IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/nat/natcli/v4y2014i12d10.1038_nclimate2383.html

A local coastal adaptation pathway

Author

Listed:
  • J. Barnett

    (School of Geography, The University of Melbourne)

  • S. Graham

    (School of Geography, The University of Melbourne)

  • C. Mortreux

    (School of Geography, The University of Melbourne)

  • R. Fincher

    (School of Geography, The University of Melbourne)

  • E. Waters

    (School of Geography, The University of Melbourne)

  • A. Hurlimann

    (Urban Planning, The University of Melbourne)

Abstract

Local governments are not adapting to sea-level rise because it is difficult to build consensus on the need for change and the best way to implement it. In theory, adaptation pathways can resolve this impasse. Adaptation pathways are a sequence of linked strategies that are triggered by a change in environmental conditions, and in which initial decisions can have low regrets and preserve options for future generations. We report on a project that sought to empirically test the relevance and feasibility of a local pathway for adapting to sea-level rise. We find that triggers of change that have social impacts are salient to local people, and developing a local adaptation pathway helps build consensus among diverse constituencies. Our results show that adaptation pathways are feasible at the local scale, offering a low-risk, low-cost way to begin the long process of adaptation to sea-level rise.

Suggested Citation

  • J. Barnett & S. Graham & C. Mortreux & R. Fincher & E. Waters & A. Hurlimann, 2014. "A local coastal adaptation pathway," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 4(12), pages 1103-1108, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcli:v:4:y:2014:i:12:d:10.1038_nclimate2383
    DOI: 10.1038/nclimate2383
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/nclimate2383
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1038/nclimate2383?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nat:natcli:v:4:y:2014:i:12:d:10.1038_nclimate2383. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.nature.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.