Green concrete: How Ecological Engineering is Helping Protect Our Coastlines

As human invasion of coasts and marine space is inevitable, our planet faces several problems in increased storminess and sea level rise. Can ecological engineering help?

The way humans are invading the oceans doesn’t seem to be stopping. In February the city of Tel Aviv, Israel moved to increase marine biodiversity in its shores with the help of underwater concrete structures.Dr. Perkol-Finkel has worked towards developing ecological engineering to help reduce the ecological footprint of coastal infrastructure like breakwaters, seawalls, ports, and piers.

“I believe that we absolutely cannot continue armoring our coastlines and destroying precious natural habitats without integrating ecological considerations that allow for more sustainable development,” she says.In an ideal scenario, we would stop developing and allow for managed realignment of our coasts and let natural coastal barriers, like oyster reefs, coral reefs, and marsh lands, deal naturally with sea level rise.