Coastal Quest   

Coasts are the frontline of the climate crisis - and the key to climate action. Nearly half of the world’s population lives within 100 kilometers of the coast, yet support for management, adaptation and recovery is complicated, underfunded, uneven, and unjust. Coastal regions are economic hubs, host science and research centers, and support high biodiversity and ecosystem services. And, more than 65 million people – 20% of the U.S. population – live in coastal cities, of which nearly 60% identify as black, indigenous and other people of color (BIPOC). Communities in coastal areas face heightened risks from the impacts of climate change due to a convergence of multiple factors. As sea levels rise and extreme wet weather barrages otherwise drought-stricken regions, coastal communities experience economic hardship, health impacts, and widespread loss of property and human life. In addition, coastal areas face diverse human-created threats and hazards including unsustainable resource use, carbon emissions, coastal development, pollution, and habitat loss. Combined with the threats of climate change, these compounding stressors pose significant risks to the resiliency of coastal ecosystems worldwide – jeopardizing many coastal communities’ way of life and contribution to potential conflicts, social instability, and migration away from the coast. Furthermore, climate change disproportionately affects communities in need of climate justice (priority communities), exacerbating social and economic disparities. These communities often reside in vulnerable coastal areas with limited resources, facing heightened risks from extreme weather events, rising sea levels, and overall environmental degradation. Inadequate infrastructure, unequal access to and knowledge of basic public services, and limited economic opportunities further compound the challenges these communities face. Social, racial, and economic inequality and injustice has and will lead to human-created threats increasing the vulnerability of these already at-risk populations that often lack the adaptive capacity to plan for, withstand, and respond to climate impacts. The cost of helping coastal communities protect their coastal ecosystems, reduce coastal threats and prepare for and recover from climate-related disasters is considerable, yet there is often a lack of political will and urgency to act. Without purposeful actions to reduce threats and strengthen resilience, coastal ecosystems will disappear, and communities may face financial burdens that could fundamentally alter their local economies. Despite these risks, there is limited human and financial resources currently available to support local-level planning and resilience project development. Some funds exist through state government, national government, private foundations, and multilateral organizations; however, many existing funds only support implementation of capital and infrastructure projects and are highly competitive. In summary, there is a lack of support for coastal communities mitigating climate change manifests in insufficient funding, limited access to pertinent information, inadequate solutions, and the disproportionate impact on the most vulnerable communities. Addressing these systematic issues is crucial to building resilience and fostering sustainable development in the face of escalating climate challenges. Global, US National, and key leading US states, like California, started in 2023 to allocate significant funding to support planning and implementation of multi-benefit coastal adaptation solutions. Coastal management is complex due to many different public and private property owners, convoluted and complicated governance structure, the need to coordinate across multiple scales and jurisdictions, the lack of political will and urgency to act, especially at the local level, historical lack of projects focused on the coast and silos built between ocean and land management leading to funding silos and limited capacity and know-how to move coastal solutions forward. The needs and opportunities we heard from surveying and interviewing over 200 government and community-based practitioners the past year include the following: • Building political will and governance: Building support for coastal resilience solutions, as well as strong, effective governance will be critical in the next decade to ensure we increase resilience of vulnerable communities and reduce risk to climate change. • Regional and local, community-based planning and implementation support: There is a need for dedicated resources for local governments and communities to undertake inclusive coastal planning and implementation processes – connecting land and sea and coasts and ocean. Regional inclusive, science-based planning approaches could build support for solutions tailored to the specific problems, needs, and strengths of each community. • Capacity building and leadership development: There is a need to share approaches, best practices, technical tools and models across regions and communities and build capacity of practitioners, community-based organizations and leadership, especially in the most vulnerable communities on coastal resiliency. • Financing and management: There needs to be support for local jurisdictions and communities to secure funding, ensure long-term funding, and management of those funds.