually disappear with a sea-level rise of one metre. The objective is to derive a first-cut classification of coastal protection technology for the Small Island Developing States to address sea-level rise. First, an assessment is made of the existing and future adaptation measures to sea-level rise in the latest 35 English-language National Communications submitted by the Small Island Developing States to the UNFCCC. Next, a wide variety of adaptation measures is culled from key coastal engineering manuals and other sources with a focus on more innovative tools and ideas beyond the traditional hard and soft measures. This yielded several possible adaptation tools that could be used by the Small Island Developing States, and with further research, more tools could be applied. In conclusion, a first-cut classification of coastal protection technology is proposed for the Small Island Developing States to address sea-level rise. The resulting table shows eight categories graded from the usual hard and soft measures to new and innovative ideas.