including flora, fauna, and the ecosystem as a whole. The concept of integrated management can be incorporated into management of coastal sand dunes. This concept is made up of three main aspects: Restore and conserve natural processes Create conditions for future natural processes Develop types of land use that agree with the above These concepts seek to incorporate natural processes and human activities within coastal dunes systems. Sand dune management issues are related to the nature of sediment, which has no cohesiveness so the influence of wind and sediment supply is an important factor in determining erosion and deposition of dry sand grains . Sand dune management consists of restoring natural dune systems and processes with the implementation of “soft” technique which includes the cessation of any activity that adversely effects the sediment supply of the dunes, planting vegetation, fencing off sensitive areas, creating dune walkways, and providing information to the public regarding the importance of maintaining stable sand dunes. The concept of “soft” techniques is in contrast to the widely used “hard” techniques which consist of protecting the coast through the construction of concrete sea walls, revetments, gabions, groynes and offshore break waters. The problem with using these “hard” engineering methods is that they only provide temporary protection against ocean hazards and each "hard" method produces an “end effect” that causes erosion problems to adjacent coastal areas. This is why the implementation of “soft” techniques in dune restoration should be used more widely in coastal protection as they provide natural, long term protection with no adverse effect to adjacent coastal areas. The use of soft techniques can be seen in many coastal protection projects around the world including many in New Zealand. Restoration and protection One of the first things a coastal manager must look for when establishing sand dune management is to ascertain the main cause of sediment loss and from there, make decisions on how to minimise the cause and how to restore sand dunes appropriately. In New Zealand the main cause of dune erosion has been the loss of sand vegetation and this means that sand dune management consists primarily of stabilizing dune systems through the “soft” technique of replanting and protecting native dune vegetation. It is advised that dunes should not be restored with the planting of exotic species and managers should aim to only use species indigenous to an area, originally New Zealand used