Abstract
The vulnerability of coastal regions to adverse climatic and environmental drivers is well understood and has been demonstrated by several recent events, such as Hurricane Katrina, the oil spill along the U.S. Gulf Coast, and Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar. Trends including climate change, degradation of coastal ecosystems, population growth, and aging infrastructure are likely to increase vulnerabilities in the future. While there may be broad acceptance for including limited climate change-related options within current planning methodologies, new types of tools, policies, and decision-making approaches may be required that move beyond the mainstream processes to reduce risks while addressing the complex nature of these social/biological/physical systems. In particular, adaptation demands a fundamentally different decision regime than the current, historically focused methods. The objective of this chapter is to provide an introduction and conceptual overview to the section on adaptation to climate change within coastal systems. As a result of coastal group discussions in the 2010 NATO-Iceland meeting, we highlight four main points concerning adaptation to climate change in coastal areas:
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Coasts have a set of layered vulnerabilities that contribute to current and future risks.
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People matter in the adaptation process and should be included at multiple stages in the decision process.
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Governance also plays a fundamental role in the adaptation process.
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There are challenges to decision making in adaptation, but there are also a range of powerful concepts, tools, and case studies available to aid decision makers.
Within these sections, we highlight theories regarding adaptation within complex socioecological systems along with case studies to give examples of progressive analysis and planning for uncertain future events. The chapter concludes with a discussion of research and practice gaps for further consideration within the overall section.
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Kiker, G.A., Muñoz-Carpena, R., Ranger, N., Kiker, M., Linkov, I. (2011). Adaptation in Coastal Systems. In: Linkov, I., Bridges, T. (eds) Climate. NATO Science for Peace and Security Series C: Environmental Security. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1770-1_20
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