This book presents a comprehensive overview of research and projects regarding climate change adaptation in coastal areas, providing government and nongovernment bodies with a sound basis to promote climate change adaptation efforts.According to the 5th Assessment Report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), coastal zones are highly vulnerable to climate change, and climate-driven impacts may be further exacerbated by other human-induced pressures. Apart from sea-level rise, which poses a threat to both human well-being and property, extreme events such as cyclones and storm surges lead not only to significant damage to property and infrastructure, but also to salt water intrusion, groundwater salinisation, and intensified soil erosion, among many other problems. There are also numerous negative impacts on the natural environment and biodiversity, including damage to important wetlands and habitats that safeguard the overall ecological balance, and consequently the provision of ecosystem services and goods on which the livelihoods of millions of people depend. As such, there is a need for a better understanding of how climate change affects coastal areas and communities, and for the identification of processes, methods and tools that can help the countries and communities in coastal areas to adapt and become more resilient. It is against this background that this book has been produced. It includes papers written by scholars, social movements, practitioners and members of governmental agencies, pursuing research and/or executing climate change projects in coastal areas and working with coastal communities. Focusing on “managing climate change in coastal regions”, it showcases valuable lessons learned from research and field projects and presents best practices to foster climate change adaptation in coastal areas and communities, which can be implemented elsewhere.

Coastal communities are at the frontline of a changing climate. Escalating problems created by sea-level rise, a greater number of severe coastal storms, and other repercussions of climate change will exacerbate already pervasive impacts resulting from rapid coastal population growth and intensification of development. To prosper in the coming deca

Tens of millions of Americans are at risk from sea level rise, increased tidal flooding, and intensifying storms. A Blueprint for Coastal Adaptation identifies a bold new research and policy agenda and provides implementable options for coastal communities responding to these threats. In this book, coastal adaptation experts present a range of climate adaptation policies that could protect coastal communities against increasing risk, including concrete financing recommendations. Coastal adaptation will not be easy, but it is achievable using varied approaches. A Blueprint for Coastal Adaptation will inspire innovative and cross-disciplinary thinking about coastal policy at the state and local level while providing actionable, realistic policy and planning options for adaptation professionals and policymakers.

Climate change is predicted to increase the frequency and magnitude of coastal storms around the globe, and the anticipated rise of sea levels will have enormous impact on fragile and vulnerable coastal regions. In the U.S., more than 50% of the population inhabits coastal areas. In Planning for Coastal Resilience, Tim Beatley argues that, in the face of such threats, all future coastal planning and management must reflect a commitment to the concept of resilience. In this timely book, he writes that coastal resilience must become the primary design and planning principle to guide all future development and all future infrastructure decisions. Resilience, Beatley explains, is a profoundly new way of viewing coastal infrastructure—an approach that values smaller, decentralized kinds of energy, water, and transport more suited to the serious physical conditions coastal communities will likely face. Implicit in the notion is an emphasis on taking steps to build adaptive capacity, to be ready ahead of a crisis or disaster. It is anticipatory, conscious, and intentional in its outlook. After defining and explaining coastal resilience, Beatley focuses on what it means in practice. Resilience goes beyond reactive steps to prevent or handle a disaster. It takes a holistic approach to what makes a community resilient, including such factors as social capital and sense of place. Beatley provides case studies of five U.S. coastal communities, and “resilience profiles” of six North American communities, to suggest best practices and to propose guidelines for increasing resilience in threatened communities.

The Corded Ware Culture (c. 2900-2300 BC) is found in a large area, from Russia to the Netherlands and from Scandinavia to Switzerland. Supra-regional elements include beakers decorated with cord and/or spatula imprints, battle-axes, and a funerary customs involving crouched inhumations under barrows with gender-specific placement of the body gender-specific funerary gifts. Analysis of ceramics from well-preserved settlements from the Dutch coastal zone have provided very valuable new information on the Corded Ware chronology, social organization, ideology, subsistence, and use of material culture. A critical review of the commonly applied chronological models shows that many of the underlying premises cannot be supported due to problems with (broad calibration and sample reliability of) 14C dates. This study shows that in the Neolithic Dutch coastal zone, the thin-walled ceramics reflect supra-regional (Corded Ware ) affiliations, whereas the medium-thick-walled and thick-walled ceramics reflect persistent regional (Vlaardingen) traditions. The beakers decorated with cord and spatula impressions were used primarily for cooking; indications for the often proposed use of alcohol (and associated rise of individualization and elites) were not found. It is argued in this study that the Corded Ware Culture represents an economic alliance, a dynamic totality as well as a network linking regional groups - each with a distinct economic base, material culture and ideology. These communities all participated in a vast supra-regional network that was a platform for inter-community exchanges of goods, skills, ideas and possibly people. Affiliation to this supra-regional network was a vital aspect for all regional groups involved, and membership to it was expressed by using a set of common traits. Decorated thin-walled beakers act as symbols of these supra-regional networks and thus embody both functional and ideological roles.

Each year, floods cause an enormous amount of global economic and social damage, impacting transportation systems, water supplies, agriculture, and health. Response management to catastrophic floods require increased measures involving integrated planning, adaptation, and recovery strategies in order to protect against human loss. Decision Support Methods for Assessing Flood Risk and Vulnerability is a pivotal reference source that provides vital research on the application of effective models and tools focused on the diagnosis of vulnerability to flooding risks and evaluates and measures the impact of floods on socio-economic wellbeing. While highlighting topics such as hydrological events, soil erosion, and flood vulnerability, this publication explores methods of identifying appropriate adaptation strategies. This book is ideally designed for researchers, students, academicians, policymakers, government officials, and technology developers seeking current empirical research findings to be used to improve the overall understanding of the flood phenomenon.

"Sea level is rising, and yet Americans continue to develop beaches with little regard. In this volume, a group of coastal geologists discusses the startling saga of ten U.S. East and Gulf Coast shoreline communities (plus Puerto Rico and some western Europe strands) and the problems created by their inevitable interaction with natural processes in this highly dynamic geologic environment. The authors discuss the geologic context of the hazards of each site as the history of societal responses and their environmental impacts. Response to the natural coastal processes that threaten lives and buildings is carried out in a context of local, state and national politics with fixed short-term engineering solutions (beach replenishment, seawalls) generally favored over longer-term approaches (moving back, prohibition of seawalls). This essential GSA Special Paper foreshadows the impending rise of sea level and the myriad of shoreline responses and political controversies it will provoke."--Publisher's description.