The article Coastal Erosion and the Threat to Kivalina, Alaska highlights in great detail the dangers of coastal erosion in Kivalina, Alaska. The erosion of the coastal land poses a great danger to the inhabitants and their livelihoods. The island of Kivalina has reduced significantly because of erosion, and people live in fear.
The natives live in uncertainty as they see the imminent danger posed by the loss of coastal land as a result of climate change. The community is at risk, and there is a need to relocate the village to safer grounds. Similarly, in the article Voices: How coastal erosion contributes to poverty: Time for a new federal approach by Courtney Howell and Diane Huhn the coast of Louisiana faces risks because of erosion of its lands.
The erosion of the coastal land has led to a rise in poverty for the people. Fishing is a major economic activity in Louisiana, and fishermen are not able to support their families because the number of fish has gone down with the destruction of marsh that acts as a source of food for the marine life. Moreover, the community suffers economically as they have to keep rebuilding their houses after storms that leave destruction.
Insurance is expensive, and most cannot afford to pay high premiums. The most affected people are those who are in the low-income brackets, and yet they live in areas that have no protection against the storms because the natural protection was destroyed by human activities and climate changes (Howell and Huhn 1).
Likewise, in Kivalina, the erosion of the coastal lands has led to fear and uncertainty among the people as the environment they depend on for their livelihood changes before their own eyes and the changes are negative. The seasons for harvesting have changed, and anyone not keen to note the changes may miss the harvesting season.
The village depends on fishing and hunting. Hence, relocating them would affect them adversely economically (“Coastal erosion” 1). Moreover, moving the communities from both areas to a safer place is very costly, and there are inadequate funds available to undertake that kind of a task.
Consequently, both communities have to come up with ways to protect their coastal lands from further destruction and mitigate the damage already done. They require the help of the government and the corps to take measures that will protect the coastal lands as opposed to temporally ones that work only for a while as the damage continues. Unfortunately, the government does not finance the relocation project because of the high costs involved.
On the other hand, the impact of the erosion of coastal lands developing world and third world countries is greater than in the developed world, yet those governments lack funds and proper policies to protect their coastal lands.
The gains achieved in fights against poverty in developing and third world countries risks being reversed by coastal erosion as livelihoods of many people are destroyed. Likewise, many people living in coastal lands in Louisiana and Kivalina will be pushed into poverty as the effects of climate change take a toll on their communities.
In conclusion, the government and all stakeholders must take decisive action to protect the coastal lands now because delaying the process through bureaucracy is only worsening the situation, and mother nature will punish the delays harshly.
The government must be willing to fund the projects that aim at restoring the coastal lands instead of focusing only on quick-fix solutions. More importantly, concerted efforts must be made to curb climate changes through the enforcement of laws against the pollution that contributes to global warming. Now is the time to take action and safeguard the future of thousands of people and their future generations.
Works Cited
Coastal Erosion and the Threat to Kivalina, Alaska. 2008. Web.
Howell, Courtney and Diane Huhn. Voices: How coastal erosion contributes to poverty: Time for a new federal approach. n.d. Web.