January 6th, 2010
Help for Jurassic Coast
Dorset County Council have won their bid for government funding to help protect the Jurassic Coast from the ravages of climate change.
The main concerns for the area (15 sections of coastline between Devon and Dorset) are storm damage, erosion and rising sea levels. In fact, only last year a huge landslide destroyed 400 metres of the world heritage coastline near Lime Regis. Clearly, the councils realised it was time to act.
£376,500 is now available to Devon and Dorset in order for them to assist the most venerable communities in the area. However, the money will not, as you would imagine, be going to improve sea defences, but to help the inhabitants gain a better understanding and ability to adapt to the impact of inevitable coastal changes. Debates will be held at local level, contingency plans devised and there will be the introduction and development of training programmes for conservationists.
Is this a case of forearmed is forewarned? Although it’s a positive nod by the government, towards recognising the dangers facing an island nation from the ravages of global warming, perhaps more should be being done to slow erosion and raising sea levels in the first place.
