IPCC_Managing Risks of Extreme Events.pdf - Climate Access

Managing the Risks from Climate Extremes at the Local LevelChapter 5residents themselves to rebuild the familiar or increase risks in newlocations through displacement (Kates et al., 2006). Similarly, in droughtproneareas, provision of assured water supplies encourages thedevelopment of intensive agricultural systems – and for that matter,domestic water use habits – that are poorly suited to the inherentvariability of supply and will be even more so in areas projected tobecome increasingly arid in a changing climate (Chapter 3).5.3.3. Land Use and Ecosystem ProtectionChanges in land use not only contribute to global climate change butthey are equally reflective of adaptation to the varying signals ofeconomic, policy, and environmental change (Lambin et al., 2001). Localland use planning embedded in zoning, local comprehensive plans, andretreat and relocation policies is a useful approach to disaster riskmanagement to keep people and property away from locations exposedto risk (Burby, 1998). However, some countries and rural areas may nothave formal land use regulations that restrict development or settlement.As land use management regulates the movement of people andindustries in hazard-prone zones, such policies face strong oppositionfrom development pressures, real estate interests accompanied byproperty rights, and local resistance against land acquisition (Burby,2000; Thomson, 2007). Buffer zones, setback lines in coastal zones, andinundation zones based on flood and sea level rise projections canresult in controversies and lack of enforcement that bring temporaryresettlement, land speculation, and creation of new vulnerabilities(Ingram et al., 2006; Jha et al., 2010). The government of Sri Lanka, forexample, created buffer zones after the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004,and relocated people to safer locations. Distance from people’s coastallivelihoods and social disruptions led to the revision of buffers and newresettlement (Ingram et al., 2006). In the United States, coastal retreatmeasures are difficult to implement as coastal property carries high valueand wealthy property owners can exert political pressure to build alongthe coast (Ruppert, 2008). Shorefront property owners and realtorsespecially oppose setback regulations because they consider theregulation to deter growth (NOAA, 2007).Land use planning and the application of spatial hazard information isanother avenue for disaster risk management, especially hazard mitigation.Berke and Beatley (1992) examined a range of hazard mitigation measuresand ranked them according to effectiveness and ease of enforcement.The most effective measures include land acquisition, density reduction,clustering of development, building codes for new construction, andmandatory retrofit of existing structures. The high cost of land acquisitionprograms can make them unattractive to small communities. There hasbeen limited systematic scientific characterization of the ways in whichdifferent hazard agents vary in their threats and characteristics, thusrequire different pre-impact interventions and post-impact responses byhouseholds, businesses, and community hazard management organizations.However, Burby et al. (1997) have found evidence for some communitiesthat previous occurrence of a disaster did not have a strong effect onthe number of hazard mitigation techniques subsequently employed.Formal approaches to land use planning as a means of disaster riskmanagement are often less appropriate for many rural areas in developingcountries where traditional practices and land tenure systems operate.Systems of land tenure often are very complex and flexible and cancontribute to vulnerability reduction. In the case of pastoralists in drylandenvironments, sharing of land for grazing and of access to water areimportant drought responses (Anderson et al., 2010). This is not alwaysthe case and some land tenure systems marginalize certain groups andincrease their vulnerability (Clot and Carter, 2009; Robledo et al., 2011).There are also restrictions on land use planning in regards to slums andsquatter settlements. Poverty and the lack of infrastructure and servicesincrease the vulnerability of urban poor to adverse impacts from disasters,and national governments and international agencies have had littlesuccess in reversing such trends. As a result, successful efforts to reducehazard exposure have been locally led, built upon successful initiatives,and composed of informal measures rather than those imposed bygovernments at the local level (Satterthwaite et al., 2007; Zimmermannand Stössel, 2011).Land acquisition is another means of protecting property and people byrelocating them away from hazardous areas (Olshansky and Kartez,1998). Many jurisdictions have the power of eminent domain to purchaseproperty but this is rarely used as a form of disaster risk management(Godschalk et al., 2000) or climate change adaptation. Voluntaryacquisition of land, for example, requires local authorities to purchaseexposed properties, which in turn enables households to obtain lessrisky real estate elsewhere without suffering large economic losses inthe process (Handmer, 1987), but this is rarely used in developingcountries because of lack of resources and political support. Given therapid population growth in coastal areas and in flood plains in manyparts of the world, and the large number and high value of exposedproperties in coastal zones in developed countries such as the UnitedStates and Australia, this buy out strategy is cost-prohibitive and thusrarely used (Anning and Dominey-Howes, 2009). Similarly, voluntaryacquisition schemes for developing countries are equally fraught withproblems as people have strong ties to the land, and land is heldcommunally in places like the Pacific Islands where community identitycannot be separated from the land to which its members belong(Campbell, 2010b). Land use planning alone, therefore, may not besuccessful as a singular strategy but when coupled with related policiessuch as tax incentives or disincentives, insurance, and drainage andsewage systems it could be effective (Yohe et al., 1995; Cheong, 2011b).However, if sea level rise adversely affects local coastal areas some formof relocation may become necessary in all exposed jurisdictions. In theUnited States, some state and local governments have adopted rollingeasement policies, which allow construction in vulnerable areas subjectto the requirement that the structures will be removed if and when thelandward edge of a wetland or beach encroaches (Titus, 2011).Ecosystem conservation offers long-term protection from climateextremes. The mitigation of soil erosion, landslides, waves, and stormsurges are some of the ecosystem services that protect people andinfrastructure from extreme events and disasters (Sudmeier-Rieux et al.,306