Sandy Beach Restoration Using Beach Nourishment Method: A Case Study of Nha Trang Beach, Vietnam

Nha Trang Beach, located in the Northern part of Cam Ranh Bay, is famous as a tourist destination for its beautiful sandy beach. Since 1975, the Southern part of the beach has been considered a tourist hotspot where accommodation and business infrastructure are concentrated. However, in the past decade, severe erosion and shoreline retreat has occurred in the area. Human intervention in terms of house construction and other tourism infrastructure building is supposed to be one of main causes for these erosion problems. On the Northern beach, tourism demand is low despite its considerable potential. Between 2004 and 2005, a road was built on the Northern area, resulting in the loss of the beach, consequently affecting local tourism economy. The restoration of the sandy beach in this area is therefore crucial for local economic development. In this study, a concept of beach nourishment design for the Northern beach was proposed. Beach nourishment was designed for the purpose of bringing the shoreline back to the state of equilibrium it once had been before the road construction during 2004-2005. This study considered original equilibrium beach profiles, sediment grain sizes and wave climate characteristics in the design method of beach nourishment.