Coastal Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerabilities - Climate ...

102 Coastal Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerabilitiessea-level-rise scenarios and leveraged support from federal agencies that otherwisemight have been split between individual counties.Tribal: Swinomish Tribe, Washington—Climate Adaptation Action Plan. The SwinomishTribe of Washington developed an adaptation plan for its reservation located where thelower Skagit River empties into Puget Sound. The Swinomish used scenario- and riskbasedplanning to assess vulnerabilities to their natural and human systems and culturalresources. Of particular concern to the Tribe are the impacts to natural resources fromhard-armored responses to sea-level rise. The Reservation has 2,900 acres of tidelandsthat are integral to maintaining the Tribe’s fishing traditions. The plan recommends theTribe use long-term planning to avoid environmental impacts to these resources.Private: Northrop Grumman—Climate Impacts on the Newport News Shipyard. NorthropGrumman is studying vulnerabilities to its Hampton Roads, VA shipyard, which buildsand maintains nuclear aircraft carriers. Hampton Roads is considered one of the mostvulnerable regions to sea-level rise. The shipyard has 20,000 employees and has servicedapproximately 800 ships and 30 carriers. Potential impacts to the shipyard include floodingof dry-docks, and inundation of residences, business, and transportation facilitiesThe Status of Coastal Adaptation PlanningWith adaptation planning proliferating as a strategy for managing the risks of climatechange to coastal systems, attention is beginning to shift toward evaluating how effectivesuch planning has been. The following sections demonstrate some strengths of adaptationplanning to date, the emerging practices that are advancing the practice, andthose aspects of adaptation planning that appear to be persistent challenges.Strengths of Coastal Adaptation PlanningOne of the most significant developments in coastal adaptation in recent years is theemergence of guidance that can support state- and local-level adaptation planning. Forexample, the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) – LocalGovernments for Sustainability, the University of Washington, and King County inWashington state prepared a guide entitled Preparing for Climate Change to lead stakeholdersthrough the adaptation-planning process (Snover et al., 2007). In addition, ICLEIhas developed an Adaptation Database and Planning Tool (ADAPT) to support adaptationplanning in local governments. Similar guidance has been developed to address thespecific circumstances of coastal communities and ecosystems. For example, NOAA’s(2010) report entitled Adapting to Climate Change: A Planning Guide for State Coastal Managersprovides an overview of the implications of climate change for the coastal communitiesand outlines a range of key considerations for decision making. Other guidance,such as the EPA’s report entitled Rolling Easements (Titus, 2011), is designed to providedetailed information on specific coastal adaptation strategies. Despite variation amongthese different types of guidance regarding the appropriate approach to take to adaptationplanning (Preston et al., 2009), the availability and accessibility of such guidanceprovides a foundation for enhancing the capacity of federal, state, and local organizationsto take the first steps in planning for climate change on America’s coasts.