Towards sucessful adaptation to sea-level rise along Europe's coasts
Tol, Richard S.J., Klein, Richard J.T. and Nicholls, Robert J. (2008) Towards sucessful adaptation to sea-level rise along Europe's coasts. Journal of Coastal Research, 24, (2), 432-442. (doi:10.2112/07A-0016.1).
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Description/Abstract
Adaptation is defined as the planned or unplanned, reactive or anticipatory, successful or unsuccessful response of a system to a change in its environment. This paper examines the current status of adaptation to sea-level rise and climate change in the context of European coasts. Adaptation can greatly reduce the impact of sea-level rise (and other coastal changes), although it requires adjustment of coastal management policies to changing circumstances. Consequently, adaptation is a social, political, and economic process, rather than just a technical exercise, as it is often conceived. The Synthesis and Upscaling of sea-level Rise Vulnerability Assessment Studies project has shown that adaptation to sea-level rise is widely divergent among European countries. Crudely, four groups of countries were identified:
Those that do not worry about accelerated sea-level rise and should not as their coasts are not susceptible
Those that do not worry as they have more urgent problems
Those that do not worry but probably should
Those that do worry and have started to adapt
At the European Union level, while coastal management is a focus, this effort is mainly targeted at today's problems. Hence, this paper suggests the need for a concerted effort to address adaptation in coastal zones across Europe. Sharing of experience among countries would facilitate this process.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| ISSNs: | 0749-0208 (print) 1551-5036 (electronic) |
| Keywords: | climate change, protection, accommodation, retreat, coastal management, vulnerability |
| Subjects: | G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GE Environmental Sciences T Technology > TC Hydraulic engineering. Ocean engineering |
| Divisions: | University Structure - Pre August 2011 > School of Civil Engineering and the Environment |
| Item ID: | 183047 |
| Date Deposited: | 27 Apr 2011 14:30 |
| Last Modified: | 02 Mar 2012 12:56 |
| Contributors: | Tol, Richard S.J. (Author) Klein, Richard J.T. (Author) Nicholls, Robert J. (Author) |
| Date: | 2008 |
| Status: | Published |
| URI: | http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/183047 |
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