Precautionary approach

The essence of the approach is expressed in Principle 15 of the Rio Declaration that states "Where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason to postponing cost-effective measures to prevent environmental degradation." The approach is concerned with avoiding risk that has not been assessed, i.e. uncertainty.

Glossary of Terms

Fringing Reef

A coral reef attached directly to an insular or continental shore. There may be a shallow channel or lagoon between the reef and the adjacent mainland.

Water Level

The elevation of still water level relative to some datum.

Littoral Cell

A reach of the coast that is isolated sedimentologically from adjacent coastal reaches and that features its own sources and sinks. Isolation is typically caused by protruding headlands, submarine canyons, inlets, and some river mouths that prevent littoral sediment from one cell to pass into the next.

Shoreline Management

The development of strategic, long-term and sustainable coastal defence and land-use policy within a sediment cell.

Upland

Dry land area above and landward of the ordinary high water mark (ohwm).

Often used as a general term to mean high land far from the coast and in the interior of the country.

Photogrammetry

The science of deducing the physical dimensions of objects from measurements on images (usually photographs) of the objects.

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Precautionary approach