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Adaptation Options Relevant to Estuarine Management Goals
The tables linked to below present climate change adaptation options for some of the major categories of management goals common to estuarine programs.
These tables are also available in the Climate Ready Estuaries Program's Synthesis of Adaptation Options for Coastal Areas (PDF) (32 pp, 1.2MB) (EPA, 2008), which provides a brief introduction to key physical impacts of climate change on estuaries and a review of on-the-ground adaptation options available to coastal managers to reduce their systems' vulnerability to climate change impacts.
- Maintain/restore wetlands
- Maintain sediment transport
- Preserve coastal land/development (including infrastructure)
- Maintain shorelines utilizing "soft" measures
- Maintain shorelines utilizing "hard" measures
- Invasive species management
- Preserve habitat for vulnerable species
- Maintain water quality
- Maintain water availability
Adaptation options are categorized according to the management goal they most directly affect or address. Some adaptation options may indirectly address other management goals. For example, many of the options that aim to maintain and restore wetlands will also indirectly contribute to maintaining the water quality of wetlands. Similarly, options that protect freshwater resources also indirectly maintain water availability.
Each option is organized according to the following categories:
- Climate Stressor Addressed: identifies one or more of the key climate stressors (such as sea level rise or increasing ocean acidity) that the adaptation option could address.
- Additional Management Goals Addressed: indicates additional management goals that the adaptation option may help address.
- Benefits: lists some of the environmental, economic, or other benefits of the adaptation option.
- Constraints: lists some of the limitations of the adaptation option.
- Examples: includes references to specific locations and/or organizations that have implemented this adaptation option (where known/available).
Sources for Adaptation Options
Several reports were consulted for all of the adaptation options presented in this section of the site. These reports provide information on climate change impacts, guidance on adaptation, and examples of adaptation options currently being implemented.
- IPCC, 2007: Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability.
Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Parry, Martin L., Canziani, Osvaldo F., Palutikof, Jean P., van der Linden, Paul J., and Hanson, Clair E. (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom, 1000 pp.
- CCSP, 2008: Preliminary Review of Adaptation Options for Climate-Sensitive Ecosystems and Resources. A Report by the U.S. Climate Change Science Program and the Subcommittee on Global Change Research. Julius, S.H., J.M. West (eds.), J.S. Baron, B. Griffith, L.A. Joyce, P. Kareiva, B.D. Keller, M.A. Palmer, C.H. Peterson, and J.M. Scott (Authors). U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, USA, 873 pp.
- CCSP, 2008: Impacts of Climate Change and Variability on Transportation Systems and Infrastructure: Gulf Coast Study, Phase I. A Report by the U.S. Climate Change Science Program and the Subcommittee on Global Change Research [Savonis, M. J., V.R. Burkett, and J.R. Potter (eds.)]. Department of Transportation, Washington, DC, USA, 445 pp.
- NRC, 2007. Mitigating Shore Erosion along Sheltered Coasts. National Research Council, The National Academies Press, Washington, DC, USA, 174 pp.