The General Assembly,
Noticing that, compared with certain other areas of environmental management, there is a relatively limited international legal and policy relating to coastal defence and shoreline management,
Noting that coastal erosion can be a severe threat to nearby wildlife, local economy, coastal settlements and could cost lives if left untreated,
Understanding that the international community has a duty to preserve natural habitats of coastal creatures to prevent possible extinction of endangered creatures,
The General Assembly hereby:
1. Mandates that member states apply these strategies to areas affected by the sea:
- Requires member states to apply a strategy of beach nourishment, the act of widening beaches by using sand and shingle, increasing the distances that waves have to travel and therefore slowing them down which prevents erosion;
- Requires member states to apply managed retreat strategies on appropriate coastlines, where they allow certain areas of the coast to erode and flood naturally due to their low value, encouraging the natural development of beaches by natural eroded material.
- Requires member states to build a plethora of groynes at right angles on beaches, protecting cliff sides from upland erosion and providing a barrier to flooding.
2. Creates and tasks the Committee on the Preservation and Conservation of Coastlines (CPCC) to:
- Conduct annual assessments of the condition of coastal defences;
- Conduct annual assessments of flood risk associated with coastal defences
- Provide emergency response to erosion incidents;
- Raise awareness of erosion risk in the international community;
- Provide regulation of other water bodies; and
- Apply conservation duty and environmental impact.
3. Mandates member states provide a co-ordinated, centrally-regulated approach to coastal protection works supported by the international community of member states;
4. Requires that all member nations must apply these defences to whatever coastlines they may have, including other bodies of water and areas that are directly and indirectly affected by the sea;
5. Requires member states to cooperate with the Committee on the Preservation and Conservation of Coastlines to create newer strategies for coastal protection that are not already stated in this resolution;
6. Encourages member states to educate students more about the risks, causes and results of coastal erosion, including the negative effects it can have on local wildlife and habitats.
7. Mandates that member nations impose these strategies for defence of the coast and mandates it international law to ensure that coastlines are properly defended and assessed to avoid risk to life, damage to wildlife, and damage to coastal habitats.