Pilot study on sea levels threat

Iolo ap Dafydd BBC Wales environment correspondent

Pwllheli and surrounding low lands are to be a part of a pilot scheme to gauge the effects of climate change on sea defences Researchers study glacier melts

Many towns and villages along Wales' coastline could be abandoned in the future because of climate change, according to the Environment Agency.

It has warned although there is no immediate risk, a debate on the future viability of sea defences is needed.

It comes as scientists predict a worldwide sea level rise of up to a metre by the end of this century.

Three areas of Wales are to be studied to see how climate change will affect where people will live in the future.

The pilot areas are Pwllheli in Gwynedd, Builth Wells in Powys and Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan.

Each place has different types of flooding.

With hundreds of miles of coastline to look after, the Welsh Assembly Government and local authorities want to assess if sea defences can be maintained or whether they are too expensive.

If they are too costly, land drained and built upon may have to be abandoned and left to the elements, the O Flaen Dy Lygaid programme on S4C on Tuesday will show.

What is predicted is that the sea will rise quicker than we thought, up to a metre by the end of the century, because of climate change Meic Davies, Environment Agency Wales

Meanwhile, scientists from Swansea University are at the forefront of measuring how fast glaciers melt in Greenland: Click here to read the story.

Speaking about the pilot scheme Dewi Vaughan Rowlands, Gwynedd's sustainability officer, said hard decisions would have to be taken if it was decided protecting certain communities was not sustainable or affordable.

This may not happen at any time soon, but it does reflect the genuine concern about planning for climatic changes, and fearing what might come.

Meic Davies of Environment Agency Wales said: "Sea levels are already rising.

"What is predicted is that the sea will rise quicker than we thought, up to a metre by the end of the century, because of climate change."

But he added that towns and villages near a river or the sea, already protected by defences, are not in an immediate danger.

"Most of these communities will stay where they are for a very long time," said Mr Davies.

"What is important is to think about what previously was unthinkable - if we can't maintain that defence there, then at what point do we talk about what else we do?"

The O Flaen Dy Lygaid documentary, produced by BBC Wales, Dyfroedd Dyfnion, is on S4C (2130 GMT Tuesday 2 December, with English subtitles).

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