The world s coastlines are currently experiencing unprecedented pressures arising from both natural processes and anthropogenic activities. Accelerated population growth, urban expansion, industrial development, and climate change are profoundly altering coastal systems, thereby increasing the exposure and vulnerability of coastal communities and ecosystems. Sea-level rise, intensifying storm events, and enhanced coastal erosion are progressively undermining the effectiveness of conventional protection measures, underscoring the urgent necessity for innovative, adaptive, and sustainable management strategies.
Bioshields comprising vegetated coastal ecosystems such as mangroves, salt marshes, seagrass meadows, and coastal dunes represent a viable and nature-based alternative. These ecosystems function as living infrastructure, attenuating coastal hazards while simultaneously delivering critical ecosystem services, supporting biodiversity, and sustaining local livelihoods. Notwithstanding a growing body of empirical evidence demonstrating their protective efficacy, bioshields continue to be comparatively undervalued within mainstream coastal management frameworks, which have traditionally prioritized engineered interventions.
This volume seeks to integrate perspectives from ecological science, coastal engineering, policy studies, and community-based management through a comprehensive and evidence-based evaluation of bioshields as instruments for coastal protection, with particular emphasis on the Asian context. It critically examines their ecological underpinnings, biophysical mechanisms, design and restoration principles, socio-economic implications, and governance structures, drawing upon global case studies and applied experiences. Designed for researchers, policymakers, planners, engineers, and practitioners, the book advances interdisciplinary and integrated approaches that are scientifically rigorous, socially equitable, and environmentally resilient.
Chapter 1. Introduction: The Growing Need for Coastal Protection.- Chapter 2. Historical Perspectives on Coastal Bioshields.- Chapter 3. Ecological Characteristics of Coastal Vegetation.- Chapter 4. Biophysical Mechanisms of Coastal Protection.- Chapter 5. Climate Change and the Resilience of Bioshields.- Chapter 6. Principles of Coastal Bioshield Design.- Chapter 7. Techniques for Establishment and Restoration of Coastal Bioshields.- Chapter 8. Management Challenges and Long-Term Sustainability of Coastal Bioshields.- Chapter 9. Ecosystem Services and Socioeconomic Benefits of Bioshields.- Chapter 10. Governance, Policy, and Regulatory Frameworks of Coastal Bioshields.- Chapter 11. Community Participation and Traditional Knowledge in Coastal Bioshields.- Chapter 12. Successful Coastal Bioshield Projects Around the World.- Chapter 13. Coastal Bioshields: Challenges, Failures, and Lessons Learned.- Chapter 14. Coastal Bioshields in Vietnam: A National Perspective.- Chapter 15. Technological Innovations and Research Frontiers.- Chapter 16. Towards Sustainable Coastal Futures.- Chapter 17. Bioshields for Coastal Protection: Conclusions and Recommendations.
Dr. Bijeesh Kozhikkodan Veettil is a researcher at Van Lang University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. He obtained his PhD (Remote Sensing) from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Brazil, and his master s degree (Remote Sensing) from the University of Dundee, Scotland, United Kingdom. Dr. Veettil has more than 15 years of research experience in the areas of remote sensing, glaciology, and coastal environmental studies, with more than 75 publications in ISI journals. He is currently serving as the Associate Editor of the Brazilian Journal of Geophysics, an editorial board member of PLOS One, and as a reviewer of more than 50 international journals in the field of remote sensing and environmental science. In addition, he has edited research-oriented books.
