Measures that people take to protect private property from rising sea level may have adverse effects on the environment and on public uses of the coast in general and more specifically beaches and waterways. Historically, along sandy bay beaches, property owners have erected various types of sea walls to halt erosion. Although these hard structures protect property, they can eliminate bay beaches, which are usually less than 3 m wide. In addition to their environmental and shoreline protection function, beaches are high income generating resources through attraction of tourism and also used for fishing, recreation, transportation, and landing of small crafts.
The sinking of land by compaction of sediments through human development activities and/or withdrawal of ground water and/or oil, significantly contributes to sea level rise and its consequences.
Many of the impacts of sea level rise are directly influenced by human activities along coastal areas such as building dams along rivers that decrease sediment supplied to coastal areas and increasing the possibility of coastal erosion. Excessive use of groundwater related with land use, increases the vulnerability of freshwater resources to sea level rise. Degradation of natural coastal protection structures such as dunes and mangrove forests (through coastal excavation / construction) also influences the consequences of sea level rise in an adverse way by reducing the natural protective function offered by such structures.