Informing coastal management adaptation planning and decision making for climate change: Social and Environmental Research Institute (SERI)

Project funded by the NOAA Sectoral Applications Research Program (SARP).

1 August, 2009 - 30 March, 2011.

For more information about SARP follow this link

Seth Tuler (PI) and Tom Webler (Social and Environmental Research Institute)

Kirstin Dow, Department of Geography, University of South Carolina

Jessica Whitehead, Regional Climate Extension Specialist, South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium

Project Overview: Planning for climate change adaptation in coastal communities

Climate change and the need for adaptation planning are becoming increasingly evident to residents of coastal communities. Coastal areas are places of interface between oceans/seas and land. Communities simultaneously face impacts from climate-influenced changes in offshore systems, such as sea level rise, shoreline erosion, hurricanes, and associated tidal surges and flooding, and in inland systems, including interior rainfall from intense storms. Large-scale changes to landscapes as a result of development can exacerbate the effects of such climate-related changes, further altering patterns of land cover and use and degrading water quality and quantity.

Planning for climate change in the context of such diverse stresses poses a significant challenge for coastal managers and communities. In this project, we will refine and test a computer-based tool that can be used to inform planning. It creates diagrams of how various climate-induced stresses lead to consequences in coastal communities. The purpose of the tool is to help planners think through likely future scenarios brought about by climate change and the actions they can take to anticipate, mitigate, and adapt to changes. The tool also shows how both government agencies and community members can respond to prevent or mitigate impacts. By thinking through these scenarios, planners can begin to understand how impacts are related to differences in vulnerability and how vulnerabilities and impacts can be mitigated via short-term adjustments and long-term adaptations.

Project Objective: Refine and test a computer-based tool that meets the needs of local planners

We start by assuming that successful adaptation and mitigation of hazard impacts in coastal regions will require the generation of realistic scenarios, which focus on producing knowledge that informs decision-making and enhances community understanding.

Our approach is to overcome shortcomings in the way information is usually produced. First, effective climate adaptation and hazard mitigation cannot be accomplished through top-down planning alone. Scenarios about climate change impacts, vulnerabilities, and adaptation in specific communities are best created with input from community members themselves. Second, modeling and scenario-building efforts often focus on the science, but not on the information needs of decision makers. For example, system complexity is often represented at the expense of transparency and the ability to explore alternative assumptions and pathways. Similarly, scenarios and models often present a single projection, rather than multiple representations of multiple stakeholders that allow the exploration of many possible futures and conditions. We believe that our methodology will produce a useful tool for decision-makers that helps them explore scenarios in ways that overcome these difficulties.

The computer-based tool we are refining and testing requires integrating both local knowledge and scientific studies. Consequently, in this project we will work with the coastal community of Sullivan's Island, South Carolina through a series of interviews and meetings to integrate their knowledge and assess the utility of the tool to local planners. We will also assess the process by which the information is developed, including the interactions between local planners, the research team, and scientists. We will pay close attention to how learning occurs and how improved understanding influences planning and action. Finally, three outreach meetings will be held with decision-makers and stakeholders in the Southeast during the second year of the project. We will invite 2-3 participants from the Sullivan's Island development groups to comment on the process and their use of the tool. These outreach meetings will help us gather feedback about how we can improve accessibility and usefulness of the tool.

Project Products: A tool to assist planning for adaptation to climate change

The main products of the project will be the prototype computer-based tool for use in community vulnerability assessment activities and a guidance document for using it. Both the computer-based tool and the guidance document will be made available to the emerging Sea Grant Climate Network, as well as generally available on through the SERI, CISA, Sea Grant, and other organizations' web pages.

Publications and Reports

None to date.

			Informing coastal management adaptation planning and decision making for climate change 278 Main Street, Suite 404, Greenfield, MA 01301 phone: 413-773-9955, fax: 530-348-7325, e-mail:


All material © SERI unless otherwise noted.			Project funded by the NOAA Sectoral Applications Research Program (SARP). 1 August, 2009 - 30 March, 2011. For more information about SARP follow this link Project Team Seth Tuler (PI) and Tom Webler (Social and Environmental Research Institute) Kirstin Dow, Department of Geography, University of South Carolina Jessica Whitehead, Regional Climate Extension Specialist, South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium Project Overview: Planning for climate change adaptation in coastal communities Climate change and the need for adaptation planning are becoming increasingly evident to residents of coastal communities. Coastal areas are places of interface between oceans/seas and land. Communities simultaneously face impacts from climate-influenced changes in offshore systems, such as sea level rise, shoreline erosion, hurricanes, and associated tidal surges and flooding, and in inland systems, including interior rainfall from intense storms. Large-scale changes to landscapes as a result of development can exacerbate the effects of such climate-related changes, further altering patterns of land cover and use and degrading water quality and quantity. Planning for climate change in the context of such diverse stresses poses a significant challenge for coastal managers and communities. In this project, we will refine and test a computer-based tool that can be used to inform planning. It creates diagrams of how various climate-induced stresses lead to consequences in coastal communities. The purpose of the tool is to help planners think through likely future scenarios brought about by climate change and the actions they can take to anticipate, mitigate, and adapt to changes. The tool also shows how both government agencies and community members can respond to prevent or mitigate impacts. By thinking through these scenarios, planners can begin to understand how impacts are related to differences in vulnerability and how vulnerabilities and impacts can be mitigated via short-term adjustments and long-term adaptations. Project Objective: Refine and test a computer-based tool that meets the needs of local planners We start by assuming that successful adaptation and mitigation of hazard impacts in coastal regions will require the generation of realistic scenarios, which focus on producing knowledge that informs decision-making and enhances community understanding. Our approach is to overcome shortcomings in the way information is usually produced. First, effective climate adaptation and hazard mitigation cannot be accomplished through top-down planning alone. Scenarios about climate change impacts, vulnerabilities, and adaptation in specific communities are best created with input from community members themselves. Second, modeling and scenario-building efforts often focus on the science, but not on the information needs of decision makers. For example, system complexity is often represented at the expense of transparency and the ability to explore alternative assumptions and pathways. Similarly, scenarios and models often present a single projection, rather than multiple representations of multiple stakeholders that allow the exploration of many possible futures and conditions. We believe that our methodology will produce a useful tool for decision-makers that helps them explore scenarios in ways that overcome these difficulties. The computer-based tool we are refining and testing requires integrating both local knowledge and scientific studies. Consequently, in this project we will work with the coastal community of Sullivan's Island, South Carolina through a series of interviews and meetings to integrate their knowledge and assess the utility of the tool to local planners. We will also assess the process by which the information is developed, including the interactions between local planners, the research team, and scientists. We will pay close attention to how learning occurs and how improved understanding influences planning and action. Finally, three outreach meetings will be held with decision-makers and stakeholders in the Southeast during the second year of the project. We will invite 2-3 participants from the Sullivan's Island development groups to comment on the process and their use of the tool. These outreach meetings will help us gather feedback about how we can improve accessibility and usefulness of the tool. Project Products: A tool to assist planning for adaptation to climate change The main products of the project will be the prototype computer-based tool for use in community vulnerability assessment activities and a guidance document for using it. Both the computer-based tool and the guidance document will be made available to the emerging Sea Grant Climate Network, as well as generally available on through the SERI, CISA, Sea Grant, and other organizations' web pages. Publications and Reports None to date.