Human Influence

The way we live, work and play is influenced by the physical geography of the area in which we live. Our interaction with the environment also has an effect on our surroundings.

Humans are drawn to the coast, initially for ease of transport and industry, but increasingly for recreation purposes. Indeed many of the world's major cities have been built on or near good harbours and have port facilities.

The coast, is also an important draw for tourists offering popular recreational activities such as sailing, surfing and fishing. As a result in many locations tourism is central to the economy.

The coast also faces many environmental challenges relating to human-induced impacts. The human influence on climate change is thought to be a contributing factor of an accelerated trend in sea level rise which threatens coastal habitat.

New developments in energy production focus on the coast, with current plans for offshore wind farms off the Dorset coast and tidal power being tested at the Wave Hub in Cornwall. Although these development are necessary for us to move to renewable energy sources, they may in the future affect coastal process and ultimately the shape of the coast.

All of these factors have the potential to conflict with each other and in turn affect the very evnironment which attracts people to the coast in the first place. The desire to live by the coast in the past whether due to asthetic, economic or other reasons has produced a requirment for the coast to be artificially protected to restict coastal erosion.

This has led to the management of the coast, by building groynes, sea walls or allowing the sea to reclaim land under managed retreat schemes affect where the coast changes due to human influences instead of natural ones.

At Lyme Regis the stabilisation of the gardens backing onto the beach has had the effect of holding the current line instead of allowing natural changes over time. For more information on specific coastal protection measure click here.