The paper seeks to raise awareness, to help the dredging community prepare for consequences of climate change, and to understand how dredging can contribute to adaptation measures.
The dredging community means all those involved in any kind of activity related to dredging. This includes not only the dredging industry (contractors, manufacturers) but also port and water authorities, policy makers, regulators, consultants and stakeholder groups. Geographically, this CEDA position paper focuses on northwestern Europe but other parts of the CEDA area may face similar challenges.
The position paper highlights the main implications of climate change for dredging and discusses potential preparatory and adaptation measures in general terms. It elaborates on specific climate change issues and adaptation requirements/options in relation to three typical environments in which dredging takes place: open coasts; seaports, estuaries and access channels and inland waters.
While important, measures designed to reduce the contribution of the dredging sector to greenhouse gas (CO2) emissions (eg the use of alternative fuels and materials) are outside the the scope of this paper.
To read the full paper please click: CEDA Position Paper
The position paper has been prepared by the CEDA Working Group Climate Change Adaptation As It Affects The Dredging Community and under the remit of the CEDA Environment Commission, and reviewed by experts on dredging from various professional groups.
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Dredging Today Staff, May 21, 2012; Image: dredging