BEACH EROSION ALONG THE COAST OF SHANDONG PROVINCE AND PROTECTION COUNTERMEASURES

The coastal beach, as a precious natural heritage, is the most beautiful natural landscape and the engine for tourism development along the coast. It has raised great attention both at home and abroad. The working group of Ocean University of China has established the Shandong coastal beach information archives after three years of systematic investigation and research. There are 123 coastal beaches in Shandong, with a total length of 365 kilometers of coastline. They, in terms of spatial distribution, look like a bunch of beautiful pearls inlaid around the Shandong peninsula. This study, however, has found that 98 of the coastal beaches have been under erosion, accounting for about 80% of the total number of beaches, caused by human activities. In view of the important value of coastal beaches in social civilization and development, we suggested that Shandong province and all levels of governments under it should raise the awareness of coastal beach protection and focus more on the countermeasures against coastal erosion, with rationale planning as the first priority.