tag:theconversation.com,2011:/uk/topics/coastal-21741/articles
Coastal – The Conversation
2024-03-07T22:03:41Z
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/224902
2024-03-07T22:03:41Z
2024-03-07T22:03:41Z
Flood risk mapping is a public good, so why the public resistance in Canada? Lessons from Nova Scotia
<p>Flood risk maps are an essential public good. Indeed, many countries like the <a href="https://flood-map-for-planning.service.gov.uk/">United Kingdom already offer flood risk mapping</a>.</p>
<p>Canada committed to a public flood risk mapping portal in the <a href="https://www.budget.canada.ca/2023/report-rapport/chap4-en.html#Raising%20Awareness%20of%20Flood%20Risks">2023 budget</a>. However, despite the <a href="https://www.theweathernetwork.com/en/news/climate/impacts/climate-water-is-the-new-fire">increasing frequency and impact of large, catastrophic floods</a>, we still have a sparse patchwork of flood risk maps at municipal and provincial scale. </p>
<p>What <a href="https://floodsmartcanada.ca/floodplain-maps/">flood mapping that does exist</a> is hard to find, of uncertain quality and currency, and often <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/5206284/bad-flood-map-canada/">difficult for non-experts to understand and apply</a>. </p>
<p>The unacknowledged reason why there is a lack of flood risk mapping in Canada is because such maps generally face public resistance. Indeed, it is not uncommon in Canada to see flood or wetland mapping <a href="https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/quebec-withdraws-30-municipalities-from-contested-flood-zone-maps-1.4509236">withdrawn or modified</a> because of public pressure. </p>
<p>I led two survey-based studies recently with former graduate student Samantha Howard and post-doctoral fellow Brooke McWherter to understand how people in flood-prone areas of Nova Scotia perceive publicly available flood maps. We found wide agreement about the benefits of such maps — until we asked about the <a href="https://www.intactcentreclimateadaptation.ca/treading-water-impact-of-catastrophic-flooding-on-canadas-housing-market/">impact on real estate value</a>. </p>
<h2>The case of Nova Scotia</h2>
<p>Nova Scotia faces some of the <a href="https://changingclimate.ca/CCCR2019/chapter/8-0/">highest sea level rise in Canada</a> under current climate change projections. Yet last week, the Nova Scotia government <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/coastal-protection-act-environment-tim-halman-climate-change-1.7125745">decided not to proceed with the long-awaited Coastal Protection Act (CPA)</a>, which had been passed with all-party assent in 2019. </p>
<p>Among other things, the act would have regulated how close people could build to the ocean based on assessments of sea level, storm projections and information about the elevation and erosion risk of each section of coast. This would have protected people and infrastructure, as well as sensitive coastal ecosystems, and left space for ocean dynamics. </p>
<p>In lieu of the act, the Nova Scotia government released a <a href="https://novascotia.ca/coastal-climate-change/">new website</a> featuring resources to help individual coastal property owners make decisions about their bit of coastline, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/municipalities-nova-scotia-coastal-protection-act-1.7021006">leaving dozens of rural coastal municipalities</a> in the lurch. One of those resources was a new <a href="https://nsgi.novascotia.ca/chm">coastal hazard map</a>. </p>
<p>The lengthy disclaimer you need to agree to before you can access the map immediately erodes its trustworthiness. Moreover, while people may trust any good news they see in its data, they may still be at risk due to the tool’s many data and design flaws. To supplement this tool, Nova Scotia has <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/10317417/new-coastal-protection-plan-nova-scotia/">committed to finishing detailed flood line mapping by 2027</a>. </p>
<p>It is too soon to know how people are responding to this tool, but we know it does not take a lot of unhappy constituents to make a government nervous, especially if those constituents hold financial or political power. <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/coastal-protection-act-tim-halman-environment-climate-change-1.6959599">The public engagement associated with the CPA was, after all, overwhelmingly in support of proclaiming and regulating under the act</a>. Yet here we are. </p>
<h2>Drivers of resistance</h2>
<p>The first survey we ran in 2021 — through an online link sent via Canada Post to all residents in two towns in Southwestern Nova Scotia — showed <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/cag.12836">one in six people felt flood risk mapping presented too big a risk for real estate value</a>. Our second survey of about 1100 house residents around the Minas Basin, Nova Scotia, in 2022 found that <a href="http://hdl.handle.net/10222/83004">one in three residents expressed concern about real estate value</a>. Both studies had a margin of error of plus or minus 6 per cent at a 95 per cent confidence level.</p>
<p>The first survey had a smaller response rate but represented the population demographics better. The second was biased toward older respondents and those with higher incomes. </p>
<p>Moving back to our original question — why doesn’t everyone see flood risk mapping as a public good?</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/2023s-billion-dollar-disasters-list-shattered-the-us-record-with-28-big-weather-and-climate-disasters-amid-earths-hottest-year-on-record-220634">2023's billion-dollar disasters list shattered the US record with 28 big weather and climate disasters amid Earth's hottest year on record</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>We used slightly different questions in the two studies to understand the drivers of resistance to flood risk mapping based on perceived impact on real estate value. What emerged speaks to the challenge of inspiring long-term and collective thinking about climate change. </p>
<p>Firstly, being focused on oneself rather than others was a reliable predictor of resistance in both studies. </p>
<p>Resistance in the first study was associated with agreeing to the following statements: “I am not able to cope with the land changes required to deal with significant increases in flood risk at this point in my life,” and “flood management decisions I make do not have implications for others.” The latter is demonstrably untrue: shoreline armouring, for instance, can have negative effects for neighbours. In the second study, being focused on others and having descendants led to less resistance. </p>
<p>Self-orientation was a strong underlying driver of resistance. It reduced a person’s likelihood of focusing on others, the future or the biosphere. People already make decisions to suit their own situation, just as the Nova Scotia government is now <a href="https://www.halifaxexaminer.ca/morning-file/the-houston-government-thinks-we-can-use-an-app-to-ward-off-storm-damage-and-sea-level-rise-individually-we-cant/#N1">encouraging coastal landowners to do</a>. Yet in these kinds of scenarios, collective and ecological interests are forgotten.</p>
<p>Secondly, the more vulnerable a person felt to flood risk, the more likely they were to oppose maps that would allow others to see their flood risk. This variable was only a strong signal of resistance in the second study when we used a combination of flood likelihood and vulnerability to measure it. This might also explain why resistance was twice as high in the 2022 survey than the one in 2021. It could be a regional difference based on actual differences in risk, or differences in survey method and thus respondent population, but it could also reflect increasing flood frequency and severity.</p>
<p>The second survey was still in the field when <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/weather-snoddon-fiona-recap-1.6976249">Hurricane Fiona</a> hit Atlantic Canada. This timing suggests that instead of becoming more open to climate adaptation information like flood maps as flooding events occur, we might become less open as we seek to protect the value of our biggest investments: our homes. </p>
<h2>Moving forward</h2>
<p>A clue to the path ahead may be found in our first study, where <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/cag.12836">those who had previously seen a flood map for their region</a> were slightly less likely to be resistant to public flood risk maps. This might indicate that such resistance is mostly borne of fear of the unknown. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/wetlands-are-superheroes-expert-sets-out-how-they-protect-people-and-places-221995">Wetlands are superheroes: expert sets out how they protect people and places</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>We urgently need high quality, public flood risk maps that the government stands by (including with planning regulations). Then we can focus on rethinking what it means to live a good coastal life in the face of climate change, and how we collectively support those who may face decreases in home or land value.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224902/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kate Sherren or her trainees received funding for this work from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, and the Nova Scotia Government. </span></em></p>
Public concerns for real estate value, and a focus on the self, make flood risk maps unpopular. However, these concerns should not dissuade governments from providing resources we can all trust.
Kate Sherren, Professor, School for Resource and Environmental Studies, Dalhousie University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/218008
2023-12-05T13:19:21Z
2023-12-05T13:19:21Z
How a thumb-sized climate migrant with a giant crab claw is disrupting the Northeast’s Great Marsh ecosystem
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560052/original/file-20231116-28-pkwiiq.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=83%2C832%2C3233%2C2161&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Male fiddler crabs are small, with one oversized claw.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">David S. Johnson</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Nine years ago, I stood on the muddy banks of <a href="https://www.mass.gov/info-details/great-marsh-acec">the Great Marsh</a>, a salt marsh an hour north of Boston, and pulled a thumb-sized crab with an absurdly large claw out of a burrow. I was looking at a fiddler crab – a species that wasn’t supposed to be north of Cape Cod, let alone north of Boston.</p>
<p>As it turned out, the marsh I was standing in would never be the same. I was witnessing climate change in action.</p>
<p>The Great Marsh is on the Gulf of Maine, the piece of the Atlantic that extends approximately from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, to Nova Scotia, Canada. The marshes along the gulf are <a href="https://www.massaudubon.org/our-work/birds-wildlife/bird-conservation-research/massachusetts-important-bird-areas/iba-sites/great-marsh">critical breeding sites</a> for many bird species. But the water there is warming faster than almost <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aac9819">anywhere else on the planet</a>. And with warming water comes warm-water species.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A view of a marsh with grasses growing along a creek at sunset." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560051/original/file-20231116-19-nva80e.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560051/original/file-20231116-19-nva80e.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560051/original/file-20231116-19-nva80e.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560051/original/file-20231116-19-nva80e.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560051/original/file-20231116-19-nva80e.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560051/original/file-20231116-19-nva80e.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560051/original/file-20231116-19-nva80e.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Marsh grass is essential for both habitat and adapting to sea-level rise in the Great Marsh.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">David S. Johnson</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-change-is-already-disrupting-us-forests-and-coasts-heres-what-were-seeing-at-5-long-term-research-sites-164906">Maryland blue crab</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsu217">black sea bass</a>, both southern species, are now being caught in <a href="https://www.manomet.org/bluecrab/">Maine lobster traps</a>. And fiddler crabs, whose charismatic males have oversized claws to attract mates and defend against rivals, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.4203">are marching up the Eastern Seaboard</a>.</p>
<p>This rapid migration is due, in part, to their young. While adult fiddler crabs scuttle on the mud, their young swim in the water and are carried by the currents. Warming waters allow them to complete their life cycle, and currents carry the next generation farther north.</p>
<p>As a <a href="https://www.vims.edu/about/directory/faculty/johnson_d.php">marine ecologist who has worked in the Great Marsh for decades and studies climate migrants</a> – species that have shifted or expanded their ranges due to climate change – I want to know how these migrations affect the ecosystems they move into. I was surprised to find fiddler crabs in the Great Marsh, but I was more surprised by how they affected the marsh.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A canal through a marsh, with boats on it." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560214/original/file-20231117-19-z9lafq.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560214/original/file-20231117-19-z9lafq.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=476&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560214/original/file-20231117-19-z9lafq.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=476&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560214/original/file-20231117-19-z9lafq.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=476&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560214/original/file-20231117-19-z9lafq.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=599&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560214/original/file-20231117-19-z9lafq.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=599&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560214/original/file-20231117-19-z9lafq.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=599&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Rowley River in Rowley, Mass., at low tide in the Great Marsh. Marshes are critical for recreational and commercial activities such as clamming, fishing, boating and birding.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">David S. Johnson</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Fiddler friend turns foe</h2>
<p>Salt marshes are grasslands flooded daily by the sea. Imagine a Midwest prairie as oceanfront property.</p>
<p>South of Cape Cod, decades of research has shown that when fiddler crabs are present, <a href="https://doi.org/10.2307/1940564">grass is more productive</a>. Fiddler-crab poop and burrows release nutrients and fuel plant growth. They are the earthworms of the salt marsh – they help plants grow.</p>
<p>But in the Great Marsh, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.4203">it isn’t working that way</a>.</p>
<p>Digging by fiddler crabs reduced the biomass of shoots and leaves in the Great Marsh by 40% and roots by 30% over the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.4203">course of the summers of 2020 and 2021</a>. That’s the opposite of what we would predict for summer growth.</p>
<p>I was surprised because the crabs were coexisting with the same plant species, <em><a href="https://gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/spartina/alterniflora/">Spartina alterniflora</a></em>, in the Great Marsh as they were south of Cape Cod.</p>
<p><iframe id="ICMoY" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/ICMoY/11/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>Why the different impacts? One reason is that while they may be the same species, these plants haven’t evolved with fiddler crabs as their southern kin have. Fiddler crabs don’t eat the grass, but when they dig, they damage <em>Spartina’s</em> roots. Plants in southern areas have adapted to this damage and now benefit from it, but plants in the North have yet to adapt. </p>
<h2>A chain reaction through the ecosystem</h2>
<p>The harm from this disruption can go well beyond the grasses to affect the rest of the Great Marsh food web.</p>
<p>Insects, spiders, snails and small crustaceans all rely on the grasses for food. These animals, in turn, are food for fish, shrimp and crabs. Less plant biomass could lead to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-018-0265-x">fewer fish</a> and shrimp. The <a href="https://www.massaudubon.org/our-work/birds-wildlife/bird-conservation-research/massachusetts-important-bird-areas/iba-sites/great-marsh">many birds that breed</a> in the marsh and stop there during migration rely on that food web.</p>
<p>Will this harmful relationship with crabs last forever for the plants? Probably not. <em>Spartina</em> has been able to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.16371">adapt to new conditions within decades</a>. Plants in the Great Marsh, and the rest of the Gulf of Maine, will likely adapt to the fiddler’s presence over time, too.</p>
<p>In the meantime, however, fiddler crabs may magnify the impacts of climate change in the area.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560060/original/file-20231116-23-ed38g1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman in a US Fish and Wildfire uniform kneels beside a ditch in the marsh." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560060/original/file-20231116-23-ed38g1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560060/original/file-20231116-23-ed38g1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560060/original/file-20231116-23-ed38g1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560060/original/file-20231116-23-ed38g1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560060/original/file-20231116-23-ed38g1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560060/original/file-20231116-23-ed38g1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560060/original/file-20231116-23-ed38g1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Nancy Pau, a wildlife biologist at Parker River National Wildlife Refuge, north of Boston, points to salt marsh grasses, which are essential for building up soil to help marshes survive sea-level rise.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/usfwsnortheast/14441512407/in/photolist-o19wve">Margie Brenner/USFWS</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Accelerated sea level rise driven by warming temperatures already <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/lno.11444">threatens to drown the Great Marsh</a>. Salt marshes have kept pace with sea-level rise for millennia the same way you might deal with rising water threatening your house – by building up. Plants build marshes by trapping sediment brought in with each tide. Less grass could mean less marsh, and the marsh could drown.</p>
<p>Fiddler crabs also reduce the Great Marsh’s <a href="https://doi.org/10.3354/meps08708">ability to store carbon</a>. Salt marshes are giant compost piles that take centuries to rot, if ever. Every gardener knows that temperature and oxygen get a compost pile cooking. This is why you turn your compost.</p>
<p>Each year, dead plant roots are buried in soils with no oxygen. As a result, decomposition is greatly slowed, allowing the “compost” and carbon to build up and be stored. Because of this, salt marshes are <a href="https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/ecosystems/coastal-blue-carbon">critical as places that store carbon</a>, keeping it out of the atmosphere where it would contribute to climate change. However, burrows from fiddler crabs stimulate decomposition. The dead plants begin to rot, and carbon, once buried, is released.</p>
<h2>Climate migrants are found worldwide</h2>
<p>Fiddler crabs are just one of thousands of climate migrants we’ve seen worldwide. While ecosystems will adapt as climate migrants arrive, they will likely never be the same.</p>
<p>In Australia, when an herbivorous sea urchin expanded its range south, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-008-1043-9">plant and animal diversity plummeted after kelp forests were stripped bare</a>. In California, a predatory nudibranch (aka a sea slug) reduced the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-011-1633-7">local population of other nudibranchs</a> when it migrated north. In Antarctica, krill <a href="https://www.vims.edu/research/topics/global_change/ts_archive/krill_range.php">are shifting south</a>. Krill are the primary diet for whales, penguins and seals, so this shift could disrupt the Antarctic food web.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A krill swims through dark water off Antarctica feasting on phytolankton." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560229/original/file-20231118-24-fcrm6q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560229/original/file-20231118-24-fcrm6q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560229/original/file-20231118-24-fcrm6q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560229/original/file-20231118-24-fcrm6q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560229/original/file-20231118-24-fcrm6q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560229/original/file-20231118-24-fcrm6q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560229/original/file-20231118-24-fcrm6q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Shrimplike krill are essential food for many species, including whales. They make up about a quarter of the Gentoo penguin’s diet in Antarctica.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/106398176@N07/10544282175/">Beth Simmons/Palmer Station LTER</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But it’s not always bad news when climate migrants show up.</p>
<p>When mangroves replace marshes in the southern United States, they <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.12571">store more carbon</a>. Climate migrants can also benefit fisheries.</p>
<p>My lab studies the blue crab, famous in the Chesapeake Bay, which generated over <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/foss/f?p=215:200:409148916679:Mail::::">US$200 million in dockside landings in 2022</a>. Now that blue crabs are <a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-change-is-already-disrupting-us-forests-and-coasts-heres-what-were-seeing-at-5-long-term-research-sites-164906">being found in lobster pots in Maine</a>, a fishery could be developed in northern Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine. However, it’s unknown how blue crabs and lobsters will get along.</p>
<p>In Virginia, warming waters have brought <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/mcf2.10143">an abundance of white shrimp</a> along with <a href="https://www.bayjournal.com/news/climate_change/warm-temperatures-move-more-shrimp-into-chesapeake-waters/article_e55ea8ca-5479-11ec-a1c3-4f6085190504.html">a new fishery</a>. To the delight of anglers, the snook – a fun sportfish – has <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0234083">expanded into the Big Bend of Florida in the Gulf of Mexico</a>.</p>
<h2>More migration is still to come</h2>
<p>The year 2023 set a record for heat waves <a href="https://climatereanalyzer.org/clim/sst_daily/">in the world’s oceans</a>, and with greenhouse gases emissions still rising, <a href="https://nca2023.globalchange.gov/">warming will continue</a>. </p>
<p>While climate migrants are not considered invasive species, they can change ecosystems, as we’re already seeing in the Great Marsh. It’s important to understand how that happens, and whether ecosystems can adapt as species continue to change their ZIP codes.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218008/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David S. Johnson receives funding from the National Science Foundation.. </span></em></p>
South of Cape Cod, fiddler crabs and marsh grass have long had a mutually beneficial relationship. It’s a different story in the North, where the harms can ricochet through ecosystems.
David Samuel Johnson, Associate Professor of Marine Sciences, Virginia Institute of Marine Science
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/211431
2023-08-30T20:36:24Z
2023-08-30T20:36:24Z
We studied more than 1,500 coastal ecosystems - they will drown if we let the world warm above 2°C
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/545179/original/file-20230829-15-v3if80.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=46%2C20%2C3368%2C2826&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Simon Albert</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Much of the world’s natural coastline is protected by living habitats, most notably mangroves in warmer waters and tidal marshes closer to the poles. These ecosystems support fisheries and wildlife, absorb the impact of crashing waves and clean up pollutants. But these vital services are threatened by global warming and rising sea levels. </p>
<p>Recent research has shown wetlands can respond to sea level rise by building up their root systems, <a href="https://theconversation.com/rising-seas-allow-coastal-wetlands-to-store-more-carbon-113020">pulling carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in the process</a>. Growing recognition of the potential for this “blue” carbon sequestration is driving mangrove and tidal marsh restoration projects. </p>
<p>While the resilience of these ecosystems is impressive, it is not without limits. Defining the upper limits to mangrove and marsh resilience under accelerating sea level rise is a topic of great interest and considerable debate. </p>
<p>Our new research, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06448-z">published today in the journal Nature</a>, analyses the vulnerability and exposure of mangroves, marshes and coral islands to sea level rise. The results underscore the critical importance of keeping global warming within 2 degrees of the pre-industrial baseline. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/542967/original/file-20230816-19-44orpq.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A photo showing uprooted trees in tropical waters of the Solomon Islands." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/542967/original/file-20230816-19-44orpq.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/542967/original/file-20230816-19-44orpq.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=215&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542967/original/file-20230816-19-44orpq.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=215&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542967/original/file-20230816-19-44orpq.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=215&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542967/original/file-20230816-19-44orpq.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=271&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542967/original/file-20230816-19-44orpq.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=271&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542967/original/file-20230816-19-44orpq.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=271&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Coral islands are contracting, causing habitat loss in the Solomon Islands.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Simon Albert</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/not-waving-drowning-why-keeping-warming-under-1-5-is-a-life-or-death-matter-for-tidal-marshes-187540">Not waving, drowning: why keeping warming under 1.5℃ is a life-or-death matter for tidal marshes</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What we did</h2>
<p>We pulled together all the available evidence on how mangroves, tidal marshes and coral islands respond to sea level rise. That included: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>delving into the geological record to study how coastal systems responded to past sea level rise, following the last Ice Age</p></li>
<li><p>tapping into a global network of <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/centers/eesc/science/surface-elevation-table">survey benchmarks</a> in mangroves and tidal marshes</p></li>
<li><p>analysing satellite imagery for changes in the extent of wetlands and coral islands at varying rates of sea level rise.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Altogether, our international team assessed 190 mangroves, 477 tidal marshes and 872 coral reef islands around the world. </p>
<p>We then used computer modelling to work out how much these coastal ecosystems would be exposed to rapid sea level rise under projected warming scenarios. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/545438/original/file-20230830-15-1g4pn5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A photo of the eroding wetland at Towra Point in Sydney, showing the stumps and exposed roots of trees washed up on the beach" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/545438/original/file-20230830-15-1g4pn5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/545438/original/file-20230830-15-1g4pn5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545438/original/file-20230830-15-1g4pn5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545438/original/file-20230830-15-1g4pn5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545438/original/file-20230830-15-1g4pn5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545438/original/file-20230830-15-1g4pn5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545438/original/file-20230830-15-1g4pn5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Eroding wetland at Towra Point in Sydney.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Neil Saintilan</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What we found</h2>
<p>Mangroves, tidal marshes and coral islands can cope with low rates of sea-level rise. They remain stable and healthy. </p>
<p>We found most tidal marshes and mangroves are keeping pace with current rates of sea level rise, around 2–4mm per year. Coral islands also appear stable under these conditions. </p>
<p>In some locations, land is sinking, so the relative rate of sea level rise is greater. It may be double this 2–4mm figure or more, comparable to rates expected under future climate change. In these situations, we found <a href="https://theconversation.com/not-waving-drowning-why-keeping-warming-under-1-5-is-a-life-or-death-matter-for-tidal-marshes-187540">marshes failing to keep up</a> with sea level rise. They are slowly drowning and in some cases, breaking up. What’s more, these are the same rates of sea level rise under which marshes and mangrove drown in the geological record.</p>
<p>These cases give us a glimpse of the future in a warming world.</p>
<p>So if the rate of sea level rise doubles to 7 or 8 millimetres a year, it becomes “very likely” (90% probability) mangroves and tidal marshes will no longer keep pace, and “likely” (about 67% probability) coral islands will undergo rapid changes. These rates will be reached when the 2.0°C warming threshold is exceeded. </p>
<p>Even at the lower rates of sea level rise we would have between 1.5°C and 2.0°C of warming (4 or 5mm a year), extensive loss of mangrove and tidal marsh is likely. </p>
<p>Tidal marshes are less exposed to these rates of sea level rise than mangroves because they occur in regions where the land is rising, reducing the relative rate of sea level rise.</p>
<iframe title="" aria-label="Table" id="datawrapper-chart-X0tLs" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/X0tLs/1/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;" height="340" data-external="1" width="100%"></iframe>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/rising-seas-threaten-to-drown-important-mangrove-forests-unless-we-intervene-49146">Rising seas threaten to drown important mangrove forests, unless we intervene</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Let’s give coastal ecosystems a fighting chance</h2>
<p>We know mangroves and tidal marshes have survived rapid sea level rise before, at rates even higher than those projected under extreme climate change. </p>
<p>They won’t have long enough to build up root systems or trap sediment in order to stay in place, so they will seek higher ground by shifting landward into newly flooded coastal lowlands. </p>
<p>But this time, they will be competing with other land uses and increasingly trapped behind coastal levees and hard barriers such as roads and buildings. </p>
<p>If the global temperature rise is limited to 2°C, coastal ecosystems have a fighting chance. But if this threshold is exceeded, they will need more help. </p>
<p>Intervention is needed to enable the retreat of mangroves and tidal marshes across our coastal landscapes. There is a role for governments in designating retreat pathways, controlling coastal development, and expanding coastal nature reserves into higher ground. </p>
<p>The future of the world’s living coastlines is in our hands. If we work to restore mangroves and tidal marshes to their former extent, they can help us tackle climate change. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-change-can-drive-social-tipping-points-for-better-or-for-worse-210641">Climate change can drive social tipping points – for better or for worse</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/211431/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Neil Saintilan receives funding from the Australian Research Council, the National Environmental Science Program, and the Alexander Von Humboldt Foundation.</span></em></p>
Rising seas are pushing coastal ecosystems to the limit of endurance. Now international research reveals a “tipping point” will be reached if we allow more than 2 degrees of global warming.
Neil Saintilan, Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/191737
2022-12-06T13:33:55Z
2022-12-06T13:33:55Z
What’s really driving ‘climate gentrification’ in Miami? It isn’t fear of sea-level rise
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498578/original/file-20221201-16851-81jshh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C118%2C5270%2C3550&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Residents of Miami’s Little Haiti have been fighting plans for a luxury development for several years.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/HousingProtestLittleHaiti/53e68bb02b8f410b89000e997d87e0cb/photo">AP Photo/Lynne Sladky</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Miami’s Little Haiti has been an immigrant community for decades. Its streets are lined with small homes and colorful shops that cater to the neighborhood, a predominantly Afro-Caribbean population with a median household income <a href="https://www.floridahealth.gov/_media/miami-dade/community-reports/miamidade-cha.pdf">well below Miami’s</a>. </p>
<p>But Little Haiti’s character may be changing.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://magiccitydistrict.com/masterplan/">$1 billion real estate development</a> called the Magic City Innovation District is planned in the neighborhood, with luxury <a href="https://magiccitydistrict.com/news/magic-city-innovation-district-gets-utilities-will-include-2598-apartments/">high-rise apartments</a>, high-end shops and glass office towers.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Two women walk past Cafe Creole, with vibrant paintings on the side, including one wall reading 'Stand up lil Haiti' with a raised fist." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498577/original/file-20221201-20-fidq7x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498577/original/file-20221201-20-fidq7x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=389&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498577/original/file-20221201-20-fidq7x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=389&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498577/original/file-20221201-20-fidq7x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=389&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498577/original/file-20221201-20-fidq7x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498577/original/file-20221201-20-fidq7x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498577/original/file-20221201-20-fidq7x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Little Haiti’s streets have been lined with murals and mom-and-pop shops for generations, but that’s changing.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/women-walk-past-a-mural-in-the-little-haiti-neighborhood-on-news-photo/684275454">Joe Raedle/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The developers <a href="https://magiccitydistrict.com/press/magic-city-innovation-district-little-haiti-creates-leasing-ethos-committing-to-sustainability-and-social-responsibility/">emphasize their commitment to sustainability</a>. But high-end real estate investments like this raise property values, pushing up property taxes and the cost of living for surrounding neighborhoods. </p>
<p>The potential effect on shops and homeowners and on the culture of the community has <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/561dcdc6e4b039470e9afc00/t/5d02759f1e38b30001a4c9d4/1560442275234/CJP-LittleHaiti_FactSheet_0619-2.pdf">stoked controversy</a> and protests. Nearby <a href="https://therealdeal.com/miami/2022/07/29/crunch-fitness-founder-beefs-up-retail-portfolio-with-18m-purchase-in-little-haiti/">strip malls</a> have been bought up for new development, leaving long-time businesses with fewer affordable options. <a href="https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/little-haiti-hemmed-in-by-big-development-projects-15509997">Other big developments</a> are now being planned. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1144674762456797184"}"></div></p>
<p>Some <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/11/us/miami-little-haiti-climate-gentrification-weir-wxc/index.html">media</a> and urban scholars have labeled what’s happening here “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aabb32">climate gentrification</a>.”</p>
<p>It’s the idea that investors and homebuyers are changing their behavior and moving from coastal areas into poorer, higher-elevation neighborhoods like Little Haiti, which sits on a ridge less than a mile from the bay, in anticipation of worsening climate change risks, such as sea-level rise. Miami is often held up as an example.</p>
<p>But are Miami’s investors and homebuyers really motivated by climate change?</p>
<h2>A different kind of gentrification</h2>
<p>The story goes that Miami homebuyers are abandoning the coasts – where high tides can already bring street flooding in some areas – and are looking for higher-elevation areas because they want to escape climate change.</p>
<p>That isn’t what we’re finding, though.</p>
<p>In <a href="https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/visualizations-data/ycom-us/">Yale’s Climate Opinion Survey</a> of Miami-Dade County in 2021, only half of Miami residents said they believe global warming will harm them personally – far lower than the 70% who said that in Delaware and the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nclimate2728">90% in Canada, Western Europe and Japan</a>. Another survey <a href="https://www.miamiherald.com/latest-news/article163066413.ece/binary/Miami_Dade_Real_%20Estate_Study_2017.pdf">found 40%</a> of Miami-Dade residents weren’t concerned about the impact climate change might have on the market. </p>
<p>In a new study, our team at the University of Miami found <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2022.104025">a more nuanced picture</a> of what is actually pushing homeowners to higher ground.</p>
<p>For the most part, we found that the shift away from the coasts is fueled by costs. Flood risk plays a role through the rising cost of flood insurance, but much of the shift is plain old gentrification – developers looking for cheaper land and spinning it as a more sustainable choice to win over public officials and future residents.</p>
<p>Rather than bottom-up pressure built on residents’ alarm about sea-level rise, we found a continuation of the usual rational investment decisions.</p>
<h2>Developers are driving the process</h2>
<p>Present-day “climate gentrification” in Miami is largely determined and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2022.104025">driven by capitalist investment opportunities</a> – relatively lower prices and greater expected returns – which are the characteristics of the traditional gentrification process.</p>
<p>We found that neither homebuyers nor real estate agents are driving this process today in Miami. Rather, developers are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2022.104025">using the concept of climate risk to market properties</a> in more elevated areas and are working in tandem with policymakers to facilitate urban redevelopment.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1462904568694648841"}"></div></p>
<p>Miami is very different from other global cities, in that its wealthy homebuyers and second-home buyers exhibit fewer concerns about rising sea levels and climate change. A large percentage of Miami homebuyers – <a href="https://www.miamirealtors.com/2021/11/02/88230/">about 13% in 2021</a> – don’t live in the U.S. and <a href="https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520297111/the-global-edge">may evaluate risk differently</a>, seeing Miami properties as safer investments than they have at home or as future second homes. </p>
<p>Miami’s gentrification also isn’t limited to higher-elevation neighborhoods. In coastal areas such as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gentrification_of_Miami">Miami Beach</a>, taxes and housing and rental prices are rising, and poorer people are being pushed out of neighborhoods. Miami’s average rent is now <a href="https://business.fau.edu/executive-education/overvalued-rental-markets/">over $2,800 a month</a>, up 16% from October 2021 to October 2022. That’s about $800 higher than the U.S. average, and it rose at nearly twice the national rate over the past year.</p>
<h2>Coastal homebuyers should be more concerned</h2>
<p>Climate change is without question a risk for Miami. The insurance industry <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/sustainability/our-insights/will-mortgages-and-markets-stay-afloat-in-florida">warns that sea-level rise</a> and moderate flooding of up to 1 foot will affect 48% of total properties in oceanfront Miami-Dade County by 2050. </p>
<p><iframe id="V3e9W" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/V3e9W/10/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>Homebuyers should be more concerned than they are.</p>
<p>We believe “climate gentrification” is a meaningful concept for exploring how the impacts and costs of climate change will shift housing and urban inequalities in the future. But so far, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2022.104025">the idea that gentrification is fueled by climate change in Miami</a> doesn’t match reality.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/191737/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Miami is often held up as an example of ‘climate gentrification.’ But a closer look finds a bigger driver of flashy new developments in low-income neighborhoods.
Richard Grant, Professor of Geography and Urban Studies, University of Miami
Han Li, Assistant Professor of Geography, University of Miami
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/179603
2022-03-25T12:21:48Z
2022-03-25T12:21:48Z
Coastal home buyers are ignoring rising flood risks, despite clear warnings and rising insurance premiums
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/453400/original/file-20220321-13-w076bg.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C2220%2C1394&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Apollo Beach, Fla., averages 3 feet above sea level, with many homes directly on the water.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://earth.google.com/studio/">Google Earth</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Apollo Beach, Florida, is a maze of canals lined with hundreds of houses perched right near the water’s edge. The whole community, just south of Tampa, is only about 3 feet above sea level, meaning it’s at risk from storm surge as sea levels rise.</p>
<p>Homebuyers along the U.S. coasts can check each property’s flood risk as easily as they check the size of the bedrooms – most coastal real estate listings now <a href="https://theconversation.com/new-flood-maps-show-us-damage-rising-26-in-next-30-years-due-to-climate-change-alone-and-the-inequity-is-stark-175958">include future flood risk details</a> that take climate change into account. In Apollo Beach, for example, many of the properties are at least 9 out of 10 on the flood risk scale.</p>
<p>That knowledge isn’t stopping homebuyers, though.</p>
<p>Waterfront homes are <a href="https://www.redfin.com/city/21199/FL/Apollo-Beach/housing-market">selling within days</a> of going on the market, and the same story is playing out <a href="https://business.fau.edu/newsroom/press-releases/2022/top-overvalued-metro-housing-markets.php">all along the South Florida coast</a> at a time when <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-drives-sea-level-rise-us-report-warns-of-1-foot-rise-within-three-decades-and-more-frequent-flooding-177211">scientific</a> <a href="https://theconversation.com/new-flood-maps-show-us-damage-rising-26-in-next-30-years-due-to-climate-change-alone-and-the-inequity-is-stark-175958">reports</a> <a href="https://theconversation.com/high-tide-flood-risk-is-accelerating-putting-coastal-economies-at-risk-164481">are warning</a> about the rising risks of coastal flooding as the planet warms.</p>
<p>We are professors of <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=d7a2JDMAAAAJ&hl=en">urban geography</a> and <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=JKXl2AYAAAAJ&hl=en">American politics</a> who follow the real estate industry. To understand why people are ignoring a risk that could lead to expensive damage and eventually lower their property value, we talked to hundreds of Florida real estate agents about their clients’ motivations and concerns. </p>
<p>Here’s what we learned.</p>
<h2>Nothing pushes buyers to consider long-term risk</h2>
<p>We surveyed 680 licensed Florida Realtors in late 2020. Their <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-88435-2_1">responses suggest</a> that prospective homebuyers, by and large, are not taking elevation or flood vulnerability into account when searching for new homes, and the availability of detailed flood risk maps has had little or no impact on them.</p>
<p>Part of the problem may be that mortgage lenders and appraisers aren’t accounting for properties’ vulnerability to sea level rise, so homebuyers aren’t immediately feeling the risk in their pocketbooks. Wealthier buyers who don’t need a mortgage <a href="https://money.com/flood-insurance-cost-2021/">aren’t required</a> to purchase flood insurance, and Congress has a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-88435-2_1">history of rolling back</a> flood insurance rate increases.</p>
<p>In short, nothing is forcing buyers to consider the long-term risks.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Homes along a narrow barrier island with docks out into the bay side." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/453690/original/file-20220322-25-1gxlcy7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/453690/original/file-20220322-25-1gxlcy7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453690/original/file-20220322-25-1gxlcy7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453690/original/file-20220322-25-1gxlcy7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453690/original/file-20220322-25-1gxlcy7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453690/original/file-20220322-25-1gxlcy7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453690/original/file-20220322-25-1gxlcy7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Many Florida beachfront homes and communities are at risk from sea level rise and storm surge.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/florida-hutchinson-island-indian-river-ecological-lagoon-news-photo/982645076">Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>At the same time, studies are clearly showing how risks translate into costs. One recent paper by scientists who create flood risk maps found that Hillsborough County, Florida, home to Apollo Beach and Tampa, is likely to see a <a href="https://theconversation.com/new-flood-maps-show-us-damage-rising-26-in-next-30-years-due-to-climate-change-alone-and-the-inequity-is-stark-175958">70% increase</a> in annual flood damage by 2050 because of climate change. That’s less than a 30-year mortgage away.</p>
<h2>What real estate agents are hearing</h2>
<p>We reasoned when we <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-88435-2_1">started the survey in 2020</a> that if some segment of the population was avoiding property at risk of flooding, then demand should decline and prices should fall. Our <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-32602-9">previous survey in 2018</a>, involving coastal Florida homeowners, had found that Republicans and Democrats alike believed that their future home values would not be affected by rising seas.</p>
<p>To test the theory that the market is largely ignoring flood risk, we asked real estate agents what they saw: To what extent had they observed house prices either falling or not rising as rapidly for properties at risk of flooding? Forty-five percent reported “not at all.” Only 11 of the 680 agents indicated that house prices for properties at risk of flooding were “very frequently” stagnating or falling.</p>
<p>We also asked if they had seen mortgage lenders declining loan applications or increasing charges for loans in flood-prone areas, in the form of points or mortgage insurance, for example. Sixty percent said, “not at all,” and only 7% said “somewhat frequently,” “very frequently” or “all the time.”</p>
<p>The vast majority of agents, almost 70%, said they expect little impact on the property market in the next five to 10 years.</p>
<p>Here’s some of what they said.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“People are and will still buy in the coastal areas of Florida, and if they are buying, there will be no decrease in value. The largest pool of buyers driving market are retired or soon to be retired people and they have the belief that they will be long gone before there is any impact from climate change. They mainly are buying on emotion and not factoring in the long-term cost of ownership. They are also buying with cash and no mortgage.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Even lenders currently have no real incentives to decline mortgage applications for properties at risk from future sea level rise. Federal agencies that purchase conforming mortgages <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-88435-2_1">do not currently require</a> the collection of information about flood risk or likely sea level rise. If these requirements were to change, then flood risk would be translated into lending decision.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Buyers of coastal properties are financially able to be more risk-oblivious and can afford the higher rate for insurance or be self-insured. Sea-level rise is not currently top-of-mind in our local market.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Federal flood insurance has been heavily subsidized by U.S. tax dollars for years. In fact, the National Flood Insurance Program owes the U.S. Treasury <a href="https://sgp.fas.org/crs/homesec/R44593.pdf">about $20 billion</a> for expenses exceeding the premiums homeowners pay. As of April 1, 2022, <a href="https://www.fema.gov/flood-insurance/risk-rating">all of its new and renewed flood insurance policies</a> will be subject to a <a href="https://www.fema.gov/flood-insurance/risk-rating%5D(https://www.fema.gov/flood-insurance/risk-rating">new pricing system termed Risk Rating 2.0</a> designed to take risk into account. </p>
<p>But the program <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/18/climate/chuck-schumer-fema-flood-insurance.html">faces political pressure from members of Congress</a> to ensure rates do not rise too quickly or get too high. Further, buyers who purchase houses for cash, a relatively large part of the market in South Florida, are not subject to flood insurance requirements.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Wealthy people will still be enamored by the idea of living in front of the sea, but they will probably spend a lot of money making the property more resilient to the effects of sea-level rise. This means that maybe the demand for high end properties will not weaken so much.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>A few agents suggested that wealthy homeowners are taking the risks seriously and plan to invest in structural changes <a href="https://help.floodfactor.com/hc/en-us/articles/360049475913-Consider-elevating-your-home">such as elevating homes</a> that could make their properties safer from sea level rise and storm surge.</p>
<h2>The market isn’t integrating long-term risks</h2>
<p>Because of <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg2/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGII_CrossChapterPaper2.pdf">rising sea levels and storm risks</a> resulting from climate change, we conclude that many of the houses currently being sold in south Florida will not outlast their 30-year mortgages without damage or expensive adaptations, and that the resale of houses vulnerable to sea level rise is very likely to become <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-88435-2_1%22%22">increasingly difficult</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A man stands just inside the glass door of an art gallery with sandbags keeping out ankle-deep water while a shopper wades past." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/453693/original/file-20220322-30733-chvoxk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/453693/original/file-20220322-30733-chvoxk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=387&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453693/original/file-20220322-30733-chvoxk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=387&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453693/original/file-20220322-30733-chvoxk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=387&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453693/original/file-20220322-30733-chvoxk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453693/original/file-20220322-30733-chvoxk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453693/original/file-20220322-30733-chvoxk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Florida isn’t the only state dealing with coastal flooding. Businesses in Annapolis, Md., face increasingly frequent high tide and storm surge flooding, as do homeowners in parts of Virginia, South Carolina and other states.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/man-walks-past-an-art-shop-through-flood-waters-in-downtown-news-photo/1236206469">Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Florida policymakers to date have either ignored the risk or have taken only limited measures to patch weaknesses, sometimes increasing the risks elsewhere. For example, when <a href="https://www.orlandosentinel.com/opinion/os-ed-florida-without-beaches-blame-seawalls-20170925-story.html">sea walls</a> are erected, they can change how sand washes in, increasing erosion in neighboring areas.</p>
<p>Many people believe “the market” will take care of this issue: that homebuyers, recognizing the looming risks, will discount prices on vulnerable properties, eventually reducing their attractiveness and value. But what we heard from Florida real estate agents casts doubt on the assumption that the market has yet integrated this risk.</p>
<p>[<em><a href="https://memberservices.theconversation.com/newsletters/?source=inline-youresmart">Read The Conversation daily by subscribing to our newsletter</a></em>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/179603/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
We asked 680 Florida real estate agents what they’re seeing in the market. Here’s what they said.
Risa Palm, Professor of Urban Studies and Public Health, Georgia State University
Toby W. Bolsen, Associate Professor of Political Science, Georgia State University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/167331
2021-09-20T12:32:57Z
2021-09-20T12:32:57Z
Louisiana’s coastal cultures are threatened by the very plans meant to save their wetlands and barrier islands
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421875/original/file-20210917-48792-19e1sj9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6182%2C4124&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">"My family has lost everything. We all live in this area, and now it’s all gone," said Fusto Maldonado, whose home in Barataria, Louisiana, flooded during Hurricane Ida.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/the-maldonado-family-travel-by-boat-to-their-home-after-it-news-photo/1337537259">Brandon Bell/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Waves of disaster have earned Louisiana a reputation as the place to watch for how climate change will impact coastal areas. <a href="https://theconversation.com/hurricane-ida-turned-into-a-monster-thanks-to-a-giant-warm-patch-in-the-gulf-of-mexico-heres-what-happened-167029">Hurricane Ida</a> was merely a punctuation mark in a series of devastating tropical cyclones, tragic inland floods, epic oil spills and deadly epidemics.</p>
<p>Despite these all-too-frequent catastrophes, many residents of Louisiana’s vulnerable coastal areas remain firmly committed to rebuilding after each disaster. The powerful pulls of family, faith, traditional foods, local music, culture and landscapes create a strong attachment.</p>
<p>Native Americans, African Americans, <a href="https://www.nps.gov/jela/learn/historyculture/from-acadian-to-cajun.htm">Acadians</a>, <a href="http://losislenos.org">Isleños</a> and <a href="https://64parishes.org/entry/vietnamese-in-louisiana">Vietnamese</a> populate the coastal region, living in narrow settlements along the bayous and natural levees that stand a few feet above the backwater swamps and marshes. Many come from a history of traumatic displacement from their traditional homelands. They adapted to the local environment, became skilled shrimpers, fishers and oyster farmers and sunk deep roots.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A fisherman in a round hat watches stands on a boat with rigging as bags of shrimp being moved off by a boom arm." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421878/original/file-20210917-23-cpjlrl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421878/original/file-20210917-23-cpjlrl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421878/original/file-20210917-23-cpjlrl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421878/original/file-20210917-23-cpjlrl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421878/original/file-20210917-23-cpjlrl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=522&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421878/original/file-20210917-23-cpjlrl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=522&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421878/original/file-20210917-23-cpjlrl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=522&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Vietnamese fishermen hoist bags of shrimp off a boat in Leeville, Louisiana.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/bags-of-shrimp-are-hoisted-off-a-vietnamese-shrimp-boat-news-photo/102445514">Melina Mara/The Washington Post via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In coastal Louisiana, people often live their entire lives near where they were born. Yet <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-017-1115-7">they have also moved</a>, incrementally “up the bayou” – away from the Gulf of Mexico – over the decades in order to survive in a perilous place. Each major storm prompts a few more departures that contribute to a slow trickle of recovery-weary residents.</p>
<p>As the state tries to cope with repeat catastrophes, it is figuring out how to manage an ongoing crisis – the slow-motion loss of these southern wetlands and barrier islands. They provide valuable natural storm protection. But the state’s solutions may end up harming the communities that live there and endangering the unique cultures that define the Louisiana coast.</p>
<p>As a <a href="https://lsu.edu/ga/people/faculty/craig-e-colten/">historical geographer</a> living in Louisiana, I study these areas and recently published a <a href="https://lsupress.org/books/detail/state-of-disaster/">book on Louisiana’s land-loss crisis</a>. My research documents how these rural areas are being asked to adapt to save cities and industries, and how that’s affecting their cultures. </p>
<h2>The downside to wetlands restoration</h2>
<p>The state’s coastal margins have been disappearing at the rate of about <a href="https://coastal.la.gov/reports/2017-coastal-master-plan/">23 square miles per year</a>. That’s due in part to flood protection levees that redirected water-borne sediment away from the Mississippi River Delta. This sediment once seasonally rejuvenated the river’s floodplain, backswamps and marshes during spring flooding. Now, it’s channeled between high levees, so all that material is carried far offshore.</p>
<p>Without regular replenishment, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aaz5512">the delta sinks</a>. Navigation canals dug for <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0207717">oil and gas development</a> have contributed to saltwater intrusion and erosion, furthering land loss. Pumping oil and gas also <a href="https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2003/of03-337/extraction.html">accelerates the land’s subsidence</a>.</p>
<p>The gradual rise of the water level in the Gulf of Mexico as the climate warms, combined with these other processes, exposes Louisiana to the <a href="https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/sltrends/">highest rates of relative sea level rise</a> in the U.S. That makes the low-lying coastal parishes more susceptible to erosion and storm surge flooding like Ida’s.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421931/original/file-20210917-27-1vymepi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Aerial photo showing homes and covered docks lining the edges of a bayou." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421931/original/file-20210917-27-1vymepi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421931/original/file-20210917-27-1vymepi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421931/original/file-20210917-27-1vymepi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421931/original/file-20210917-27-1vymepi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421931/original/file-20210917-27-1vymepi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421931/original/file-20210917-27-1vymepi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421931/original/file-20210917-27-1vymepi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Near Lafitte, Louisiana, homes are nestled along bayous.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/bayou-lafitte-louisiana-united-states-of-america-news-photo/500638787?adppopup=true">Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421484/original/file-20210916-19-191h1r3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A map of southern Louisiana showing expected land loss by 2050." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421484/original/file-20210916-19-191h1r3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421484/original/file-20210916-19-191h1r3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=235&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421484/original/file-20210916-19-191h1r3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=235&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421484/original/file-20210916-19-191h1r3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=235&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421484/original/file-20210916-19-191h1r3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=295&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421484/original/file-20210916-19-191h1r3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=295&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421484/original/file-20210916-19-191h1r3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=295&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Rising seas and sinking land are changing the outline of Louisiana.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://coastal.la.gov/reports/2017-coastal-master-plan/">Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Fixing one problem, creating another</h2>
<p>To offset this slow-moving disaster, the state has launched an ambitious program to fortify the coast and restore wetlands and barrier islands.</p>
<p>The plan includes structures to <a href="https://coastal.la.gov/reports/2017-coastal-master-plan/">divert Mississippi River water and sediment</a> into the marshes again. But those freshwater diversions bring another problem: They can change the water chemistry and add sediment, affecting the oysters, shrimp, crabs and fish that residents depend on.</p>
<p>The state’s <a href="https://coastal.la.gov/">Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority</a>, which is directing this gargantuan effort, is attentive to protecting the major industries and largest cities, restoring critical coastal habitats and ecological functions, and assisting coastal residents. Toward these ends it has <a href="https://coastal.la.gov/reports/2017-coastal-master-plan/">spent millions of dollars</a> studying the geology, hydrology and ecology of the region. And it intends to spend billions on its projects, which would create multiple layers of defense such as restored wetlands and barrier islands, along with levees.</p>
<p>Its regularly updated plans note that local culture matters as well. Yet, it hasn’t measured the social and cultural processes at work or modeled their future. Planners have offered no designs for protecting and restoring cultures that will be disrupted by either land loss or the projects on the drawing boards.</p>
<h2>Cultures at risk</h2>
<p>Distinctive ethnic and culture groups have persisted here despite living amid the waves of calamity that wash over their homes. <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.5751/ES-05047-170305">Our studies</a> explain <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-017-1115-7">how locally based practices</a> have enabled them to rebound, rebuild and recover after hurricanes, river floods, epidemics and oil spills. Social scientists refer to these as inherent or informal resilience.</p>
<p>Long before the arrival of Civil Defense, FEMA or other government-organized response efforts, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.5751/ES-05047-170305">residents deployed these practices</a>, enabling people reeling from a hurricane to begin rescuing, sheltering and feeding neighbors and repairing housing and workplaces. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421923/original/file-20210917-23-1phhpiy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Satellite images showing widespread flooding" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421923/original/file-20210917-23-1phhpiy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421923/original/file-20210917-23-1phhpiy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=270&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421923/original/file-20210917-23-1phhpiy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=270&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421923/original/file-20210917-23-1phhpiy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=270&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421923/original/file-20210917-23-1phhpiy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=339&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421923/original/file-20210917-23-1phhpiy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=339&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421923/original/file-20210917-23-1phhpiy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=339&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Satellite images of Louisiana’s coast on Sept. 19, 2015 (left), and on Sept. 3, 2021 (right), after Hurricane Ida.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/148809/a-changed-landscape-in-southern-louisiana-after-hurricane-ida">Joshua Stevens/NASA Earth Observatory</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The state’s restoration plans neglect these fundamental cultural skills.</p>
<p>The plan also allows for “<a href="https://coastal.la.gov/reports/2017-coastal-master-plan/">voluntary acquisition</a>” of homes of those who live beyond the structural protections and wish to depart. Yet, there has been no meaningful discussion, study or planning for assisted resettlement of at-risk communities by the agency in charge of coastal restoration. Another agency has <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s13412-021-00682-5">worked for several years to assist</a> the largely Native American community of <a href="https://isledejeancharles.la.gov/">Isle de Jean Charles</a> to begin an inland move. There is no comparable effort for other communities within the master plan.</p>
<p>Buyouts may enable some families to escape a precarious situation. But without community-wide resettlement assistance, it will inevitably contribute to community fragmentation and cultural dissolution as residents drift apart.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421918/original/file-20210917-27-ftkkoq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Severely damaged homes and a sign that reads: 'Isle de Jean Charles is not dead. Climate change sucks.'" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421918/original/file-20210917-27-ftkkoq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421918/original/file-20210917-27-ftkkoq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421918/original/file-20210917-27-ftkkoq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421918/original/file-20210917-27-ftkkoq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421918/original/file-20210917-27-ftkkoq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421918/original/file-20210917-27-ftkkoq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421918/original/file-20210917-27-ftkkoq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Rising seas had already forced many people out of Isle de Jean Charles, a largely Native American community, by the time Ida hit.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/TropicalWeather/aba12712a5074fdeabbee4edd16c24b7/photo">AP Photo/Gerald Herbert</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As cultural communities erode due to departures caused by massive storms and other disasters, the state is abetting, unintentionally, the disintegration of the coastal region’s distinctive and highly valued cultures.</p>
<h2>A warning to other coastal areas</h2>
<p>Louisiana’s landscape offers a preview of what might be expected in other locations facing sea level rise and seeking protection behind fixed dikes or levees.</p>
<p>These barriers tend to disrupt local environments that resource-based economies such as fishing depend on. They also contribute to a “levee effect” – the creation of a false sense of security that exposes coastal residents to severe impacts when a storm exceeds the levee’s design limits. </p>
<p>With each successive storm, recovery funds will go into repairing damaged rigid coastal protection systems, like the <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/after-a-14-billion-upgrade-new-orleans-levees-are-sinking/">US$14 billion</a> to repair the New Orleans levees after Hurricane Katrina and the untabulated damage to restoration projects caused by Ida. That means less money available to address the needs of threatened cultural communities.</p>
<p>Designing protection systems that incorporate informal resilience, such as community-directed resettlement planning, or that integrate with existing social networks can protect both coastal cultures and inland populations. And when conditions become untenable, as some Louisiana settlements are discovering, the state’s investments may have to go beyond individual buyouts to help communities <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s13412-021-00682-5">plan a safer future together</a>.</p>
<p>[<em>Get the best of The Conversation, every weekend.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/weekly-highlights-61?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=weeklybest">Sign up for our weekly newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/167331/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Craig E. Colten received funding from the Community and Regional Resilience Institute, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Water Institute of the Gulf</span></em></p>
As the state copes with hurricanes and climate disasters, it is figuring out how to manage the slow-motion loss of its coastal land. But its plans could endanger the cultures that define the region.
Craig E. Colten, Professor Emeritus of Geography, Louisiana State University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/138434
2020-06-12T04:47:15Z
2020-06-12T04:47:15Z
The coastal banksia has its roots in ancient Gondwana
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/341052/original/file-20200611-114066-10q242f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=220%2C141%2C1493%2C833&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://flic.kr/p/ecVh2F">John Tann/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>If you fondly remember May Gibbs’s <a href="https://maygibbs.org/story/gumnut-babies/">Gumnut Baby</a> stories about the adventures of Snugglepot and Cuddlepie, you may also remember the villainous <a href="https://maygibbs.org/characters/big-bad-banksia-men/">Big Bad Banksia Men</a> (perhaps you’re still having nightmares about them). </p>
<p>But banksias are nothing to be afraid of. They’re a marvellous group of Australian native trees and shrubs, with an ancient heritage and a vital role in Australian plant ecology, colonial history and bushfire regeneration.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.anbg.gov.au/banksia/">genus Banksia</a> has about 173 native species. It takes its name from botanist <a href="https://theconversation.com/botany-and-the-colonisation-of-australia-in-1770-128469">Sir Joseph Banks</a>, who collected specimens of four species in 1770 when he arrived in Australia on board Captain Cook’s Endeavour. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/botany-and-the-colonisation-of-australia-in-1770-128469">Botany and the colonisation of Australia in 1770</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>One of the four species he collected was <em>B. integrifolia</em>, the coastal banksia. This can be a small to medium tree about 5m to 15m tall. In the right conditions, it can be quite impressive and grow up to 35m. </p>
<p>It’s found naturally in coastal regions, growing on sand dunes or around coastal marshes from Queensland to Victoria. These can be quite tough environments and, while <em>B. integrifolia</em> tends to grow in slightly protected sites, it still copes well with sandy soils, poor soil nutrition, salt and wind.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/341066/original/file-20200611-114066-11d96vm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/341066/original/file-20200611-114066-11d96vm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/341066/original/file-20200611-114066-11d96vm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341066/original/file-20200611-114066-11d96vm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341066/original/file-20200611-114066-11d96vm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341066/original/file-20200611-114066-11d96vm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341066/original/file-20200611-114066-11d96vm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341066/original/file-20200611-114066-11d96vm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In the right conditions, coastal banksia can grow to 35m tall.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>From ancient origins</h2>
<p>Coastal banksia – like all banksias – belong to <a href="https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/14599266?q&versionId=45817129">the protea family</a> (Proteaceae). But given the spectacular flowering proteas are of African origin, how did our Australian genera get here?</p>
<p>The members of the Proteaceae belong to an ancient group of flowering plants that evolved almost 100 million years ago on the southern supercontinent Gondwana. When Gondwana fragmented more than 80 million years ago, the proteas remained on the African plate, while the Australian genera remained here.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-firewood-banksia-is-bursting-with-beauty-112696">The firewood banksia is bursting with beauty</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The spikes of woody fruits on the Australian banksia, sometimes called cones, are made up of several hundred flowers. The flower spikes are beautiful structures, soft and brush-like. But with <em>B. integrifolia</em>, they are pale green, similar to the foliage, and can be hard to see within the canopy at a distance.</p>
<p>Up close, these fruit spikes can look quite spooky, almost sinister, especially when wasps have caused <a href="https://www.sgaonline.org.au/gall-of-australian-native-trees/">extensive gall formation</a>. Galls are swellings that develop on plant tissues as a result of fungal and insect damage, a bit like a benign tumour. </p>
<p>Maybe this is what led May Gibbs to cast them as <a href="https://www.maygibbs.org/characters/big-bad-banksia-men/">the baddies</a> in her Gumnut Baby stories. While the galls may look unsightly, they rarely do serious harm to banksias.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/341056/original/file-20200611-114066-i21m2u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/341056/original/file-20200611-114066-i21m2u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=723&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341056/original/file-20200611-114066-i21m2u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=723&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341056/original/file-20200611-114066-i21m2u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=723&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341056/original/file-20200611-114066-i21m2u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=908&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341056/original/file-20200611-114066-i21m2u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=908&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341056/original/file-20200611-114066-i21m2u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=908&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Banksias were depicted as the Big Bad Banksia Men in May Gibbs’s Gumnut stories.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://maygibbs.org/characters/big-bad-banksia-men/">May Gibbs/The Northcott Society and Cerebral Palsy Alliance</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Indigenous use</h2>
<p>Given the fruit spikes of coastal banksia look like brushes, it’s not surprising Indigenous people once used them as <a href="https://www.monash.edu/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/542119/Guide-to-the-Aboriginal-Garden-Clayton-Campus.pdf">paint brushes</a>. </p>
<p>The flowers <a href="https://www.publish.csiro.au/BT/BT9850705" title="Flowering Biology and Phenology of Banksia integrifolia and B. spinulosa (Proteaceae) in New England National Park, NSW">are very rich in nectar</a>, which attracts insects and birds. If you run your hand along the flower spike you, like generations of Aboriginal people before you, can enjoy the sweet taste if you lick the nectar off your hand. You can also soak the flowers in water and collect a sweet syrup. </p>
<p>In the garden, <em>B. integrifolia</em> is wonderfully attractive to native insects, birds and ringtail possums. It’s easy to establish and, until it grows more than a few metres high, can be successfully moved and transplanted.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/341064/original/file-20200611-114124-1uflyxn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/341064/original/file-20200611-114124-1uflyxn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/341064/original/file-20200611-114124-1uflyxn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341064/original/file-20200611-114124-1uflyxn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341064/original/file-20200611-114124-1uflyxn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341064/original/file-20200611-114124-1uflyxn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341064/original/file-20200611-114124-1uflyxn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341064/original/file-20200611-114124-1uflyxn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Coastal banksia doesn’t need fire to release its seed.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Unlike many other banksia species, coastal banksias don’t need fire to release their seed. For many Australian species, the woody fruits remain solid and sealed, and it’s only when fire comes through that they burn, dry, crack open and release their seed.</p>
<p>This can happen with <em>B. integrifolia</em> too, but in a garden setting the fruits will mature, dry and crack open and release the seeds, which germinate readily. This makes propagating coastal banksia easy work.</p>
<h2>In touch with its roots</h2>
<p>Perhaps one of the more important, but less obvious, attributes of <em>B. integrifolia</em> are its roots. These are a special type of root possessed by members of the protea family.</p>
<p>The roots form a dense, branched cluster, a bit like the head of a toothbrush, that can be 2-5cm across. They greatly increase the absorbing surface area of the roots, as each root possesses thousands of very fine root hairs.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-black-wattle-is-a-boon-for-australians-and-a-pest-everywhere-else-100529">The black wattle is a boon for Australians (and a pest everywhere else)</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Proteoid roots can be very handy in sandy and other poor soils, where water drains quickly and nutrients are scarce.</p>
<p>These roots, also described as cluster roots, are often visible in a garden bed just at the interface of the soil with the humus or mulch layer above it. They’re very light brown, almost white, in colour.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/341390/original/file-20200612-38702-59lnis.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/341390/original/file-20200612-38702-59lnis.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/341390/original/file-20200612-38702-59lnis.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341390/original/file-20200612-38702-59lnis.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341390/original/file-20200612-38702-59lnis.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341390/original/file-20200612-38702-59lnis.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341390/original/file-20200612-38702-59lnis.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341390/original/file-20200612-38702-59lnis.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Rainbow lorikeets love hanging around in banksias.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/salihan/5567118988/">Flickr/Salihan</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><em>B. integrifolia</em>, like other banksias, also has the ability to take in nitrogen and enrich the soil, which can be very handy in soils low in nitrogen. It’s like a natural living and decorative fertiliser.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/after-the-bushfires-we-helped-choose-the-animals-and-plants-in-most-need-heres-how-we-did-it-138736">After the bushfires, we helped choose the animals and plants in most need. Here's how we did it</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Proteoid roots are unfortunately very well suited to the presence of <em>Phytophthora cinnamomii</em> (the cinnamon fungus). It causes dieback in many native plant species, but can be particularly virulent for banksias.</p>
<p>But <em>B. Integrifolia</em> is one of the more <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Native_Australian_Plants/1G4lAQAAMAAJ?hl=en" title="Native Australian Plants">resistant species</a> to the fungus. Promising experiments have been done on grafting susceptible species onto the roots of <em>B. integrifolia</em> to improve their rates of survival.</p>
<p>This could be important, as banksias have a role in bushfire regeneration in many parts of Australia, so the occurrence of the fungus can compromise fire recovery.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/138434/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gregory Moore does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
The plant takes its name from the colonial botanist Joseph Banks, but the coastal banksia’s history goes way back to ancient times.
Gregory Moore, Doctor of Botany, The University of Melbourne
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/127747
2019-12-19T02:01:17Z
2019-12-19T02:01:17Z
Gender matters in coastal livelihood programs in Indonesia
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/306278/original/file-20191211-95130-1woolo1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Projects based on comprehensive understanding of gender norms in coastal communities will contribute to improved community wellbeing.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>This article is part of a series to mark Indonesian Mother’s Day or National Women’s Day on December 22.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>Significant investments have been made in improving the well-being of Indonesian coastal communities in recent decades. However, most of these programs have not tackled gender inequalities.</p>
<p>Our team studied <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40152-019-00142-5">20 coastal livelihood programs</a> implemented across the Indonesian archipelago from 1998 to 2017. Our aim was to see how gender issues were considered in project design and implementation.</p>
<p>The Indonesian government, international governments, international development and lending agencies and non-government conservation organisations funded these projects.</p>
<p>Most projects included women in activities to enhance or introduce new livelihoods. However, 40% of the projects were gender-blind with respect to the design and impact of their activities. This means that activities may have further entrenched processes that disadvantage women by limiting their ability to pursue their own livelihood goals.</p>
<p>Only two projects (10%) used an approach that sought to challenge entrenched gender norms and truly empower women.</p>
<p>We recommend future projects be developed with a comprehensive understanding of gender norms within coastal communities. Participatory approaches that address and challenge these norms should be implemented. This will more effectively contribute to improvements in community well-being.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Baca juga:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/indonesia-needs-more-research-on-how-plastic-waste-in-the-ocean-impact-marine-life-heres-why-124172">Indonesia needs more research on how plastic waste in the ocean impact marine life. Here's why</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What we found</h2>
<p>Our study, which assessed livelihood programs from various regions throughout Indonesia – including Bali, Sulawesi and West Papua – found 95% of programs had directly or indirectly included women. They did so through activities such as providing training and equipment to support alternative sources of income – e.g. making fish or mangrove-based food products.</p>
<p>Only three of the 20 projects provided gender awareness training for staff members and community facilitators. Only one provided similar training at the community level. In addition, two projects included a gender quota for community facilitators (30-50% female).</p>
<p>However, we found most projects applied either a “gender reinforcing” approach – reinforcing the existing gender norms and relations that underlie social and economic inequalities between men and women – or a “gender accommodating” approach – recognising these norms and relations but making no attempt to challenge them.</p>
<p>For example, many projects included separate “women’s activities”, such as handicrafts manufacture, or sought to increase household income by engaging women in income-generating enterprise groups. However, there was little consideration of how women would balance these activities with traditional caring and household roles, or of other ways women contributed to the household economy.</p>
<h2>What we can do</h2>
<p>Based on our findings, we recommend a “gender transformative” approach. Firstly, this approach involves mainstreaming gender issues across entire project cycles. Secondly, it involves working with coastal communities to identify and, where appropriate, challenge existing gender norms and social relations.</p>
<p>A core component of these projects is gender analysis. This is a process that identifies:</p>
<ul>
<li>men’s and women’s activities within the home and community</li>
<li>differences in men’s and women’s access to, control over and use of livelihood resources</li>
<li>differences in participation in processes that govern management of natural resources</li>
<li>the gender norms and relations governing these differences</li>
<li>their impact on men’s and women’s livelihood opportunities.</li>
</ul>
<p>For example, the Coastal Field School program included participatory activities that documented men’s and women’s daily activities. This activity highlighted the time women spent on caring and household duties and unpaid supportive contributions to “men’s activities”.</p>
<p>When undertaken in a participatory manner, this analysis helps communities to identify local, and broader structural, barriers to gender equality. They can then identify options and potential actions for overcoming these barriers. This creates a more equitable social and economic environment.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/306273/original/file-20191211-95173-1e9e4ai.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/306273/original/file-20191211-95173-1e9e4ai.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/306273/original/file-20191211-95173-1e9e4ai.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/306273/original/file-20191211-95173-1e9e4ai.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/306273/original/file-20191211-95173-1e9e4ai.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/306273/original/file-20191211-95173-1e9e4ai.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=693&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/306273/original/file-20191211-95173-1e9e4ai.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=693&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/306273/original/file-20191211-95173-1e9e4ai.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=693&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Summary of the characteristics of approaches to gender in development programs (based on Lawless et al. 2017), with examples of typical project activities drawn from our.
study.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40152-019-00142-5">Stacey et al (2019).</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This process must be sensitively facilitated because it may confront traditional power hierarchies within communities. It also takes time, which must be factored into project cycles.</p>
<p>The use of gender-transformative approaches can improve the well-being of coastal communities by identifying and reducing barriers to equitable participation in social and economic life. This increases the ability of men and women to pursue enhanced or alternative livelihood opportunities.</p>
<p>Finally, recognising women’s contributions, building women’s confidence and giving women voice to participate in local community planning processes creates greater opportunities for issues of concern to women to be included in the development agenda.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/127747/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Natasha Stacey received funding to support this research from the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emily Gibson tidak bekerja, menjadi konsultan, memiliki saham, atau menerima dana dari perusahaan atau organisasi mana pun yang akan mengambil untung dari artikel ini, dan telah mengungkapkan bahwa ia tidak memiliki afiliasi selain yang telah disebut di atas.</span></em></p>
Identifying and overcoming barriers to equitable participation in social and economic life can improve the well-being of coastal communities.
Emily Gibson, PhD Candidate, Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods, Charles Darwin University
Natasha Stacey, Associate Professor, Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods, College of Engineering, IT and Environment, Charles Darwin University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/122995
2019-12-04T13:27:19Z
2019-12-04T13:27:19Z
‘Blue’ space: Access to water features can boost city dwellers’ mental health
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/304064/original/file-20191127-112522-w6vuzq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5865%2C3494&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Access to the shoreline is great, but what about places not on the coast?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Béju (Happy City, Street Plan, University of Virginia)</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Officials are increasingly recognizing that integrating nature into cities is an effective public health strategy to improve mental health. Doctors around the world now administer “<a href="https://theconversation.com/anxiety-and-depression-why-doctors-are-prescribing-gardening-rather-than-drugs-121841">green prescriptions</a>” – where patients are encouraged to spend time in local nature spaces – based on hundreds of studies showing that <a href="https://jennyjroe.com/category/green-health/">time in nature can benefit</a> people’s psychological well-being and increase social engagement.</p>
<p>Much of this research to date has focused on the role of green space in improving mental health. But what about “blue” space – water settings such as riverside trails, a lake, a waterfront or even urban fountains?</p>
<p>You probably intuitively know that being close to water can induce feelings of calm. And many poets and artists have attested to the sense of awe and magic that water can evoke. But can it deliver the same wide-ranging benefits that urban green infrastructure brings to mental health? <a href="https://bluehealth2020.eu/projects/">A few studies</a> have shown that water bodies score just as well – if not better – in supporting psychological well-being as compared with “green” nature.</p>
<p>So far the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheh.2017.08.004">evidence is sparse</a>, though, and mostly limited to coastal settings in Europe. What if you’re in one of the 49 countries in the world, or 27 American states, that are landlocked with no ocean shore? For natural capital to deliver health benefits to people, it needs to be right next to them, integrated into the everyday fabric of their world.</p>
<h2>Targeting everyday well-being</h2>
<p>If you do have access to blue space, it can make you happier, reduce your stress levels, improve your quality of life and make you more sociable and altruistic.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fbuil.2019.00071">This was the finding from one study</a> <a href="https://thehappycity.com">my collaborators</a> <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=9hTL_nkAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">and I</a> carried out in West Palm Beach, Florida. A short walk along a downtown waterfront with a design intervention we devised improved both perceived and physiological stress, as measured by heart rate variability.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/304061/original/file-20191127-112517-ba38lr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/304061/original/file-20191127-112517-ba38lr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/304061/original/file-20191127-112517-ba38lr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/304061/original/file-20191127-112517-ba38lr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/304061/original/file-20191127-112517-ba38lr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/304061/original/file-20191127-112517-ba38lr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/304061/original/file-20191127-112517-ba38lr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/304061/original/file-20191127-112517-ba38lr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">‘Fascination frames’ enticed pedestrians to linger on waterfronts.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Béju (Happy City, Street Plans, University of Virginia)</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Our design intervention increased levels of shade and seating along the shoreline to improve comfort levels and incorporated a series of “fascination frames”: translucent picture frames fitted with historic waterfront scenes from the early 20th century that reminded visitors of this place’s aesthetic and cultural history. </p>
<p>This temporary pop-up intervention increased participants’ engagement with the shore, piqued their curiosity (an integral component of well-being), decreased their stress levels and increased their subjective well-being. And the people exposed to our intervention were more likely to report higher levels of altruism and feelings of belonging.</p>
<p>West Palm Beach Downtown Development Authority is putting the study findings to use directing longer-term urban design changes at the waterfront for public health gains.</p>
<p>Researchers believe these kinds of health benefits arise through a number of pathways. There might a direct benefit, for example, from water’s ability to reduce heat stress in a hot climate – the way fountains cooled areas in 13th century Islamic Spain. Water can help reduce traffic noise, and so lessen the stress caused by a loud cityscape. Researchers also report a direct effect on stress regulation, finding that contact with nature <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph10094086">slows down the human stress response and induces calm</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/304981/original/file-20191203-67007-14ksasn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/304981/original/file-20191203-67007-14ksasn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/304981/original/file-20191203-67007-14ksasn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/304981/original/file-20191203-67007-14ksasn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/304981/original/file-20191203-67007-14ksasn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/304981/original/file-20191203-67007-14ksasn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/304981/original/file-20191203-67007-14ksasn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/304981/original/file-20191203-67007-14ksasn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Fountains, like this Urban Splash fountain in Sheffield, U.K., provide visual and audio respite for city dwellers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">©Jan Woudstra, University of Sheffield</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>People tend to be more physically active in environments where there is access to water, and you’re more likely to meet people there, either on an impromptu basis or for organized activities. Researchers think that the soft visual stimuli of water – the patterns of light falling on it as it flows – holds our attention without any conscious effort and allows recovery from cognitive fatigue, providing scope for reflection. This idea, called <a href="http://willsull.net/resources/270-Readings/ExpNature1to5.pdf">Attention Restoration Theory</a>, argues that fascination in the natural environment – in this context, the curiosity and wonder that water sparks – is a critical environmental cue in the process of psychological restoration.</p>
<p>My colleagues and I are now <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/23748834.2019.1619893">using electroencephalography to explore</a> the neural signatures of different urban settings in people’s brains and to identify whether immersive blue-space environments – including smaller water features such as rain gardens – can offer similar benefits to psychological well-being as our green space research has shown.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/304848/original/file-20191203-67002-1myltkk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/304848/original/file-20191203-67002-1myltkk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/304848/original/file-20191203-67002-1myltkk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/304848/original/file-20191203-67002-1myltkk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/304848/original/file-20191203-67002-1myltkk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/304848/original/file-20191203-67002-1myltkk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=571&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/304848/original/file-20191203-67002-1myltkk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=571&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/304848/original/file-20191203-67002-1myltkk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=571&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Bathing place in Cardigan Bay, near Aberystwith, circa 1800.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.europeana.eu/portal/en/record/9200119/54FC6FF3249CA7CAD58EA79E87025E9522446A02.html">National Library of Wales</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Targeting health problems via “blue care”</h2>
<p>The idea of water as a curing agent <a href="https://archives.history.ac.uk/history-in-focus/Sea/articles/walton.html">is not a new one</a>. Fans of Jane Austen’s “<a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/shows/sanditon/">Sanditon</a>” will appreciate how sea bathing – and the fresh sea air – was prescribed by doctors in the 19th century to treat a range of maladies ranging from melancholy to heat stress. The popularity of English seaside resorts spread until the 1850s, when the trend for cold water submergence ended.</p>
<p>Today, hydrotherapy is still used to support recovery from physical injury and as a means of pain relief. But the application of “blue care” for psychological well-being and physical health has been somewhat forgotten.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/day103">recent research review identified only 33 studies</a> where blue care interventions, such as a beach activity, swimming, sailing, fishing or canoeing, were used to treat individuals with specific mental health problems – including PTSD, addiction and depression – and people with physical disabilities. Overall, these studies found that blue care interventions delivered direct benefits for health, especially mental health and social well-being.</p>
<p>Despite the 19th century belief, water therapy cannot cure mental health problems. However, it does have a potential role in alleviating some of the symptoms of anxiety and depression.</p>
<h2>Piggybacking on other water goals</h2>
<p>But, again, there is little evidence for all these blue health benefits beyond coastal settings. How might these approaches be developed in inland cities? How can urban planners better integrate access to water into people’s lives, no matter where they’re located?</p>
<p>My colleagues and I are eyeing what planners call the water-centric city, or “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2019/jan/23/inside-chinas-leading-sponge-city-wuhans-war-with-water">sponge city</a>.” It’s a key strategy in climate change adaptation and in managing water resources in a sustainable and resilient way.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/304068/original/file-20191127-180279-amze9t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/304068/original/file-20191127-180279-amze9t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/304068/original/file-20191127-180279-amze9t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/304068/original/file-20191127-180279-amze9t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/304068/original/file-20191127-180279-amze9t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/304068/original/file-20191127-180279-amze9t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/304068/original/file-20191127-180279-amze9t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/304068/original/file-20191127-180279-amze9t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A waterway channel in Middelfart, Denmark, adds a natural element to the streetscape.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">©Schulze+Grassov</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://city.milwaukee.gov/WCC">Cities are experimenting</a> with new ways to deal with stormwater that combine hard and soft engineered systems for the capture, diversion, infiltration, cleansing and retention of stormwater. This includes rain gardens and exposed water channels that capture rainfall; at the same time, they add a softer layer to the street by incorporating perennial plants and grasses. Innovations like these invite people to linger in the streets, enjoy the water and be sociable.</p>
<p>Urban designers can add these relatively inexpensive and micro-level features to larger stormwater management projects and reap public health benefits on top of climate mitigation.</p>
<p>Led by the University of Washington, a team of researchers and I have <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aax0903">advanced a new framework</a> to help city planners and policymakers measure the mental health effects of adding – or taking away - nature in their city plans, with the goal of integrating nature into the public health agendas of future cities.</p>
<p>Understanding the impacts of both green and blue spaces can encourage cities to approach blue design in an innovative way. Including a wide range of interactive and passive water features – which also serve to manage stormwater – within our cities can increase opportunities for play, curiosity, animation and stress alleviation. </p>
<p>Blue urban design – alongside green – may well be an agent for promoting mental health and not just an amenity.</p>
<p>[ <em>Like what you’ve read? Want more?</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=likethis">Sign up for The Conversation’s daily newsletter</a>. ]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/122995/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jenny Roe received funding from the Van Alen Institute for the West Palm Beach study referred to in this article. </span></em></p>
Research into public health benefits of integrating nature into cities has focused on green spaces. New studies suggest water features are just as useful and can piggyback on other infrastructure goals.
Jenny Roe, Professor of Design and Health and Director of the Center of Design and Health at the Architecture School, University of Virginia
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/89007
2017-12-21T22:23:09Z
2017-12-21T22:23:09Z
What Trudeau needs to do to become Canada’s first ‘Oceans Prime Minister’
<p>Last January, <em>The Atlantic</em> magazine named Barack Obama “<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/01/obama-the-ocean-president/512135/">America’s Ocean President</a>” for protecting a larger ocean area than any former commanders-in-chief. </p>
<p>Does that make Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Canada’s “Oceans Prime Minister?” </p>
<p>This could indeed be his legacy if he and his fellow ocean champion, Fisheries Minister Dominic LeBlanc, can maintain the momentum they’ve created on ocean protection, deliver on upholding the inherent jurisdiction of Indigenous nations and let divisive — and potentially catastrophic — pipeline and oil tanker projects die a natural death. </p>
<p>Here are five things that Canada did right this year — and a few things for Trudeau to work on in 2018. </p>
<h2>1. Recouped leadership in ocean law</h2>
<p>The proposed amendments to our flagship ocean law, the <a href="http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/O-2.4/">Oceans Act</a>, could catapult Canada back into a role it once held as a leader in oceans law. </p>
<p>During the 1970s, under the government of the fathers of Trudeau and LeBlanc, Canada passed the groundbreaking <a href="http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/A-12/">Arctic Waters Pollution Prevention Act</a>, took centre stage at negotiations over the <a href="http://www.un.org/depts/los/convention_agreements/convention_overview_convention.htm">UN Convention of the Law of the Sea</a>, introduced a stronger <a href="http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/f-14/">Fisheries Act</a> and championed the rights of small-scale fishers. </p>
<p>Once passed into law — likely by the summer of 2018 — the amendments to the Oceans Act will speed up the process of establishing new marine protected areas (MPAs) and embed a precautionary approach in the act. These changes will make it easier for Canada to reach its <a href="http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/oceans/conservation/plan-eng.html">marine conservation targets</a>. </p>
<p>While additional legal changes, such as prohibiting industrial and extractive activities in MPAs, could strengthen this act even further, this is a great tune-up.</p>
<h2>2. Revved-up action on marine protected areas</h2>
<p>When the Liberals were elected in 2015, Canada was woefully behind on its goals to protect 10 per cent of its coastal and marine areas by 2020 — only about one per cent of Canada’s oceans were protected at that time. </p>
<p>With swift and decisive action, the government created new MPAs on all three coasts. At the end of October, LeBlanc announced that Canada had met <a href="http://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/canada-reaches-important-5-marine-conservation-milestone-653884423.html">the interim target to increase protected areas to five per cent by 2017</a>. </p>
<p>There’s still some debate over whether all these areas truly count as MPAs according to <a href="https://www.iucn.org/sites/dev/files/content/documents/guidelines_for_recognising_and_reporting_oecms_-_consultation_draft_october_2017.pdf">the guidelines set out by International Union for the Conservation of Nature</a>.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, in the past year, the Trudeau government moved at warp speed to designate three new MPAs under the Oceans Act: <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/darnley-bay-marine-protected-area-1.3853901">Anguniaqvia niqiqyuam</a> in Nunavut, <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/fisheries-oceans/news/2017/02/hecate_strait_andqueencharlottesoundglassspongereefsmarineprotec.html">Hecate Strait and Queen Charlotte Sound Glass Sponge Reefs</a> in British Columbia and <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/st-anns-bank-close-to-being-marine-protected-1.3901788">St. Anns Bank in Nova Scotia</a>. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/c6iZGLHPEMs?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">A day in the life of Anguniaqvia niqiqyuam Marine Protected Area.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>3. Recognized Inuit leadership</h2>
<p>In August, the federal government said it was committed to reaching an agreement with Inuit to establish the country’s largest marine protected area, Tallurutiup Imanga, also known as Lancaster Sound. The area will add another two per cent to Canada’s MPA target. </p>
<p>Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit, or Inuit traditional knowledge, was used to help identify the area to be placed under protection, which is home to Inuit and the species they harvest, including bowhead and beluga whales, narwhal, walrus and polar bears. It also led to an MPA with larger boundaries. </p>
<p>Sandra Inutiq, lead negotiator for the Inuit, sees the creation of Tallurutiup Imanga as an opportunity to create sustainable livelihoods and strengthen Indigenous rights to manage their lands and waters. </p>
<h2>4. Acted to keep the “P” in MPAs</h2>
<p>LeBlanc has promised to establish an expert panel to advise the government on minimum protection standards for MPAs. </p>
<p>While the push to establish new MPAs is critical, there are currently no overarching standards to prohibit harmful activities — such as oil and gas exploration or bottom trawling — in these protected areas. </p>
<p>Establishing minimum standards will bring Canada in line with the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/srep38135">growing body of scientific literature</a> that describes what’s needed to make MPAs effective, starting with a requirement that MPAs be “no-take,” or prohibit all extractive activities.</p>
<h2>5. Used strong laws to save whales</h2>
<p>The plight of whales continues to move Canadians. We saw <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-right-whale-necropsy-report-1.4331034">the deaths</a> of several critically endangered species make headlines this past year. </p>
<p>Strong laws can save whales. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/199752/original/file-20171218-27544-9vvvij.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/199752/original/file-20171218-27544-9vvvij.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=382&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199752/original/file-20171218-27544-9vvvij.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=382&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199752/original/file-20171218-27544-9vvvij.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=382&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199752/original/file-20171218-27544-9vvvij.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199752/original/file-20171218-27544-9vvvij.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199752/original/file-20171218-27544-9vvvij.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Belugas gather in Hudson Bay near Churchill, Manitoba.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Ansgar Walk/Wikimedia)</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Fortunately, the government has issued eight <a href="http://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/the-government-of-canada-protects-species-at-risk-habitat-663906343.html">Critical Habitat Protection Orders</a> to protect whales and other marine species, including belugas and North Atlantic right whales. It has also promised long-overdue updates to regulations that protect whales from human disturbances. </p>
<h2>What next?</h2>
<p>There’s a lot more on the government’s oceans agenda. </p>
<p>Scientists and citizens alike are waiting for overdue promised amendments to the federal Fisheries Act that will protect fish habitat from alteration, damage and destruction — <a href="https://www.nature.com/news/changes-to-canada-s-fisheries-law-alarm-biologists-1.14234">protections that the previous federal government eliminated</a>, mandate the rebuilding of depleted fish stocks and support small-scale fishers and coastal communities. </p>
<p>Furor over fish farms continues, and the government has quietly started consultations on a much-needed new federal aquaculture act. </p>
<p>Funds from the $1.5 billion <a href="https://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/oceans-protection-plan.html">Oceans Protection Plan</a> will improve marine oil spill response and restore Canada’s coastal areas. The government will also implement a newly announced agreement outlawing <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/high-arctic-fishing-ban-1.4428360">unregulated commercial fishing in the Arctic high seas</a>. </p>
<p>Trudeau promises to lead the <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canada-seeks-u-s-buy-in-on-ocean-protection-as-part-of-g7-climate-initiative-1.4450062">G7 nations on global marine protection</a> during Canada’s presidency in 2018. </p>
<p>But a lot could still stand in the way of Trudeau becoming Canada’s Oceans Prime Minster. </p>
<h2>Rough waters</h2>
<p>The approval of projects like Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline and tankers — after deeply flawed regulatory processes — is one serious obstacle. This risky project is <a href="https://twnsacredtrust.ca/hardtoreplace/">vehemently opposed by many First Nations</a> and runs contrary to Canada’s climate change goals. </p>
<p>Reforms to environmental assessment law and National Energy Board processes could help the government make fairer, more democratic decisions. But if oil tankers are permitted to travel through coastal waters in greater numbers, marine ecosystems will face greater oil-spill risks. </p>
<p>A more fundamental test of Canada’s leadership will be on its relationship with Indigenous peoples. </p>
<p>The government has pledged to fully implement the <a href="http://www.trc.ca/websites/trcinstitution/File/2015/Findings/Calls_to_Action_English2.pdf">Calls to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission</a> and review Canada’s laws to ensure compliance with the <a href="http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/documents/DRIPS_en.pdf">UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples</a>. </p>
<p>In the oceans context, giving life to these promises means far greater attention to Indigenous rights in marine areas, as well as their meaningful co-governance. It will mean recognizing the inherent jurisdiction and laws of Indigenous peoples within our multilayered legal system. </p>
<h2>Life support from the oceans</h2>
<p>The vast oceans are essential to life on Earth. They generate the oxygen that provides <a href="https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/10/101004-coml-complete-census-vin-video/">every second breath we take</a>, and food for the body and soul.</p>
<p>Leaders around the world are waking up to their perilous state: Overfished, warming-up and acidifying. If all leaders strived to become an Oceans Prime Minister or president, the prospects for the future would be more promising. </p>
<p>Trudeau, with deep family roots on the Pacific coast, and LeBlanc, equally rooted in the Atlantic, are already showing ocean leadership — we can only hope that it will continue.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/89007/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Linda Nowlan receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and Oceans5, a a sponsored project of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, Inc. She works for West Coast Environmental Law.</span></em></p>
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has taken swift action on protecting marine areas over the past two years, but he’ll need to continue this momentum if he is to cement his legacy.
Linda Nowlan, Adjunct Professor, Allard School of Law, University of British Columbia
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/84292
2017-09-24T09:43:26Z
2017-09-24T09:43:26Z
Coastal and island heritage offers a rich resource for the world
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/186777/original/file-20170920-938-6yltxk.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Women in colourful traditional dress in Nosy Be, Madagascar.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Rosabelle Boswell</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Globally, more than <a href="https://www.islandstudies.ca/sites/default/files/ISJ-3-1-2008-Baldacchino-FINAL.pdf">a billion</a> human beings live in coastal and island communities. These exotic, exquisite locations are lucrative: they attract <a href="http://www.pamgolding.co.za/international-property/mauritius/international">real estate developers</a> and <a href="https://www.privateislandsonline.com/">well-heeled buyers</a> looking for their slice of seaside “paradise”.</p>
<p>But beyond the sandy beaches and glitzy resorts there is a rich cultural heritage that benefits both its custodians and global society. Islanders and coastal inhabitants produce a wealth of philosophies and cultural practices. They have made and continue to make huge contributions to the <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17458927.2017.1319603">stories of humanity</a>, <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19480881.2016.1270010">musical history</a>, livelihood practices, <a href="https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/top-10-foods-try-caribbean">culinary traditions</a> and <a href="https://afrolegends.com/2013/11/14/edmond-albius-the-slave-who-launched-the-vanilla-industry/">creative genius</a>. </p>
<p>Islands and coastal areas are also valuable from a natural science perspective. They are home to a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/jun/06/madagascar-biodiversity-600-species-discovered">bewildering diversity</a> of endemic species. Governments and universities that want measurable results have seduced by the allure of digitised natural sciences in a world where technology is “the in thing”. They’ve have been quick to fund and so further position natural sciences as the dominant player in ocean sciences. </p>
<p>The social sciences, humanities and art are differently positioned in this disciplinary hierarchy. They have different but equally meaningful contributions to make to the ocean sciences. This includes, for example, a better understanding of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2008/jun/07/fiction7">historical connections</a> via ocean “highways”, knowledge of the <a href="http://www.news24.com/Tags/Topics/hurricane_irma">human impact</a> of intemperate weather and insight into social justice matters in the <a href="http://johnpilger.com/videos/stealing-a-nation">displacement</a> of a population. </p>
<p>The islands of the southwest Indian Ocean – Mauritius, Madagascar, Reunion, Rodrigues, Seychelles and Zanzibar – and the coastal towns and cities of east Africa offer excellent examples of valuable coastal and island heritages. </p>
<h2>Island and coastal cultures</h2>
<p>Take the Arab inspired <a href="https://mymoris.mu/en/portfolio/musical-thing-to-do-ravanne-learning/"><em>Ravanne</em></a>. This instrument is used by both the <a href="http://segamaurice.tripod.com/"><em>Segatier</em></a> (sega musicians) in Mauritius and Reunion and in Zanzibar’s <a href="http://zanzibar.net/music_culture/music_styles/taarab/"><em>Taarab</em></a>. These musicians provide what social scientists call a <a href="http://invisibleplaces.org/">soundscape</a> of knowledge that speaks back to our largely visually oriented world.</p>
<p>The islands of the southwest Indian Ocean, which have historically cultivated spice and floral plantations, also offer <a href="https://essquezaluzanzibar.wordpress.com/2013/10/03/spice-trade-history-of-zanzibar/">scent-scapes</a>. </p>
<p>This shows how island societies can offer points of departure for the decolonisation of knowledge. Understanding the relevance of all the human senses to identity can help us to create new spaces of learning. We no longer prioritise the visual above other ways of accessing and engaging with knowledge.</p>
<p>Island philosophies, environmental ethos and integrated knowledge systems can be used to <a href="https://theconversation.com/decolonising-the-curriculum-its-time-for-a-strategy-60598">decolonise</a> university courses and teaching. They can also advance <a href="http://www.hsrc.ac.za/en/review/november-/local-is-lekker">sustainable development models</a> and, ultimately, achieve <a href="http://responsibletourismpartnership.org/what-is-responsible-tourism/">responsible tourism</a>.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FfKN33CUik8?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<h2>Innovation and experimentation</h2>
<p>Resilience and cosmopolitanism – openness to diversity – are other attributes of coastal cultures. Not only have the African diaspora in the Indian Ocean and along the East African coast experienced slavery and colonisation; they have also experienced multiple waves of human contact. These encounters have encouraged tolerance as well as innovation and experimentation. </p>
<p>Although many of these features exist in other societies, they haven’t been given as much attention as they should have in island and coastal communities.</p>
<p>Some experiments have been more successful than others. The call and response technique used in Tanzania’s indigenous music is deeply useful. It is also found in the Sega of the <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/230745822_Mascarene_Islands_Biology">Mascarene archipelago</a> and articulates the musical prowess of the islanders. It serves as a powerful reminder that these places are not isolated: a web of historical and global relationships are maintained to this day, advancing social cohesion and creative diversity.</p>
<p>There is also a long tradition of storytelling, orality and linguistic sophistication in island societies. In Madagascar, especially in the central highlands, speech making and verbal play remains highly prized. These long speeches, known as <a href="http://www.madacamp.com/Kabary"><em>kabary</em></a>, are also performed in the call and response style. They honour the audience, recount family history (and ancestry) and reconstitute community. </p>
<p>In Seychelles one finds <em>paroles</em>; sayings embedded in riddle or cast in a tale. From such sayings and tales, knowledge is passed from one generation to the next, altered here and there to reflect the current political situation, family circumstance or moral lesson to be learned. In these, there are meaningful references to environmental conservation and social justice or rejections of dominant beliefs and ideas.</p>
<h2>Preserving heritage</h2>
<p>Social scientists have a key role to play in studying coastal and island communities. They assist us to reach a deeper understanding of the interface between human beings and nature. The data available about these communities is increasing. And social scientists are involved in <a href="https://books.google.co.za/books?id=heq_CwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=routledge+heritage&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwimsf6ttLPWAhVKK8AKHTUXAIQQ6AEIMTAC#v=onepage&q=routledge%20heritage&f=false">the debate</a> around the management of culture in these societies. </p>
<p>Recently there have been efforts to include social science perspectives in the ocean sciences and heritage. But these have largely focused on physical artefacts. This may be because social scientists don’t foreground their work enough; or that intangible heritage is difficult to preserve. After all, human memory is transient and selective, culture dynamic and communities ever-changing. </p>
<p>The social studies of islands (and coasts) have already produced some knowledge that can be used to solve the world’s most pressing problems. But the world needs more than this. It needs knowledge that enriches and broadens perspective. Knowledge that addresses the holistic business of living in a complex and thoroughly diverse world.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/84292/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rosabelle Boswell receives funding from the South African National Research Foundation. She is also Honorary Professor of Anthropology at the University of Cape Town.</span></em></p>
Island philosophies can be used to decolonise university courses and teaching. They can also advance sustainable development models and, ultimately, achieve responsible tourism.
Rosabelle Boswell, Professor of Anthropology and Executive Dean of Arts, Nelson Mandela University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/77889
2017-05-28T13:08:21Z
2017-05-28T13:08:21Z
How African countries can harness the huge potential of their oceans
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/170760/original/file-20170524-25623-zoyg0p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Over the past decade there’s been a steady rise across Africa in the attention given to the responsible use of the oceans to contribute to economic growth – or what’s known as the <a href="https://oecd-development-matters.org/2016/06/07/africas-blue-economy-an-opportunity-not-to-be-missed/">Blue Economy</a>. The opportunities around Africa’s blue economies are enormous with significant potential to create jobs and improve livelihoods.</p>
<p>But what’s often missing in debates are issues of governance and security. Five themes are particularly important to ensure both: safety and security, rule of law and transparency, respect for human rights, sustainable economic opportunity and human development. </p>
<p>Neglecting these issues will hamper the potential growth promised by Africa’s oceans. Africa’s vast coastline hosts a maritime industry estimated at <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/news/special-report/2016/03/14/africas-blue-economy-could-be-a-major-avenue-of-growth/">$1 trillion per year</a> . This is only scratching the surface.</p>
<p>Africa has 38 coastal states and a number of island states like Cape Verde, Sao Tomé and Principe, Mauritius, Seychelles and the Comoros. Collectively African coastal and island states encompass vast ocean territories of an estimated 13 million km². </p>
<p>The Seychelles, for example, has 1.3 million square kms of ocean territory that remains largely underdeveloped. Somalia has the longest coastline in Africa (approximately 3 000 km) and claims ocean territory stretching about 120 km off shore. Most is <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19480881.2014.952956?src=recsys&journalCode=rior20">weakly governed</a>.</p>
<p>Many African countries are failing to ensure safe and secure conditions for those working and living off the oceans. Tracts of the sea off East, West and North Africa are often labelled <a href="http://www.kenap.mil.gr/files/NMIOTCjournal13.pdf">lawless</a>. Illegal fishing, sea piracy and armed robbery, drug and human smuggling have assumed staggering proportions. Capping this is the rise in <a href="http://www.economist.com/news/international/21709019-flow-africans-libya-italy-now-europes-worst-migration-crisis-travelling">illegal migration </a>. </p>
<p>For this to change, diverse actors need to start cooperating across national boundaries to secure and use ocean territories. It has become common knowledge that individual states can do little on their own. The solution of cooperation is simple but difficult to sell to a critical mass of African governments that are often suspicious of collective agendas.</p>
<h2>Hot spots</h2>
<p>Failure to ensure that ocean territories are secure promotes ungoverned spaces which criminals exploit. At worst, <a href="http://library.fes.de/pdf-files/bueros/mosambik/10671.pdf">neglected maritime spaces</a> benefit insurgents and terrorists as is obvious in Libya, Somalia and Nigeria.</p>
<p>Africa has had to contend with three volatile oceanic regions where criminality makes it impossible for countries to realise the potential of their oceans. These are the Horn of Africa, the Gulf of Guinea and the waters of the Mediterranean to the north of Libya.</p>
<p>A common denominator in the three hubs is that countries on these coasts have failed to make the areas safe. This has opened the door to criminal actors. A recent Greenpeace report found that the west African region loses about <a href="http://thegreentimes.co.za/west-africa-loses-over-2-billion-to-illegal-fishing-annually/">$2 billion</a> to illegal fishing. </p>
<p>Most African countries are keenly aware of both the ocean’s potential as well as the threats to this potential. A number of initiatives point to this. These include:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>the African Union’s 2012 <a href="http://cggrps.org/wp-content/uploads/2050-AIM-Strategy_EN.pdf">Integrated Maritime Strategy 2050</a> which recognises and encourages the importance of African countries paying greater attention to their maritime interests. </p></li>
<li><p>the recently agreed <a href="http://www.african-union-togo2015.com/en/accueil">Lomé Charter</a> – a continental effort to encourage and coordinate efforts by African states to attend to maritime security, safety and development. </p></li>
<li><p>the <a href="http://www.imo.org/en/OurWork/Security/WestAfrica/Documents/code_of_conduct%20signed%20from%20ECOWAS%20site.pdf">Yaoundé Code of Conduct</a> for West Africa which maps out an inter-regional set of responsibility zones to oversee and facilitate responses to growing criminality in the Gulf of Guinea. </p></li>
<li><p>an increase in the presence of <a href="http://www.saiia.org.za/opinion-analysis/beyond-naval-interventions-in-somali-piracy">international naval capabilities</a> off the Horn of Africa to stem the <a href="http://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21635049-waters-around-somalia-are-calmer-piracy-west-africa-rising">piracy</a> tide off Somalia. This was complemented by the <a href="http://www.imo.org/en/OurWork/Security/PIU/Documents/DCoC%20Newsletter%20(2015).pdf">Djibouti Code of Conduct</a> that enabled East African intervention to counter piracy threats. The code has been <a href="http://www.imo.org/en/mediacentre/pressbriefings/pages/4-dcoc-widened.aspx">extended</a> to include other maritime crimes.</p></li>
<li><p>At national level the Seychelles’ government has set the tone with its explicit focus on the importance of the blue economy. A <a href="http://thecommonwealth.org/project/seychelles-blue-economy-strategic-roadmap-and-implementation">National Blue Economy Roadmap</a> aims to advance economic diversification, unlock investments and address food security.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Although the approach taken by the Seychelles seems obvious given its dependence on the surrounding oceans, the connection is just as important for Africa’s other 38 coastal states. </p>
<p>South Africa runs a host of maritime initiatives to tap into the <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-south-africa-can-do-to-harness-a-neglected-resource-its-oceans-47595">blue economy</a>. The country recently adopted a <a href="http://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/sas-ocean-economy-expected-contribute-r20bn-gdp">policy – called Operation Phakisa</a> aimed at four priority areas: marine transport and manufacturing, offshore oil and gas exploration, aquaculture and marine protection services.</p>
<p>Despite all these initiatives a great deal still needs to be done. The most important are around governance and security. </p>
<h2>Stemming the criminal tide</h2>
<p>Unfortunately well networked actors threatening the security of African waters are growing at an alarming rate. </p>
<p>African countries could address this by, in the first instance, ensuring that their national laws are aligned with the United Nation’s treaty aimed at ocean safety. </p>
<p>Secondly, they need to start working together. It’s clear that single countries can do very little on their own. They need to sign up to multilateral initiatives. A growing network of collective maritime security is key to harnessing the Blue Economy.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/77889/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Prof Francois Vreÿ is a C-1 rated researcher with the National Research Foundation of SA and receives annual funding from from the NRF. </span></em></p>
Many African countries are sitting on vast and under-utilised oceanic territories that have the potential to unlock enormous economic value, if properly governed.
Francois Vreÿ, Research Coordinator, Security Institute for Governance and Leadership in Africa, Stellenbosch University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/51051
2015-12-03T18:53:48Z
2015-12-03T18:53:48Z
Sea level rise is real – which is why we need to retreat from unrealistic advice
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/103991/original/image-20151202-14470-1b8hckt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">In the aftermath of 2012's deadly Hurricane Sandy, New York launched a US$20 billion plan to defend the city against future storms as well as rising sea levels.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/shankbone/8139676602/in/photolist-dpgYgL-dqicHx-dqTtZX-dpgTrF-doUvuJ-dpcF32-dq4Vwn-dpgQ8a-ds3EdU-dpbZjJ-dqTRT3-dt3Kr7-dp27up-dptDEw-dq1Mgu-dq1M8J-dq1McQ-dpvrMZ-dq4VyH-dpBr3D-dqFS29-dsLUc3-dq1BH2-ffYCde-dtnD3j-dpDt8f-dtn963-dphzd9-dtnDs3-dpgWJx-dr5fQg-dtaJYK-dpcFLg-dtaK1e-drHFBA-dpcFZk-dBX8RL-e15PGF-dp2y2D-dq1LX9-dpbZF5-dBxWSe-dtmnQ8-dph611-dtmv7p-dtaVJh-dtmzFq-dtaVDs-dtaVJN-dtaK12">David Shankbone/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Coastal communities around the world are being increasingly exposed to the hazards of <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-make-sense-of-alarming-sea-level-forecasts-45655">rising sea levels</a>, with global sea levels <a href="https://theconversation.com/sea-level-is-rising-fast-and-it-seems-to-be-speeding-up-39253">found to be rising faster</a> over the past two decades than for the bulk of the 20th century.</p>
<p>But managing the impacts of rising seas for some communities is being made more difficult by the actions of governments, homeowners – and even some well-intentioned climate adaptation practitioners.</p>
<p>Coastal adaptation policies usually carry political risk. One of the main risks is when communities end up divided between those wanting a response to the growing risks of coastal flooding, and those more concerned about how their own property values or insurance premiums might be hit in the short-term by such action. For some, the biggest threat is seen to be from sea level rise adaptation policies rather than sea level rise itself.</p>
<p>Some organisations and governments have side-stepped the political risk by commissioning or preparing adaptation plans – but then not implementing them. </p>
<p>A colleague of mine describes this as the “plan and forget” approach to coastal adaptation. It’s all too common, not only here in Australia but internationally. And it can be worse than completely ignoring the risk, because local communities are given the impression that the risk is being managed, when in fact it is not.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wZXbpBEfojU?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Catalyst program examines past and future sea level rise.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>‘The road to hell is paved with good intentions’</h2>
<p>Coastal adaptation researchers and practitioners (and I’m one of them) must reconsider some of the common recommendations typically contained in coastal adaptation studies. </p>
<p>In my experience, well-intentioned but poorly considered recommendations – such as advocating for highly urbanised city centres to be relocated inland – prevent many adaptation studies being implemented.</p>
<p>Relocating buildings and other built infrastructure further away from the coast to reduce or eliminate the risk of flooding might sound like a sensible, long-term option, and indeed it is in some cases. </p>
<p>But too often, the advice given to “retreat” or relocate established, highly built-up city blocks makes little economic or practical sense. Such advice can be inconsistent with well-established engineering disaster risk reduction frameworks such as Engineers Australia’s <a href="https://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/sites/default/files/shado/Learned%20Groups/National%20Committees%20and%20Panels/Coastal%20and%20Ocean%20Engineering/climate_change_adaptation_guidelines.pdf">Climate Change Adaptation Guidelines in Coastal Management and Planning</a>.</p>
<p>Much to the chagrin of many in the coastal adaptation science community, cities and owners of major coastal facilities around the world are voting with their feet – largely rejecting coastal retreat recommendations in favour of coastal protection.</p>
<h2>Major cities choosing defence, not retreat</h2>
<p>New York is perhaps the best example of governments and individuals alike choosing protection rather than retreat.</p>
<p>In October 2012, Hurricane Sandy left behind a trail of destruction of more than <a href="http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/costliesttable.html">US$71 billion</a> in the United States. In New York alone, <a href="http://www.nyc.gov/html/recovery/downloads/pdf/sandy_aar_5.2.13.pdf">43 people were killed</a>.</p>
<p>In June 2013, then <a href="http://www.mikebloomberg.com/news/mayor-bloomberg-outlines-how-to-protect-nyc-against-climate-change/">Mayor Mike Bloomberg</a> said rising temperatures and sea levels were only making it harder to defend New York, warning:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We expect that by mid-century up to one-quarter of all of New York City’s land area, where 800,000 residents live today, will be in the floodplain. If we do nothing, more than 40 miles of our waterfront could see flooding on a regular basis, just during normal high tides.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Yet even after acknowledging that threat, New York’s response wasn’t to retreat. Instead, the mayor launched a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/12/nyregion/bloomberg-outlines-20-billion-plan-to-protect-city-from-future-storms.html">US$20 billion plan</a> to protect the city with more flood walls, stronger infrastructure and renovated buildings. As that <a href="http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/sirr/SIRR_singles_Lo_res.pdf">“Stronger, More Resilient New York”</a> plan declared: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>We can fight for and rebuild what was lost, fortify the shoreline,
and develop waterfront areas for the benefit of all New Yorkers. The city cannot, and will not, retreat.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Similarly, none of the winners of <a href="http://www.rebuildbydesign.org/">Rebuild By Design</a> – an international competition to make New York and surrounding regions more resilient to coastal inundation – focused on retreat strategies. In fact, some involve intensifying urban areas that were under water during Hurricane Sandy.</p>
<p>In the worst hit areas, even when given the choice of a <a href="http://stormrecovery.ny.gov/ny-rising-buyout-and-acquisition-programs">state buy-out scheme</a> relatively <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/27/nyregion/new-yorks-storm-recovery-plan-gets-federal-approval.html">few New Yorkers</a> chose to <a href="http://citylimits.org/2015/10/14/sandy3-nyc-not-pulling-back-from-the-waters-edge/">leave</a>.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1pW5MZFU0E8?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">PBS Newshour looks at how New York and other world cities can better protect against rising seas and storm surges.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Although not directly related to climate change, the Japanese response to the devastating 2011 tsunami is another telling example. </p>
<p>There, some residents did choose to relocate to higher ground. However, the government did not relocate major facilities inland, including the Fukushima nuclear facility. Instead, Japan will spend US$6.8 billion to form a <a href="http://www.sciencealert.com/japan-is-building-a-400-km-sea-wall-to-protect-against-tsunamis">400-kilometre-long chain of sea walls</a>, towering up to <a href="http://phys.org/news/2015-03-japan-opts-massive-costly-sea.html">four storeys high</a> in some places.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AXhjXkd5O7U?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>In Melbourne, Australia, four local councils from <a href="http://abm.org.au/">the Association of Bayside Municipalities</a> worked on the science-based <a href="http://abm.org.au/adaptationproject/">Port Phillip Bay Coastal Adaptation Pathways Project</a> to systematically identify the most effective adaptation responses. That project highlighted the effectiveness of accommodating and reducing flooding through established engineering approaches.</p>
<p>For example, the project concluded that while the popular Southbank waterfront in the City of Melbourne is likely to see even more common and extreme flooding in the coming decades, “<a href="http://abm.org.au/adaptationproject/whatsb.html">retreat is not necessary</a>”.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/104189/original/image-20151203-22464-97lpks.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/104189/original/image-20151203-22464-97lpks.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/104189/original/image-20151203-22464-97lpks.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/104189/original/image-20151203-22464-97lpks.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/104189/original/image-20151203-22464-97lpks.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/104189/original/image-20151203-22464-97lpks.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/104189/original/image-20151203-22464-97lpks.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/104189/original/image-20151203-22464-97lpks.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Yarra River flows through the heart of Melbourne, in Australia, with Southbank on the left.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rreeve/21777486105/in/photolist-zbpiUn-zkkTfL-AHhm2J-y2NkfY-ACQ5XT-zDB3Qc-zJsMiS-AEikLb-AEiqys-zX3pqR-zX3p4P-yZ6C49-zBaUrH-z64hm5-yeiQ8J-ywCVLv-yeiF7Y-yehsRj-ywCMKv-ydUEpA-xhJaGa-yeYjkC-vv5weB-wjokqG-w9BCRT-uH8BaY-uvPL59-uL5VZd-uNpDwn-tzpruH-yjvB8u-wSz1SU-wdsD1D-wakJxd-wasmFT-uWvhPE-vwApxc-vbV5ob-uqyrh1-uddvZF-tCyp9G-tX9Z9H-shETGL-rxqTr6-sodm4u-snZ4gN-rttaeP-sqfcDn-tyWF1z-rwByRL">R Reeve/Flicker</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>More practical advice is crucial for greater action</h2>
<p>Coastal adaptation studies and plans need to be based on practical, defensible and implementable recommendations.</p>
<p>That means climate adaptation practitioners need to refrain from recommending that major urbanised coastal centres be relocated further inland in coming decades, unless that really is the only viable option.</p>
<p>Instead, I think we can achieve more by concentrating more on how lower- and medium-density coastal communities can adapt to higher sea levels. This is a more challenging problem, as economic analyses can produce very different recommendations depending on which so-called “<a href="http://economicstudents.com/2013/06/global-warming-externalities-and-government-failure/">externalities</a>” are included or left out in the analysis. </p>
<p>On the same note, adaptation studies that make recommendations without considering the impacts to present-day home-owners, or how adaptation plans are financed, can also be unhelpful.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/74863/original/image-20150315-7058-l65n7s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/74863/original/image-20150315-7058-l65n7s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/74863/original/image-20150315-7058-l65n7s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/74863/original/image-20150315-7058-l65n7s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/74863/original/image-20150315-7058-l65n7s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/74863/original/image-20150315-7058-l65n7s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/74863/original/image-20150315-7058-l65n7s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Florida, USA, photographed from space – one of many highly urbanised coastal areas around the world needing to adapt to rising seas.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/images/imagerecords/84000/84737/iss041e074232_lrg.jpg">NASA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Good adaptation strategies need to acknowledge the real political risks involved with any change involving people and property. Along with making recommendations, they also need to lay out an implementation plan showing how individual and community concerns will be taken into account.</p>
<p>So far the climate models have done a good job in estimating the likely future sea levels. The same cannot be said for our adaptation responses. </p>
<p>But if you’re looking for examples of how we can be better prepared for growing sea level risks, initiatives such as the <a href="http://abm.org.au/adaptationproject/">Port Phillip Bay Coastal Adaptation Pathways Project</a> and the <a href="https://www.ehp.qld.gov.au/climatechange/adaptation.html">Queensland Climate Adaptation Strategy</a> (currently under development) seem to be heading in the right direction.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/51051/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr Gibbs receives funding from multiple state and local government sources and private industry to provide advice and expert witness services on coastal management including climate adaptation. Mark is also a Non-Executive Director of Green Cross Australia, and an Adjunct Professor at the Griffith Centre for Coastal Management.
This article was not commissioned by any entity, and solely reflects the individual views of the author.</span></em></p>
Managing the impacts of rising seas for some communities is being made more difficult by the actions of governments, homeowners – and even some well-intentioned climate adaptation experts.
Mark Gibbs, Director: Knowledge to innovation, Queensland University of Technology
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/48945
2015-10-22T03:36:43Z
2015-10-22T03:36:43Z
3D-inspired hi-tech buoy takes African marine monitoring to new levels
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/98989/original/image-20151020-32231-6xiaw9.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A new real-time measuring buoy can change the way the maritime industry operates. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Supplied</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>A hi-tech <a href="http://www.cput.ac.za/blogs/bulletin/2015/08/11/ocean-innovation-pays-off/">buoy</a> that provides real-time data can play a key role in helping South Africa manage its coastal waters. It could also be deployed beyond the country’s waters.</p>
<p>Devised and tested virtually using 3D computer simulation technology, the buoy will feature locally sourced components as opposed to the current fully imported flotation systems. </p>
<p>The coastal observer is a compact modular data-collecting <a href="http://www.cput.ac.za/blogs/bulletin/2015/08/11/ocean-innovation-pays-off/">buoy</a> purpose-made for a range of commercial and scientific applications at sea. </p>
<p>Its development charts remarkable progress since buoys first surfaced hundreds of years ago. While some types of floating markers may have existed before the 13th century, the first recorded <a href="http://www.uscg.mil/history/weblighthouses/h_buoys.asp">buoy</a> was mentioned in La Compasso de Navigare in <a href="http://global.britannica.com/topic/Lo-compasso-da-navigare">1296</a>. Located in the Guadalquivir River, it aided mariners approaching Seville, Spain.</p>
<p>The buoy developed in South Africa enables users to get real-time data through wireless telemetry from a range of sensors mounted to, and powered by, the platform. It provides knowledge that would enable better understanding of the coastal environment. For example, it could provide an alert when the <a href="http://www.botany.uwc.ac.za/envfacts/redtides/">red tide</a> is ready to crash on the west coast. During the red tide, water becomes toxic to certain marine animals. </p>
<p>South African has also had a problem on the coast with illegal <a href="http://www.cnbcafrica.com/news/southern-africa/2014/10/24/marine-fisheries-poaching/">fishing</a>, costing the industry an estimated R4 billion annually. The device can also monitor illegal activity on the coast. </p>
<h2>Bucking the trend</h2>
<p>Throughout the oceanographics engineering industry – made up of government departments, ports and harbours – more than 90% of equipment is sourced abroad. </p>
<p>Very little oceanographic equipment is made locally. All flotation systems are imported.</p>
<p>This project will buck the trend and ensure that local companies in the maritime industry can draw on tailor-made products that reduce costs. This solution allows them to have more options to collect more data at sea.</p>
<h2>Breaking new ground</h2>
<p>Bouys are deployed all along the South African <a href="http://www.southafrica.info/about/geography/geography.htm#.ViT3wnqqqko">coastline</a>. They are used by industry and government for oceanographic and atmospheric data sampling. The data collected is crucial for severe weather prediction, disaster management, oceanographic research and coastal management.</p>
<p>Currently, when servicing the device, technicians have to remove the entire buoy from the ocean. This means that crucial data cannot be collected during service periods.</p>
<p>To counter this problem, the functionality of the buoy was enhanced to simplify the operational procedures. This makes it easier for information to filter from the sea to a data centre.</p>
<h2>Evolution of a prototype</h2>
<p>The original system was big and its operational procedures required a highly skilled team. Improvements were identified and a new compact modular system was created.</p>
<p>A list of possible improvements to the new design were devised through various deployment, maintenance and recovery procedures. Out of this a compact modular system was created. </p>
<p>The modular design allows for eased maintenance and repairs as modules are of manageable size and simply be replaced with service modules when required.</p>
<p>The system was developed for a local buoy network that required a new optimised system to allow for expansion of the network to cover more of the South African coastline. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/98990/original/image-20151020-32241-6o25q.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/98990/original/image-20151020-32241-6o25q.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/98990/original/image-20151020-32241-6o25q.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/98990/original/image-20151020-32241-6o25q.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/98990/original/image-20151020-32241-6o25q.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=567&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/98990/original/image-20151020-32241-6o25q.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=567&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/98990/original/image-20151020-32241-6o25q.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=567&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Big Brother is watching.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Supplied</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The platform allows its user to collect data from coastal waters and transfer it to a land-based server. </p>
<p>The system can now be tailored for uses ranging from oceanographic data collection, meteorological data collection, surveillance system.</p>
<p>The control system features a redundant design. Other parts can take over should any component fail. This allows for minimal system downtime and data loss.</p>
<h2>What next?</h2>
<p>We have successfully completed our proof of concept by testing a prototype in <a href="http://www.capetown.travel/attractions/entry/false-bay">False Bay</a> in the Western Cape. </p>
<p>The system performed very well and allowed us to identify possible design optimisations that can improve operational procedures. </p>
<p>The design has been improved with a final prototype for testing currently in the manufacturing phase.</p>
<p>Plans are underway to produce the buoy commercially in South Africa in 2016 before taking it to the rest of the continent.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/48945/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dirk Muller is project leader for the Coastal Observer Project at CPUT and part of the team that devised the new real-time measuring buoy and intends applying for a provisional patent on this technology. The project is funded by CPUT.
</span></em></p>
Enhanced data collection capabilities will ensure that information collected from the coastline will be seamless.
Dirk Muller, Researcher and Mechanical Engineer, Cape Peninsula University of Technology
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.