Managing coastal sand drift in the Anthropocene: A case study of the Manawatū-Whanganui Dune Field, New Zealand, 1800s-2020s

ABSTRACT

In the Anthropocene, predicted sea-level rise is expected to continue, threating human life and activities along the coast. Dunes play a vital role in providing protection from this threat, aside from the ‘ecosystem’ services that they supply. This article uses scientific, popular and unpublished sources from the nineteenth century and twentieth to examine New Zealand’s largest coastal dune system: the Manawatū-Whanganui dune field. Extending south from Pātea to Paekakariki, it comprises approximately 900 square kilometres. Here, destabilized dunes drifting inland caused social, economic and political problems over the last 150 years. In the nineteenth century, human activities were responsible for setting the dunes in motion. Debates about the matter and attempts to prevent and stop it were then occurring in many parts of the world. Since dunes were a common concern, knowledge and practices were shared and travelled between countries though experts and migrants. The consequences of the solutions implemented and new environmental conditions explain that dunes are still a major issue in the Manawatū- Whanganui region. This article presents a comparative analysis of historical and present- day human responses to dune management to better understand long-term dune drift, its mechanisms and responses. Despite looking at a local case, this study can be extrapolated to dunes worldwide. It shows that holistic management of coastal ecosystems must take into account interdisciplinary analyses of long-term relations between dunes and society. Otherwise, the full picture about the present situation of dunes cannot be apprehended, compromising the implementation of future adaptation measures.