(with examples from San Jacinto & San Clemente)
1. What is coastal erosion?
English
Coastal erosion is the gradual loss of beach and land caused by waves, tides, currents and storms. Little by little, the shoreline moves inland: the beach gets narrower, dunes disappear, and sometimes roads, houses or seawalls collapse.
On Ecuador’s Pacific coast, erosion is not new. Studies show that the central Manabí coastline has always been very dynamic, with a mix of rocky cliffs and low sandy plains with lagoons and mangroves. When these natural buffers (especially mangroves and dunes) are removed or heavily modified, the coast becomes more fragile and erosion accelerates.
Today, erosion is driven by a mix of natural and human factors:
- Strong waves, especially during aguajes (very high tides) and storms.
- Long-term sea-level rise related to climate change.
- Human activities such as removing dunes or mangroves, building right on the beach, and poorly designed seawalls.
2. What is happening in San Jacinto and San Clemente?
English
San Jacinto and San Clemente, in the canton of Sucre (Manabí), are classic examples of how erosion looks in real life:
- In recent years, strong aguajes and heavy waves have eaten away the beachfront, damaging the first row of houses, the malecón, and parts of the road that connects both resorts.
- In early 2023 and again in late 2024, the Provincial COE evacuated some families in the first line of houses for safety, and the Prefecture urgently placed riprap (large rocks) to protect the shore.
- In March 2025, a bridge and sections of the road on the malecón between San Jacinto and San Clemente collapsed after heavy rains and strong surf weakened the structure and the underlying sand.
Local and academic studies describe San Jacinto and San Clemente as tourist beaches under environmental pressure, where solid waste, informal construction and lack of planning combine with natural forces to increase vulnerability.
So, the situation there is not just “a bad year”: it’s a warning sign of what can happen in many low-lying coastal towns if nothing changes.
3. Climate change and sea-level rise: the slow background driver
English
On top of local wave and storm events, there is a slow, long-term rise of sea level along Ecuador’s coast:
- Oceanographic time-series analyses by INOCAR and other researchers show that global warming is already changing sea level and coastal climate patterns in Ecuador.
- Geological and paleogeographic studies of the central coast of Ecuador show that, over thousands of years, sea-level rise (Holocene transgression) has pushed paleo-shorelines hundreds of meters landward, increasing coastal climate hazards over time.
For local communities, this means:
- High tides and storm surges now reach further inland than before.
- The “safe” distance between the sea and existing houses or roads is shrinking.
- Events that used to be rare (for example, a certain extreme water level) can become more frequent.
Sea-level rise is relatively small each year (millimeters), but it adds up, and when combined with big waves, El Niño events and heavy rain, it can cause sudden, visible damage like what San Jacinto and San Clemente have seen in recent years.
4. Human decisions: building too close, losing natural defenses
English
Nature is only half of the story. Human choices make a big difference in whether a town is resilient or fragile.
Some key human factors on the Manabí coast:
4.1 Construction in the first line of beach
Houses, restaurants and roads built very close to the sea reduce the space the beach needs to “breathe” — to move landward or seaward naturally. When the sea advances, there is no room for the beach to migrate, so the waves strip away the sand that supports buildings and roads, and water begins to undercut their foundations.
4.2 Loss of dunes and vegetation
Dunes, beach vegetation and (in some places) mangroves act like natural barriers that absorb wave energy. Where these elements are removed or heavily modified, erosion tends to accelerate.
4.3 Hard protection structures
Riprap and seawalls can be necessary to protect critical roads or buildings, and they are widely used from Jaramijó to Jambelí.
But if they are not part of a wider coastal management plan, they can:
- Save one section of coast,
- While intensifying erosion nearby (waves get reflected and scour the neighboring beach).
4.4 Lack of integrated planning
National documents like the Plan de Ordenamiento del Espacio Marino-Costero and INOCAR guidelines exist, with recommendations for coastal zoning and risk management.
The challenge is turning those plans into local rules: building setbacks, “no construction” zones, and realistic evacuation routes.
In short: erosion is natural, but bad decisions can turn a natural process into a local disaster.
5. What can be done? Some practical ideas for adaptation
English
No town can “stop” the ocean, but many things can reduce risk and damage:
- Respecting setbacks and risk zones
- Establish a minimum distance from the sea for new construction, based on scientific vulnerability studies (some already exist for Manabí’s coastal towns).
- Avoid rebuilding permanent structures in areas that were already destroyed by waves.
- Combining hard and soft protection
- Use riprap or seawalls only where absolutely necessary (main access road, key public buildings).
- In other sectors, favor “soft” solutions: beach nourishment (adding sand), dune restoration, vegetation planting, and protection of remaining mangroves where they still exist.
- Early warning and evacuation planning
- Strengthen systems that warn residents about aguajes, strong swells and coastal flooding, like the bulletins already issued by INOCAR and the national risk service.
- Have simple, well-known evacuation routes and safe zones for people in the first line of houses.
- Community education and local monitoring
- Train local groups (fishing associations, neighborhood organizations, tourism operators) to observe and record beach changes: where is the shoreline moving, where are dunes eroding, etc.
- Use community mapping and school projects to integrate scientific knowledge and local experience.
- Tourism with long-term vision
- Tourism depends on having a beach to offer. Studies from ULEAM and other institutions stress that San Jacinto and San Clemente need environmental education and better management if they want to remain attractive destinations.
The goal is not to “fight against” the sea, but to adapt to a coastline that will keep changing, with climate change making the changes faster and more visible.
Resumen en español (versión corta)
¿Qué es la erosión costera?
Es la pérdida gradual de playa y terreno por acción de las olas, las mareas y las tormentas. En la costa central de Manabí, donde se ubican San Jacinto y San Clemente, la línea de costa siempre ha sido dinámica, pero la desaparición de dunas, manglares y otros elementos naturales ha aumentado la fragilidad frente al oleaje.
¿Qué está pasando en San Jacinto y San Clemente?
En los últimos años, aguajes y oleajes fuertes han dañado viviendas, el malecón y la vía entre ambos balnearios. Hubo evacuaciones preventivas y colocación de enrocado de emergencia, y en 2025 colapsaron partes del puente y de la carretera del malecón por la combinación de lluvias intensas y oleaje.
¿Qué tiene que ver el cambio climático?
El nivel del mar está subiendo lentamente, y los estudios oceanográficos muestran cambios en los patrones de clima marino frente al Ecuador. A largo plazo, esto significa que las mareas altas y las tormentas alcanzan más adentro y aumentan la frecuencia de inundaciones y daños en las primeras filas de casas.
¿Cómo influyen las decisiones humanas?
Construir muy cerca de la orilla, eliminar dunas y vegetación, o poner obras duras sin un plan integral puede agravar la erosión. Los enrocados protegen puntos críticos, pero pueden desplazar el problema a otros tramos de playa. Lo que falta muchas veces es aplicar en la práctica la planificación costera que ya existe a nivel nacional.
¿Qué se puede hacer?
Algunas medidas clave son:
- Definir franjas de protección donde no se permita construir, basadas en estudios de vulnerabilidad.
- Combinar defensas duras (enrocados) con soluciones blandas (restauración de dunas y vegetación).
- Mejorar los sistemas de alerta y evacuación para aguajes y oleajes fuertes.
- Fortalecer la educación ambiental y la gestión turística, porque el atractivo del balneario depende de conservar la playa.
EN (2–3 lines):
Coastal erosion on Ecuador’s central coast, including San Jacinto and San Clemente, is driven by strong waves, sea-level rise and local decisions like building too close to the sea. When there’s no space for the beach to migrate, waves strip away the sand under roads and houses and begin to undercut their foundations. Emergency riprap and evacuations help in the short term, but long-term safety depends on setbacks, dune and vegetation protection, and better coastal planning.
ES (2–3 líneas):
La erosión costera en la costa central del Ecuador, incluyendo San Jacinto y San Clemente, se debe al oleaje fuerte, al aumento del nivel del mar y a decisiones locales como construir demasiado cerca de la orilla. Cuando la playa no tiene espacio para retroceder, las olas se llevan la arena bajo las casas y vías y empiezan a socavar sus cimientos. El enrocado y las evacuaciones ayudan a corto plazo, pero la seguridad a futuro depende de franjas de protección, conservación de dunas y vegetación, y una mejor planificación costera.
