WORKING WITH NATURE ALONG OPEN COASTS – PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

Faced with the escalating challenges posed by climate change, such as rising sea levels, intensified storm events, and environmental unpredictability, the field of coastal engineering has been shifting towards developing solutions that promote and preserve environmental resilience and sustainability (Morris, Boxshall and Swearer, 2020). These solutions seek to enhance or work with nature and natural processes, rather than against them. While there are opportunities to incorporate nature and natural processes into shoreline protection works at inshore and estuarine coastal environments with milder wave conditions, such as the Huon Mundy oyster reefs (King et al., 2023), there are fewer effective nature-based options available for higher-wave energy open coasts. This paper explores past project examples and experiences of the various approaches to working with nature, including along high-wave energy open-coastal environments; the present state of nature-based solutions, their challenges, and opportunities; and how we may be able to better work with nature in the future to produce the best outcomes for our coastlines through building resilience, sustainability and preserving of coastal values. It should also be noted that this paper serves to continue the conversation on future nature-based practices.