Conservationist Jamie Hooper at Bordeaux. (Picture by Peter Frankland, 0553534)
THE risk to habitats should help determine the priority of sea-defence repairs after the recent storms, says conservationist Jamie Hooper.
La Societe Guernesiaise’s conservation officer is concerned that if protecting businesses and homes is the only factor, erosion will lead to some of the island’s most important habitats being squeezed even further.
‘When evaluating the priorities the value of the environment and habitats needs to be included in any decisions. We have been looking at it in terms of risk to residential and commercial property but there is a real risk being faced by the natural environment. One thing that does stand out is that the soft defences came through and will recover with next to no expense. We are talking a lot of money that needs to be spent on the hard defences,’ he said.
‘Nature often has a better answer – if there is space to do that. Hopefully this storm episode won’t be repeated in the next 20 years, but with climate change we could see another one soon.
‘There is no doubt climate change is a reality and we are all playing our part now.’
The recent storms damaged sea defences all around the island.
‘On some sites you could say it’s unprecedented,’ he said.
Mr Hooper recalled a storm about 20 years ago that ripped up sections of slipway and an old fortification near the Atlantique Hotel at Perelle.
But that time, he said, while individual sites were badly affected, the damage was much less widespread.
‘And I have never seen a breach like at Rocque Poisson.
‘It’s a 20-metre hole with a further 20 metres either side and cracks beyond that and the total damage probably amounts to between 80 and 100 metres,’ he said.
Mr Hooper is shocked by the volume of shingle that has been moved recently.
‘La Fontenelle is the most dramatic,’ he said.
But patching up L’Eree’s shingle bank will also have to be prioritised.
If the storm-force winds had been north-westerly, it would have been severely damaged, he said.
An Environment Department spokesman was surprised at the ‘massive movement’ of boulders and stones at La Fontenelle Bay.
‘It’s the size of the stuff that has been moved that is incredible,’ he said.
A boulder weighing an estimated tonne was forced on to the coastal path that forms part of the cross-country course.
Bay debris is between 4ft and 6ft deep in places.
Given their workload, contractors could take weeks to get started on a job that is expected to take a day or two.
Article posted on 22nd March, 2008 - 8.20am
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