Coastal zone is a transitional zone where the land interacts with the ocean. It is also the essential area where human beings live and develop on. The ecosystem of the coastal zone is complex, active and marginal. Coastal zone is not only the valuable territorial resources for a coastal country, but also the critical base for land and ocean development. It has become the most hotspot of human activities. However, under the high intensive human explorations and the global climate changes, a series of coastal environmental problems are emerging including sea level rising, coastal erosion, seawater intrusion, wetland degradation, storm surges and tsunamis, coastal environmental pollution, fishery degeneration, and loss of ecosystem service functions. How to accurately quantify and assess the coastal environmental damages resulting from these issues has become the research emphasis and hotspots in the field of environmental science and environmental management. To establish an integrated framework of coastal environmental damage assessment technologies and methods, and to draw up ecological remediation plan, are of great significance to the promotion of coastal ecological civilization and regional sustainable development.
This paper introduces the research and development of coastal environmental damage assessment processes, methods and remediation strategies in the United States and EU countries, and the gap between China and the above developed countries. The paper also proposes suggestions for establishing the coastal environmental damage assessment technology framework and remediation strategy, which aims to promote the progress in coastal environmental damage assessment in China, and to provide theoretical and technical guidance for the scientific coastal management and the sustainable development.
Key Words: coastal zone, land and ocean interaction, environmental damage assessment, remediation strategy
