Some experts caution against hardening the shoreline, because they say doing so, only leads to more erosion.

PUPUKEA, Hawaii (KITV4) -- Criticism mounted on social media this week over an Instagram video capturing a slope on the shores of Paumalu, or Sunset Beach, covered in concrete with a layer of sand over it. 

Seawalls, or any device to solidify a coastline, is counterproductive, climate change expert Chip Fletcher said, because the structures lead to flanking erosion, "which is that properties next to where we pour that cement will experience accelerated erosion if they are not protected."

Flanking erosion, Fletcher added, eventually eliminates shorelines as more property owners follow the hardening trend. 

"The people of Hawai'i are guaranteed a right to access the ocean and go along the ocean and when you have beach loss, you lose that public right," Fletcher explained. 

The ongoing debate on how to tackle erosion has also been hotly argued on Maui. Some are in favor of seawalls to shore up homes and hotels, while others acknowledge the long-term impacts.

"The value of our beaches is not only important to us as Native Hawaiians for subsistence, but it's also important for our economy," Maui resident Tiare Lawrence said. 

"Tourism being our number one economic driver, seeing our beaches disappear will ultimately hurt our number one economic driver."

Back on O'ahu, longtime North shore resident Jamilah Star, who also lives along Paumalu, said she sympathizes with homeowners frustrated over the crumbling coastline -- but she's also reminding others to clean up the debris coming from their reinforcements.

"There's an assortment of tarps, tyles, bricks, Styrofoam, and even fiberglass floating in the ocean," Star said. 

The Department of Land and Natural Resources provided comment to KITV4 on Friday, September 30: 

The DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE) works closely with the DLNR Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands (OCCL) on alleged violations. DOCARE has been in the area repeatedly in the past few weeks and over the past several years. DOCARE’s observations and documentation help verify any alleged violations. DOCARE reports are included in board submittals. DLNR/OCCL have issued numerous notices of violation. OCCL has brought significant violations before the Board of Land and Natural Resources, some of which are now in the contested case process and/or in litigation in the courts. OCCL and DOCARE have been investigating the subject property. OCCL has issued a notice of violation.

Do you have a story idea? Email news tips to news@kitv.com

'A'ali'i is a reporter with KITV. He was born and raised on the island of Maui and graduated from the University of Southern California with a bachelor's degree in Journalism.

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