The Risoe Centre of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) at the Department of Management Engineering of the Technical University of Denmark has launched a new tool for coastal hazard assessment, termed the Coastal Hazard Wheel.
The tool will allow coastal planners and developers to easily assess the hazard profile of a given coastal stretch under changing climatic conditions. It is applicable at local, regional and national scale and provides a simple screening system to support public and private management decisions in coastal areas.
The tool is developed to cover all coastal environments worldwide through a specially designed coastal classification system, building on key bio-geophysical parameters. It provides information on the degree to which key climate change hazards are inherent in a particular coastal environment, and covers the hazards of ecosystem disruption, gradual inundation, salt water intrusion, erosion and flooding.
The Coastal Hazard Wheel is especially targeted decision-makers in developing countries, where data may be unavailable or difficult to obtain. It can therefore be applied in areas lacking geophysical data collection systems. In areas where data are readily available, it can provide a useful tool for hazard screening and a starting point for deciding on more extensive hazard evaluations.
The tool is available as a one-page handout of the Coastal Hazard Wheel and a background paper giving detailed information on the assessment procedure. The background paper can be downloaded with open access at http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11852-012-0218-z