An assessment of coastal vulnerability for the South African coast

Abstract

Coastal vulnerability is the degree to which a coastal system is susceptible to, or unable to cope with, adverse effects of climate change. One of the most widely used methods in assessing risk and vulnerability of coastlines on a regional scale includes the calculation of vulnerability indices and presenting these results on a vulnerability map. These maps can assist coastal managers, planners, landowners and stakeholders identify regions of greater risk to coastal hazards and ultimately better inform mitigation and development strategies.
This paper discusses the creation of a coastal vulnerability map for South Africa. The criteria used included elevation to chart datum, beach width, tidal range, wave height, geology, geomorphology, anthropogenic activities, distance to 20m isobaths and relative sea level change. The values of these parameters were divided into classes and the various classes ranked on a scale of 1 (very low vulnerability) to 5 (very high vulnerability) using examples from literature and expert knowledge. The layers were combined using the spatial overlay (map algebra) technique to create the final map. The results highlight the most vulnerable areas along the coastlines as the areas surrounding the City of Cape Town (the west coast) and the regions close to East London and Port St. Johns on the east coast. This can be mainly attributed to the type of geology and the anthropogenic activities in these areas.