The Coast Protection Board acknowledges Aboriginal people as the First Peoples and Nations of the lands and waters we live and work upon and we pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging. We acknowledge and respect the deep spiritual connection and the relationship that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have to Country.

• A Note from the Presiding Member
• New Board Member Introduction
• Monitoring Our Coast 
• SA Climate Ready Coasts Update
• Consultation & Public Submissions
• 2023-24 Coast Protection Grant Programs
• Potential Blue Carbon Habitat Restoration Sites
• Planning & Development Update
• Did you Know?

Salmon Hole, Daly Head, Yorke Peninsula (Image Credit: S Taite)

Red Capped Plovers on Samphire, Bird Island, Outer Harbour (Image Credit: T Flaherty DEW)

The annual survey of these profiles provides a point-in-time measure of seabed, beach and dune height at specific locations relative to the standard Australian Height Datum (AHD), which can be used to monitor changes in seabed, beach and dune height over time.

Beaches and dunes play a vital role in safeguarding against wave erosion in many locations across South Australia. Beach profile data is routinely used to inform actions to manage Adelaide’s metropolitan beaches, as well as to provide advice on management options for locations experiencing accretion and erosion elsewhere in the state.

The Survey Monitoring Program is undertaken on a regional basis throughout the year by a team of four surveyors over a two-week period. During summer, the Program covers Metropolitan, Southern Metropolitan and Kangaroo Island and includes the annual dive program which validates the changes that we see in seafloor sediment elevation and any temporal changes in the condition of our seagrass communities along the Metropolitan coastline. In autumn, attention shifts to the South East and Eyre Peninsula, and in spring, Yorke Peninsula and Fleurieu Peninsula are surveyed.

This seasonal schedule results in comparable data collection over time, allowing for short and long term trends to be identified. DEW’s coastal surveyors, scientists, engineers and planners collaborate with coastal councils, universities, contractors and the public to plan the annual survey program.

The team is currently trialling LIDAR and photogrammetry data capture via drone in the hope of enhancing the precision and efficiency of data collection and delivery of improved products such as 3D models.

DEW Survey Team Member J Smith with Survey Drone (Image Credit: DEW)

In November and December 2023, the SA Climate Ready Coasts team, in partnership with Foundations Project leaders Hatch and URPS, held seven regional workshops with council staff and eight workshops with key state government stakeholders to inform the development of SA’s Coastal Adaptation Planning Standards.

The sessions explored a range of topics including participants’ experiences with coastal adaptation planning, measures being implemented, success stories and challenges, information and implementation gaps and anticipated future needs in order for the Standards to support appropriate planning for coastal hazard risk.

There will be further consultation on the draft Standards and once finalised they will be jointly endorsed by the Local Government Association of SA and the Coast Protection Board.

To find out more, please contact ClimateReadyCoasts@lga.sa.gov.au or visit Climate Ready Coasts.

Lipson, District Council of Tumby Bay, Eyre Peninsula (Image Credit: DEW)

As part of their role advocating for better outcomes for South Australia’s coast, the Board contributed submissions to the following reviews in 2023:

• Landscape Act Review
• Greater Adelaide Regional Plan
• Infrastructure SA 20-Year State Infrastructure Strategy Discussion Paper

The Board is always working to improve partnerships with all stakeholders, with a focus on improving outcomes for the broader benefit of the coast as well as on natural coastal systems.

For more information and updates on CPB Grants including past recipients, go to: Coast Protection Board Grants.

Blue carbon habitats can store up to four times more carbon per hectare than terrestrial ecosystems and will be an important nature-based solution to assist with mitigating climate change. In support of this, the Board provided funding to The Nature Conservancy (TNC) to identify potential sites that may be suitable for blue carbon habitat restoration throughout South Australia.

A desktop assessment of available data identified suitable locations for coastal wetland restoration for blue carbon benefits.  Specifically, the assessment aimed to develop a rapid and replicable desktop approach using readily available spatial data.  The assessment considered land tenure, tidal restriction type and blue carbon potential and identified 64 potential blue carbon wetland restoration sites across South Australia with a combined total area of 22,022 hectares.  Of the 64 sites, 32 were deemed most suitable for restoration and have been prioritised for further investigation. 

The Board has included Blue Carbon in their policy document and further information is available here: Blue Carbon.

Posidonia (Seagrass) Fruits, Brighton (Image Credit: DEW)

In accord with the Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act 2016, planning authorities must refer certain development applications on coastal land to the Coast Protection Board.

Most responses are issued under delegation by DEW staff. DEW provides a report on development application responses to the Board so they can monitor how the Board's policies have been applied and the delegations exercised.

The Board considers and adjudicates on responses to proposals that are significant, controversial and/or where the applicability of Board policy is uncertain.

Last Financial Year (1 Jul 2022 – 30 Jun 2023)
Responses to Development Applications: 144
- No Objection: 135 (94%)
- Refusals: 9 (6%) (five at variance with coastal hazard risk policy; four at variance with coastal biodiversity & orderly development policies)

Year to Date (1 Jul 2023 – 29 Feb 2024)
Responses to Development Applications: 89
- No Objection: 87 (98%)
- Refusals: 2 (2%) (two at variance with coastal hazard risk policy)

'The Dump' Hayborough, Victor Harbor (Image Credit: S Taite)

In October 2023 the Northern and Yorke Landscape Board presented a Coastal Access Strategy Workshop for the Yorke Peninsula to discuss the issues around unmanaged beach access and the damage being caused to coastal dunes and beaches.

DEW Coast Unit Staff attended the workshop, along with representatives of the Narungga Nation, local stakeholders and staff from Yorke Peninsula Council, which considered coastal areas most in need of protection and discussed strategies for implementation. The workshop drew on the knowledge of attendees in order to provide strategies, guidance and direction to coastal land managers and stakeholders to collaboratively work towards improved management of coastal access.

A further workshop ran in February at which strategies for the southern and eastern coasts of the peninsula were discussed.

Southend Beach Access Point, Wattle Range Council, South East (Image Credit: DEW)

The West Beach Dune Restoration project aims to assist with the stabilisation and restoration of dune systems stretching from the north of Adelaide Sailing Club to the south of Torrens Outlet. The project will also improve biodiversity along this part of the coastline. Over the past two years 35,000 coastal native plants have been planted as part of this project. Over 9,000 of these plants were grown by our valued community volunteers at the Valerie Wales Community Nursey and planted over winter seasons.

We are now preparing for the 2024 planting season and need your help at the nursery. If you would like to learn new skills and wish to volunteer at the nursery please contact Linda Durham, Project and Engagement Officer, DEW at DEWCoasts@sa.gov.au.

For more information about the West Beach Dune Restoration project please visit West Beach Dune Restoration Project.

The community nursery is a Green Adelaide and City of Charles Sturt initiative and is located in Henley Beach, South Australia.

Henley Beach Community Nursery (Image Credit: DEW)

In May, the City of Onkaparinga will be hosting the Australian Coastal Councils Alliance 2024 Conference in McLaren Vale. The Australian Coastal Councils Association Inc. is a national organisation representing the interests of coastal councils and their communities, advocating on behalf of coastal councils and commissioning research on behalf of councils in relation to coast erosion and projected impacts and implications of sea level rise among other things.

The Australian Coastal Councils Conference is an important event for elected representatives and officers of coastal councils and other coastal stakeholders. The conference will be an opportunity to hear presentations on innovative South Australian coastal initiatives, including the Climate Ready Coasts Program and the work of the Coast Protection Board and the Department of Environment and Water’s Coast Unit.

Join us to find out how coastal councils around the nation are finding smarter solutions to the challenges facing their communities.

Registration information and more details are available here: https://www.coastalcouncils.org.au/australian-coastal-councils-conference/

If you have any feedback, questions or topics you'd like more information on please let us know via email at DEWCoasts@sa.gov.au.

Share this newsletter, Subscribe to future newsletters, or Unsubscribe.

This newsletter was produced on Kaurna Land