BEACH EROSION ALONG THE CARIBBEAN (NORTH) COAST OF HONDURAS, CENTRAL AMERICA

Beaches along the north coast of Honduras have been eroding by the transgressing sea over the last three hundred years, much to the dismay of shoreline communities. Accelerated beach erosion at several locations after Hurricane Mitch (1998) generated widespread concern among stakeholders and residents with coastal properties and investments. In response, the World Bank funded a coastal erosion and flood hazard investigation of the most damaged segments of the coast between Omoa, just west of Puerto Cortés, and Santa Rosa de Aguán. Despite a significant sediment load transported by many rivers into the Caribbean Sea, with sand enough to form large, historically stable spits at Trujillo and Puerto Cortés, the sand balance still remains uncertain and many beaches are narrow and fragile. Field reconnaissance and preliminary remote sensing interpretations document severe beach erosion at several locations. Although it is widely recognized that protecting one stretch of the beach results in sacrificing neighboring beaches, improvised coastal protection structures appear to accelerate overall loss of beach sand. We think that a formal investigation of Quaternary shoreline migration in conjunction with nearshore bathymetry and longshore transport investigations will yield knowledge useful in developing policies for managing and preserving beaches critical to the planned development of a thriving tourism industry.