Challenges to anticipatory coastal adaptation for transformative nature-based solutions

Cotton, Isabel ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3967-3937, Forster, Johanna ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6729-9965, Lorenzoni, Irene and Tolhurst, Trevor J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8578-7580 (2024) Challenges to anticipatory coastal adaptation for transformative nature-based solutions. Global Environmental Change-Human and Policy Dimensions, 88. ISSN 0959-3780

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Abstract

Much of England’s coastline is underprepared for adapting to long-term coastal change, with many coastal areas moving from ‘hold the line’ to managed realignment as this century progresses. This paper offers a unique case study of a frontage experiencing this transition. It explores the perspectives of Bacton and Walcott residents and coastal policymakers on managing the risk of coastal change for the Bacton-Walcott frontage on the Norfolk coast (UK), after the projected lifetime of a nature-based solution (NBS), known as sandscaping. Drawing upon survey and interview data, this research finds local residents have an increased sense of security of future coastal change through the perceived importance of the nearby Bacton Gas Terminal (currently supplying up to a third of the UK’s gas supply), and the protection afforded to it by sandscaping. For policymakers, sandscaping has bought time to prepare for managed realignment, whereas for residents, sandscaping has bought time to postpone it. There is a risk of maladaptation if reduced concern of future erosion affects willingness to engage in coastal adaptation in the present. This case study highlights the multiple temporal and spatial interests in coastal management, where decision-making at a local level has national-scale implications for domestic energy supply, and where novel nature-based solutions may bring additional uncertainty and complexity to building social resilience. It provides insights on the challenges of anticipatory adaptation, which is of relevance to other coastal areas looking to mitigate climate impacts and better prepare against future risk.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: sdg 13 - climate action,sdg 14 - life below water ,/dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/climate_action
Faculty \ School: Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Global Development (formerly School of International Development)

University of East Anglia Research Groups/Centres > Theme - ClimateUEA
Faculty of Science > School of Environmental Sciences
UEA Research Groups: University of East Anglia Schools > Faculty of Science > Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research
Faculty of Science > Research Centres > Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research
Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Centres > Water Security Research Centre
Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Collaborative Centre for Sustainable Use of the Seas
Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Groups > Global Environmental Justice
Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Marine Knowledge Exchange Network
Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Environmental Social Sciences
Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Science, Society and Sustainability
Depositing User: LivePure Connector
Date Deposited: 08 Aug 2024 14:30
Last Modified: 12 Aug 2024 00:35
URI: https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/96184
DOI: 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2024.102893

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