Abstract

This report describes the results of an initial study to advance policies and practices in British Columbia, and elsewhere, with regard to the use of “soft” shore armouring alternatives within the context of climate change, sea level rise (SLR) practices and guidelines and flood protection. The study was initiated by the Stewardship Centre for British Columbia, with the support of Natural Resources Canada.

The intent of this study was to test several approaches, for specific case examples, and evaluate the effectiveness of the soft shore armouring alternatives, compared to an equally appropriate hard alternative, based on the following criteria:

• Adaptability to climate change related sea level rise.
• Their effectiveness in protecting the shoreline against flooding.
• Their effectiveness in providing ecological resilience.
• Their relative cost, considering initial capital cost, maintenance cost and long-term replacement cost.