Managed Retreat — Is It Really an Option for Mitigation of Chronic Erosion and Storm Surge Flooding?

Managed retreat on open-duned coasts subject to traditional `new world' low density individual dwelling subdivisional development is technically feasible. It is not feasible for diked coasts of the Netherlands and Germany, or for high rise urban beaches such as Miami because of the high capital losses involved. Conceptually, managed retreat can occur both as a gradual planned process or as catastrophic abandonment, as occurred in Cyclone Katrina. While the concept of managed retreat is often listed as a coastal management option it is rarely implemented on a community scale because it is regarded as economically and politically unacceptable. Two examples from New Zealand are presented. The first is the Waihi Beach seawall, presently (2007) a case before the Environment Court, in which the affected landowners wish to be protected by public funding for rebuilding the seawall, and are resisting the concept of a `backstop wall'. A second is the vision for the long term management of the Coromandel beaches by the regional council which encompasses managed retreat and implementation of "backstop walls" on private rather than public land.