Abstract
From seawalls to levees and desalination plants to dams, capital works projects have become a widely accepted climate adaptation strategy in the coastal zone. With the reality of anthropogenic climate change and associated rising sea levels and an increase in the intensity of extreme weather events, there is a growing need for a range of adaptation interventions. The use of capital works for shoreline stabilisation has a long history and is an established engineering response to the protection of buildings and infrastructure from erosion or long term recession. While capital works often succeed in their primary objective of shoreline stabilisation to protect built assets from damage by erosion or inundation, by interrupting coastal processes they are often responsible for unintended consequences in other locations and at other times. In addition to these unintended consequences, case studies of New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina and Sendai prefecture during the 2010 Tokoku earthquake illustrate how the engineering design process, and particularly the need for a ‘design storm’, is a critical adaptation limit for capital works projects in the face of ongoing global climatic disruption. A key research problem is to identify the precise circumstances under which use of capital works is an appropriate and cost effective coastal climate change adaptation strategy, those where a soft-engineering approach that makes use of natural processes such as beach nourishment is preferable, and the situations where an ecosystem-based approach, that draws upon the ecosystem services of natural ecosystems to mitigate climate change impacts, is likely to be more cost effective or resilient.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
- 2.
- 3.
Details of the Green Climate Fund can be found at http://www.greenclimate.fund/home.
- 4.
To have a greater than 50% chance of limiting global warming to 2 °C below the pre-industrial global surface average, requires total anthropogenic greenhouse emissions are reduced by about 40% from 1990 levels by 2030 and then to around zero by about 2080. See IPCC 5th Assessment Report, Working Group III Mitigation of climate change; http://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/wg3/.
References
Adger, W., Dessai, S., Goulden, M., Hulme, M., Lorenzoni, I., Nelson, D., et al. (2009). Are there social limits to adaptation to climate change? Climatic Change, 93(3), 335–354.
Archer, D., & Brovkin, V. (2008). The millennial atmospheric lifetime of anthropogenic CO2. Climatic Change, 90, 283–297.
Australian Government. (2016). Climate and Oceans Support Program in the Pacific (COSPaC). Bureau of Meteorology and the CSIRO. http://cosppac.bom.gov.au/.
Barbier, E. B. (2015). Climate change impacts on rural poverty in low-elevation coastal zones. Shock waves: Managing the impacts of climate change on poverty. Background Paper. Policy Research Working Paper 7475. Development Economics Climate Change Cross-Cutting Solutions Area, World Bank.
Baxter, V. (2014). Rent, real estate, and flood mitigation in New Orleans East. Antipode, 46(4), 1014–1031. doi:10.1111/anti.12080.
Biagini, B., et al. (2014). A typology of adaptation actions: A global look at climate adaptation actions financed through the Global Environment Facility. Global Environmental Change, 25(1), 97–108. doi:10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2014.01.003.
Bird, E. C. F. (1985). Coastline changes: A global review (p. 219). Chichester: Wiley.
Bureau and Meteorology and Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). (2014). Climate variability, extremes and change in the Western Tropical Pacific. Pacific: New Science and Updated Country Reports 2014. Australia Climate Change Science and Adaptation Planning Program.
Cooper, J. A. G., O’Connor, M. C., & McIvor, S. (2016). Coastal defences versus coastal ecosystems: A regional appraisal. Marine Policy. doi:10.1016/j.marpol.2016.02.021.
Deconto, R. M., & Pollard, D. (2016). Contribution of Antarctica to past and future sea-level rise. Nature. doi:10.1038/nature17145.
Dickinson, W. R. (2014). Beach ridges as favored locales for human settlement on pacific islands. Geoarchaeology, 29, 249–267. doi:10.1002/gea.21476.
Dow, K., Berkhout, F., Preston, B. L., Klein, R. J. T., Midgley, G., & Shaw, M. R. (2013). Limits to adaptation. Nature Climate Change, 3(4), 305–307.
Dumas, D. (Published: March 7, 2016 8:17AM). The Great Wall of Japan divides a country still reeling from 2011’s earthquake. The Sydney Morning Herald. http://www.smh.com.au/action/printArticle?id=1006558175.
Environment Agency. (2015). Cost estimation for coastal protection—Summary of evidence. Report –SC080039/R7. Environment Agency, Horizon House, Bristol. www.environment-agency.gov.uk.
Field, C. B., Barros, V. R., Mach, K. J., Mastrandrea, M. D., van Aalst, M., Adger, W. N., Arent, D. J., Barnett, J., Betts, R., Bilir, T. E., Birkmann, J., Carmin, J., Chadee, D. D., Challinor, A. J., Chatterjee, M., Cramer, W., Davidson, D. J., Estrada, Y. O., Gattuso, J. -P., Hijioka, Y., Hoegh-Guldberg, O., Huang, H. Q., Insarov, G. E., Jones, R. N., Kovats, R. S., Romero-Lankao, P., Larsen, J. N., Losada, I. J., Marengo, J. A., McLean, R. F., Mearns, L. O., Mechler, R., Morton, J. F., Niang, I., Oki, T., Olwoch, J. M., Opondo, M., Poloczanska, E. S., Pörtner, H. -O., Redsteer, M. H., Reisinger, A., Revi, A., Schmidt, D. N., Shaw, M. R., Solecki, W., Stone, D. A., Stone, J. M. R., Strzepek, K. M., Suarez, A. G., Tschakert, P., Valentini, R., Vicuña, S., Villamizar, A., Vincent, K. E., Warren, R., White, L. L., Wilbanks, T. J., Wong, P. P., & Yohe, G. W. (2014). Technical summary. In C. B. Field, V. R. Barros, D. J. Dokken, K. J. Mach, M. D. Mastrandrea, T. E. Bilir, M. Chatterjee, K. L. Ebi, Y. O. Estrada, R. C. Genova, B. Girma, E. S. Kissel, A. N. Levy, S. MacCracken, P. R. Mastrandrea, & L. L. White (Eds.), Climate change 2014: Impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability. Part A: Global and sectoral aspects. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (pp. 35–94). Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.
Gordon, P., & Little, R. G. (2009). Rethinking flood protection. Public Works Management & Policy, 14(1), 37–54.
Hansen, J., Kharecha, P., Sato, M., Masson-delmotte, V., Ackerman, F., Beerling, D. J., et al. (2013). Assessing “dangerous climate change”: Required reduction of carbon emissions to protect young people, future generations and nature. PLoS ONE. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0081648.
Hinkel, J., Lincke, D., Vafeidis, A. T., Perrette, M., Nicholls, R. J., Tol, R. S. J., et al. (2014). Coastal flood damage and adaptation costs under 21st century sea-level rise. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 111(9), 3292–3297. doi:10.1073/pnas.1222469111.
IPCC. (2013). Climate change 2013: The physical science basis. In T. F. Stocker, D. Qin, Plattner, G.-K. Tignor, M. Allen, S. K. Boschung, J. Nauels, A. Xia, Y. Bex, V. & P. M. Midgley (Eds.), Contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
Juhola, S., Glaas, E., Linner, B. O., & Neset, T. S. (2016). Redefining maladaptation. Environmental Science & Policy, 55, 135–140.
Kay, R. C. (2012). Adaptation by ribbon cutting: Time to understand where the scissors are kept. Climate and Development, 4(2), 75–77.
Kiem, A. S., & Verdon-Kidd, D. C. (2013). The importance of understanding drivers of hydroclimatic variability for robust flood risk planning in the coastal zone. Australian Journal of Water Resources, 17(2), 126–134.
Kingsford, R. T., Watson, J. E. M., Lundquist, C. J., Venter, O., Hughes, L., Johnston, E. L., et al. (2009). Major conservation policy issues for biodiversity in oceania. Conservation Biology, 23(4), 834–840. doi:10.1111/j.1523-1739.2009.01287.x.
Klein, R. J. T., Midgley, G. F., Preston, B. L., Alam, M., Berkhout, F. G. H., Dow, K., et al. (2014). Adaptation opportunities, constraints and limits. In C. B. Field, V. R. Barros, D. J. Dokken, K. J. Mach, M. D. Mastrandrea, T. E. Bilir, M. Chatterjee, K. L. Ebi, Y. O. Estrada, R. C. Genova, B. Girma, E. S. Kissel, A. N. Levy, S. MacCracken, P. R. Mastrandrea, & L. L. White (Eds.), Climate change 2014: Impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability. Part A: Global and sectoral aspects. Contribution of the Working Group II to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (pp. 899–943). Cambridge, New York: Cambridge University Press.
Kuo, C., & Gan, T. (2015). Risk of exceeding extreme design storm events under possible impact of climate change. Journal of Hydrologic Engineering, 20(12), 4015038. doi:10.1061/(ASCE)HE.1943-5584.0001228.
Low Choy, D., Serrao-Neumann, S., Crick, F., Schuch, G., Sanò, M., van Staden, R., et al. (2012). Adaptation options for human settlements in South East Queensland—Main report. The South East Queensland Climate Adaptation Research Initiative, Griffith University. https://www.terranova.org.au/repository/seqcari/final-seqcari-adaptation-options-main-report.
McGranahan, G., Balk, D., & Anderson, B. (2007). The rising tide: Assessing the risks of climate change and human settlements in low elevation coastal zones. Environment & Urbanization, 19(1), 17–37. doi:10.1177/0956247807076960.
Nalau, J., & Handmer, J. (2015). When is transformation a viable policy alternative? Environmental Science & Policy, 54, 349–356.
Noble, I. R., Huq, S., Anokhin, Y. A., Carmin, J., Goudou, D., Lansigan, F. P., et al. (2014). Adaptation needs and options. In V. R. Barros, C. B. Field, D. J. Dokken, M. D. Mastrandrea, K. J. Mach, T. E. Bilir, M. Chatterjee, K. L. Ebi, Y. O. Estrada, R. C. Genova, B. Girma, E. S. Kissel, A. N. Levy, S. MacCracken, P. R. Mastrandrea, & L. L. White (Eds.), Climate change 2014: Impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability. Part A: Global and sectoral aspects. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (pp. 833–868). Cambridge, New York: Cambridge University Press.
Nurse, L. A., McLean, R. F., Agard, J., Briguglio, L. P., Duvat-Magnan, V., Pelesikoti, N., et al. (2014). Small islands. In V. R. Barros, C. B. Field, D. J. Dokken, M. D. Mastrandrea, K. J. Mach, T. E. Bilir, M. Chatterjee, K. L. Ebi, Y. O. Estrada, R. C. Genova, B. Girma, E. S. Kissel, A. N. Levy, S. MacCracken, P. R. Mastrandrea, & L. L. White (Eds.), Climate change 2014: Impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability. Part B: Regional aspects. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (pp. 1613–1654). Cambridge, New York: Cambridge University Press.
Ojea, E. (2015). Challenges for mainstreaming ecosystem-based adaptation into the international climate agenda. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 14, 41–48.
Onishi, Norimitsu (Published: March 13, 2011). Seawalls offered little protection against tsunami’s crushing waves. The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/14/world/asia/14seawalls.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0.
Rao, N. S. (2014). An economic analysis of ecosystem-based adaptation and engineering options for climate change adaptation in Lami Town, Republic of the Fiji Islands. The Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), Apia, Samoa. A technical report providing an overview of an economic analysis (least-cost analysis and cost-benefit analysis) of adaptation options, including EBA, in Fiji.
Reid, H. (2016). Ecosystem- and community-based adaptation: Learning from community-based natural resource management. Climate and Development, 8(1), 4–9.
Rogers, J. D. (2008). Development of the New Orleans Flood Protection System prior to Hurricane Katrina. Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, 134(5), 602–617.
SOPAC. (1994). Coastal protection in the South Pacific. SOPAC Technical Report 190 SOPAC SECRETARIAT in association with SPREP.
SPREP. (2016a). PEBACC: Pacific ecosystem-based adaptation in the Pacific. Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Program; https://www.sprep.org/pebacc.
SPREP. (2016b). The Pacific adaptation to climate change (PACC) Programme. Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Program; https://www.sprep.org/pacc.
Thom, B. (2013). Coastal compartments project: Summary for policy makers. Department of Environment and Energy: Canberra, ACT.
UNFCCC. (2015). Adoption of the Paris Agreement conference of the parties twenty-first session Paris, 30 November to 11 December 2015. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. https://unfccc.int/resource/docs/2015/cop21/eng/l09r01.pdf.
UNFPA. (2014). Population and development profiles: Pacific Island countries. Suva: United Nations Population Fund, Pacific Sub-Regional Office.
Verdon-Kidd, D. C., & Kiem, A. S. (2015). Non-stationarity in annual maxima rainfall across Australia—Implications for intensity–frequency–duration (IFD) relationships. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences Discussions, 12(3), 3449–3475. http://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci-discuss.net/12/3449/2015/.
Vrolijks, J. (1998). Human settlements development and disaster risks in Pacific Island countries. The South Pacific Programme Office of the UN Department Of Humanitarian Affairs and UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
Watt, E., & Marsalek, J. (2013). Critical review of the evolution of the design storm event concept. Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering, 40(2), 105–113.
Wenzel, H. G., & Voorhees, M. L. (1981). An evaluation of the urban design storm concept. University of Illinois: Water Resources Center.
Acknowledgements
This publication draws upon the results of research undertaken by the Griffith University Ecoadapt Pacific research project which is funded by the University and an anonymous charitable trust.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Mackey, B., Ware, D. (2018). Limits to Capital Works Adaptation in the Coastal Zones and Islands: Lessons for the Pacific. In: Leal Filho, W., Nalau, J. (eds) Limits to Climate Change Adaptation. Climate Change Management. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64599-5_17
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64599-5_17
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-64598-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-64599-5
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)