Beaches under threat

THE traditional seaside holiday - with sandcastles on wide open beaches - could disappear within 100 years if the effects of climate change go unchecked, scientists are warning.

Sand dunes and coastal marshes could also vanish as greenhouse gases, mostly from transport and industry, continue to overheat the atmosphere. The threat will be debated by international experts at a conference in London next week.

Climate change is already affecting the environment, robbing beaches of sand and eroding the extensive natural coastal marshes in the estuaries. But if nothing is done beaches will be starved of sand, says Stephan Worrall of the Living with the Sea Project, which calls for the restoration of the natural dynamics of the coast, enabling natural defence solutions to rising sea levels. This would result in a loss not only of holiday beaches, but also areas that provide food and shelter for a huge variety of wildlife.