Adaptation in Practice
This section presents examples from our survey of marine and coastal adaptation projects in order to illustrate how different practitioners are planning for and responding to climate change. Titles of available case studies are provided in the footnotes and the full list of adaptation projects can be found on the report's home page grouped by geographic region.
In order to assess trends, we delineate four broad categories by which to review example adaptation strategies (Gregg et al. 2011, 2012, 2016, 2017, 2018):
- Capacity Building: Strategies include conducting research and collecting additional information, conducting training and planning exercises, improving public awareness and education, developing tools and resources, and monitoring impacts and effectiveness of adaptation actions.
- Governance and Policy: Strategies include developing adaptation plans and policies, creating new or enhancing existing policies, and developing adaptive management strategies.
- Infrastructure, Planning, and Development: Strategies include improving existing or designing new infrastructure to withstand the effects of climate change, incorporating climate change into community and land use planning, creating or modifying development measures (e.g., removing shoreline hardening, encouraging low-impact development), and developing disaster preparedness plans and policies.
- Natural Resource Management and Conservation: Strategies include enhancing areas under protection, restoring critical habitats, and reducing non-climate stressors.