Presentation Abstract
In August 2012, Washington Sea Grant distributed a survey to the members of Washington Sea Grant’s Coastal and Shoreline Planner’s Group in coastal counties of Washington State. The survey assesses the current role of coastal practitioners and elected officials in the climate change adaptation process, the hurdles they have encountered, and the quantity and quality of information they have on local climate change impacts. The report also draws some limited comparisons between Washington, Oregon, and California by identifying similarities and differences in hurdles to climate adaptation in these three states. Findings from this survey will contribute to the National Sea Grant goal of identifying the types of information that local jurisdictions most need in order to progress from understanding climate change to implementing adaptation initiatives. The results suggest that coastal planners regard climate change as a risk and would benefit from information about its local effects. Most respondents believe all levels of government should plan for climate change, and believe they themselves have a professional responsibility to respond; however, many respondents recognize that local governments have a limited capacity to do so. The majority of respondents are still building their understanding of how climate change affects them directly and indirectly, while a select few are planning and implementing adaptation strategies. Most respondents are encountering numerous hurdles to climate adaptation and are seeking guidance as to how to address them.
Session Title
Session S-09G: Building Community Resilience: Moving Beyond Climate Adaptation Planning to Implementation
Conference Track
Shorelines
Conference Name
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2014 : Seattle, Wash.)
Document Type
Event
Start Date
2-5-2014 10:30 AM
End Date
2-5-2014 12:00 PM
Location
Room 6E
Genre/Form
conference proceedings; presentations (communicative events)
Contributing Repository
Digital content made available by University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Subjects – Topical (LCSH)
Climatic changes--Washington (State)--Planning--Sources; Shorelines--Monitoring--Research--Washington (State)--Sources; Climate change mitigation--Washington (State)--Sources
Subjects – Names (LCNAF)
Washington Sea Grant Program
Geographic Coverage
Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.); Washington (State)
Rights
This resource is displayed for educational purposes only and may be subject to U.S. and international copyright laws. For more information about rights or obtaining copies of this resource, please contact University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9103, USA (360-650-7534; heritage.resources@wwu.edu) and refer to the collection name and identifier. Any materials cited must be attributed to the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference Records, University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Type
Text
Language
English
Format
application/pdf
Planning for Change: Climate Adaptation Survey Results
Room 6E
In August 2012, Washington Sea Grant distributed a survey to the members of Washington Sea Grant’s Coastal and Shoreline Planner’s Group in coastal counties of Washington State. The survey assesses the current role of coastal practitioners and elected officials in the climate change adaptation process, the hurdles they have encountered, and the quantity and quality of information they have on local climate change impacts. The report also draws some limited comparisons between Washington, Oregon, and California by identifying similarities and differences in hurdles to climate adaptation in these three states. Findings from this survey will contribute to the National Sea Grant goal of identifying the types of information that local jurisdictions most need in order to progress from understanding climate change to implementing adaptation initiatives. The results suggest that coastal planners regard climate change as a risk and would benefit from information about its local effects. Most respondents believe all levels of government should plan for climate change, and believe they themselves have a professional responsibility to respond; however, many respondents recognize that local governments have a limited capacity to do so. The majority of respondents are still building their understanding of how climate change affects them directly and indirectly, while a select few are planning and implementing adaptation strategies. Most respondents are encountering numerous hurdles to climate adaptation and are seeking guidance as to how to address them.
