Australians are famous for our love of the coast, although in many places this `love¿ has caused serious and often irreversible impacts. The sustainable management of our society¿s many uses of the coast is complex and challenging. While a wealth of knowledge exists about the coast, this is not always brought to bear on decision-making. Coastal management to date has had limited success, and in some cases interventions have made problems worse. This book explores the evolution of coastal management, and provides critical insights into contemporary experience and understanding of coastal management in Australia.

This guidebook presents a framework for climate adaptation planning for coastal cities, large and small, focused on the central roles of citizens, public officials, and planners. The book is designed to help all stakeholders in coastal cities understand and develop effective adaptation measures in a sustainable way. Within a framework of eight key planning steps, guidance is provided for stakeholders in the adaptation process from initial assessments of climate impacts to final planning. The work sets out general principles and methods of adaptation to climate change for many types of coastal communities. Adaptation is seen throughout the work as a process that should take into account all coastal assets, including economic, environmental, social, cultural and historical assets, with due attention to disadvantaged communities. Among the adaptation elements covered in the book are: a review of the current climate situation; climate impacts and vulnerabilities; climate models and future scenarios; physical, economic, social and other characteristics of coastal cities and towns; the range of available adaptations, including management, infrastructure, and policy adaptations; evaluation of projects and programs; and working together to develop and finance adaptations. Numerous tables are presented to help organize information and guide planning, and examples of adaptation challenges and opportunities are provided from both developed and developing coastal cities and towns. The volume is copiously illustrated, with extensive up-to-date references to provide the reader with additional sources of information.

This book presents a comprehensive overview of research and projects regarding climate change adaptation in coastal areas, providing government and nongovernment bodies with a sound basis to promote climate change adaptation efforts.According to the 5th Assessment Report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), coastal zones are highly vulnerable to climate change, and climate-driven impacts may be further exacerbated by other human-induced pressures. Apart from sea-level rise, which poses a threat to both human well-being and property, extreme events such as cyclones and storm surges lead not only to significant damage to property and infrastructure, but also to salt water intrusion, groundwater salinisation, and intensified soil erosion, among many other problems. There are also numerous negative impacts on the natural environment and biodiversity, including damage to important wetlands and habitats that safeguard the overall ecological balance, and consequently the provision of ecosystem services and goods on which the livelihoods of millions of people depend. As such, there is a need for a better understanding of how climate change affects coastal areas and communities, and for the identification of processes, methods and tools that can help the countries and communities in coastal areas to adapt and become more resilient. It is against this background that this book has been produced. It includes papers written by scholars, social movements, practitioners and members of governmental agencies, pursuing research and/or executing climate change projects in coastal areas and working with coastal communities. Focusing on “managing climate change in coastal regions”, it showcases valuable lessons learned from research and field projects and presents best practices to foster climate change adaptation in coastal areas and communities, which can be implemented elsewhere.

Existing coastal management and defense approaches are not well suited to meet the challenges of climate change and related uncertanities. Professionals in this field need a more dynamic, systematic and multidisciplinary approach. Written by an international group of experts, Coastal Risk Management in a Changing Climate provides innovative, multidisciplinary best practices for mitigating the effects of climate change on coastal structures. Based on the Theseus program, the book includes eight study sites across Europe, with specific attention to the most vulnerable coastal environments such as deltas, estuaries and wetlands, where many large cities and industrial areas are located. - Integrated risk assessment tools for considering the effects of climate change and related uncertainties - Presents latest insights on coastal engineering defenses - Provides integrated guidelines for setting up optimal mitigation measures - Provides directly applicable tools for the design of mitigation measures - Highlights socio-economic perspectives in coastal mitigation

Coastal Management: Global Challenges and Innovations focuses on the resulting problems faced by coastal areas in developing countries with a goal of helping create updated management and tactical approaches for researchers, field practitioners, planners and policymakers. This book gathers, compiles and interprets recent developments, starting from paleo-coastal climatic conditions, to current climatic conditions that influence coastal resources. Chapters included cover almost all aspects of coastal area management, including sustainability, coastal communities, hazards, ocean currents and environmental monitoring. - Contains contributions from a global pool of authors with a wide range of backgrounds and disciplines, making this an authoritative and compelling reference - Presents the appropriate tools used in monitoring and controlling coastal management, including innovative approaches towards community participation and the implementation of bottom-up tactics - Includes case studies from across the world, allowing for a thorough comparison of situations in both developing and developed countries

Australians are famous for our love of the coast, although in many places this 'love' has caused serious and often irreversible impacts. The sustainable management of our society's many uses of the coast is complex and challenging. While a wealth of knowledge exists about the coast, this is not always brought to bear on decision-making. Coastal management to date has had limited success, and in some cases interventions have made problems worse. Australia's coast has been shaped by severe events such as cyclones and floods, with climate change now increasing the number and intensity of these hazards. In addition, our coastal populations are growing, and with them our social, environmental and economic vulnerability to such hazards. This book explores the evolution of coastal management, and provides critical insights into contemporary experience and understanding of coastal management in Australia. It draws on contemporary theory and lessons from case examples to highlight the roles of research and community engagement in coastal management. The book concludes with a chapter of recommendations which can help guide coastal management and research around the world.

As different parts of the globe deal with the challenges of coastal settlements in the Anthropcene landscape of increasing uncertainty, the methods of design offer new strategies for developing and testing solutions. These complex problems require collaboration across disciplines, with scientists, planners, engineers, designers, and others able to work together in finding new ways of living in coastal and changing landscapes. Sustainable Coastal Design and Planning is an outstanding collection of essays by leading practitioners and academics from across the globe on design and planning for coastal resilience in the face of climate change. It thoroughly explores the questions of coastal change at different scales and provides international case studies that illustrate diverse strategies in different geographies and cultures. Taken as a whole, they canvas a broad palette of approaches and techniques for engaging these complex problems. Divided in two parts, this book focuses on how to develop solutions through multidisciplinary design thinking and informs all stakeholders on specific methods and practices that will be needed to work effectively in this dynamic space.

Coastal areas around the world are severely stressed due to a myriad of human activities and marine pollution. They are now detrimentally being affected by climate change and sea level rise as well. One major theater most acutely impacted by these phenomena is coastal South Asia, an overcrowded region with low adaptive capacities. Drawing on the experiences of coastal countries and regions beyond South Asia, Towards Sustainable Coastal Development: Institutionalizing Integrated Coastal Zone Management and Coastal Climate Change Adaptation in South Asia recommends operationalizing integrated coastal zone management and linking the same with coastal climate change adaptation under appropriately crafted coastal laws to facilitate a move towards sustainable coastal development.

Coastal zones play a key role in Earth System functioning and form an “edge for society” providing a significant contribution to the life support systems. Goods and services derived from coastal systems depend strongly on multiple transboundary interactions with the land, atmosphere, open ocean and sea bottom. Increasing demands on coastal resources driven by human habitation, food security, recreation and transportation accelerate the exploitation of the coastal landscape and water bodies. Many coastal areas and human activities are subject to increasing risks from natural and man-induced hazards such as flooding resulting from major changes in hydrology of river systems that has reached a global scale. Changes in the hydrological cycle coupled with changes in land and water management alter fluxes of materials transmitted from river catchments to the coastal zone, which have a major effect on coastal ecosystems. The increasing complexity of underlying processes and forcing functions that drive changes on coastal systems are witnessed at a multiplicity of temporal and spatial scales.

Climate change policy has typically emphasized mitigation, calling for reducing emissions and shifting away from fossil fuels. Yet while these efforts have floundered, floods, wildfires, droughts, and other disasters are becoming more frequent and potent. As the risks escalate, we must ask how to adapt to a changing climate. How might farmers modify their practices to maximize food security? Can coastal cities protect their infrastructure from rising seas? Are there strategic ways for developing countries to combine climate resilience with economic growth and poverty reduction? For people and societies around the world, these questions are not theoretical: adaptation is already underway. This book offers a concise overview of climate adaptation governance. In clear, accessible language, Lisa Dale describes key strategies that governments, communities, and the private sector are now deploying. She presents the theory and practice that underlie climate adaptation efforts at local and global scales, providing illuminating case studies that foreground the problems facing developing countries. Dale analyzes the effectiveness of a range of policy interventions, drawing out principles of good governance and discussing how practitioners can navigate complex tradeoffs. She emphasizes equity and inclusion, considering how climate adaptation policy can account for the needs of historically disadvantaged groups. Written for a wide audience, this book is an invaluable introduction for all readers interested in how societies can meet the challenges of an altered climate.