Coastal decision-makers consider sea-level rise in more comprehensive ways to enhance coastal community resilience

Relevance:

Sea-level rise is a ubiquitous stressor and negatively impacts nearly all aspects of coastal ecosystems and communities. To adequately adapt to these changes, it is vital that coastal stewards of the built and natural environments have the tools, products and services needed to understand and address changing conditions as accurately as possible. However, even with a multitude of resources available, coastal professionals often need additional support in answering questions and interpreting data.

Response:

Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium-supported programs (Northern Gulf of Mexico Sentinel Site Cooperative and Program for Local Adaptation to Climate Effects: Sea-Level Rise) provided technical support and assistance to municipal and state coastal decision-makers and extension professionals. The programs provided one-on-one technical assistance (data interpretation, synthesis of current knowledge and best practices, data formatting and access) that was otherwise unattainable given stakeholders' expertise or skill. Additionally, the programs trained extension professionals to enhance their ability to provide similar support.

Results:

At least seven state and local officials improved the ways they addressed SLR in their work as a direct result of the programs' technical support. One example is that the State of Florida Department of Environmental Protection newly required communities to consider changes in storm surge, high-tide flooding and stormwater drainage in vulnerability assessments. Another example is that the Jackson County Utility Authority (Mississippi) prioritized septic tanks for future infrastructure improvements based on the weighting scheme (which the programs helped design) to identify the most at-risk septic tanks due to SLR and flood issues. Additionally, at least 1 of extension trainees applied their knowledge in their work supporting coastal professionals.

Recap:

Technical support enabled more robust pursuit of resilience in the region through access and understanding of the most up-to-date sea-level rise science. (2021)