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Current Issues: Coastal Adaptation to Climate Change

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Environmental Planning for Oceans and Coasts

Part of the book series: Geotechnologies and the Environment ((GEOTECH,volume 15))

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Abstract

Responding to climate change effects requires increasing awareness on the part of environmental planners, especially by those working in marine and coastal environments where such effects are keenly felt. This chapter covers the implications of climate change for planning, mostly as hazards expected to occur along coasts. The chapter also briefly mentions other types of hazards, not directly related to climate change, such as tsunamis. Mitigation and adaptation are two different strategies that planners use in confronting climate change. Mitigation refers to tackling the causes. Adaptation refers to coping with consequences and is the main approach in which planners will be involved. Adaptation policies should be appropriate to the context, guiding planners towards the achievement of multiple objectives, some of which need to be achieved regardless of the impacts of climate change.

… in any contest between man and Mother Nature…Mother Nature will always win. We try to be thankful for the time we have with the land here, but we know it is always borrowed.

– Chatham Coastal Resources Director, facing the last remnants of a residential structure floating out to sea following the breach of Chatham barrier, Cape Cod. Boston Globe Jan. 16, 2008

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Atmospheric CO2 concentration increased at an average rate of 2.0 ± 0.1 ppm per year during 2002–2011. This decadal rate of increase is higher than during any previous decade since direct atmospheric concentration measurements began in 1958 (Ciais et al. 2013).

  2. 2.

    Deep-sea volcanic vents, also called “black smokers”, are known to be relatively acidic environments. While these “mini-volcanoes” are known to host unique flora and fauna, they also introduce substances, such as hydrogen sulfide, into the seafloor environment, which are toxic to most species.

  3. 3.

    These are uses that demand a coastal location, such as coastal tourism, desalination of seawater and some power generation infrastructures.

  4. 4.

    Offsetting, as required by legislation, will require a compensatory action to be taken as reparation for damage caused.

  5. 5.

    Light detection and ranging is a remote sensing technique used for data collection and imaging along coasts.

  6. 6.

    Setbacks are lines past which buildings are not allowed, usually measured from parcel boundaries or infrastructure such as a sidewalk or street. Living shorelines are those for which natural bank stabilization techniques (as opposed to hard engineered structures) have been applied. Living shorelines use plants, sand and limited supplies of rock to provide shoreline protection and maintain valuable habitat.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Architecture, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel

    Michelle Eva Portman

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  1. Michelle Eva Portman
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Portman, M.E. (2016). Current Issues: Coastal Adaptation to Climate Change. In: Environmental Planning for Oceans and Coasts. Geotechnologies and the Environment, vol 15. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-26971-9_11

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