Coastal
The UK coastline is one of the longest in Europe, at over
12,400 km, and is also one of the most varied and dynamic. The
coastal zone contains terrestrial habitats and species which are
subject to marine influences, including four Priority Habitats
under the
UK Biodiversity Action Plan:
The UK coastline has been subject to urban development,
land-claim for agriculture and industry, and recreational
pressures. Conservation designations and planning policies have
reduced some of these threats, but port and other transport
developments remain issues. An increasingly important issue
especially on soft coasts is 'coastal squeeze', where the extent of
saltmarsh is diminishing as it is 'squeezed' between flood defences
and rising relative sea levels.
JNCC's role is to identify and co-ordinate coastal work of UK
and international relevance. The
Coastal Lead Co-ordination Network (LCN)
was established to assist the JNCC carry out its special functions
with respect to the coast. The current main priority is to develop
common standards for monitoring habitat condition of vegetated
shingle, sand dunes, saltmarsh and vegetated sea cliffs on
designated sites.
The Coastal LCN is assessing types of dynamic change –
man-made and natural – on coastal habitats, the implications that
change has for monitoring and surveillance, and how change might
influence management.
Other areas of interest include surveillance and monitoring
methodologies for coastal habitats, and the dissemination of
coastal datasets held by JNCC and the country agencies.
The Coastal LCN has also completed a scientific review of
coastal saltmarshes.
Resources