Institutional barriers and facilitators in green infrastructure implementation in British Columbia and Washington State
Presentation Abstract
Soft shore protection measures, when applied in appropriate scales and locations, can offer a cost-effective, dynamic, safe and multi-functional coastal protection option and sea level rise adaptation strategy. Preserving existing natural buffers at the shore and responsibly creating new ones can help communities with limited resources to tackle challenges of climate change impacts. But why soft shore protection measures are widely developed and implemented in Washington State, but face barriers in British Columbia? Institutions and their hierarchical structures play critical roles in sea level rise adaptation and flood risk reduction actions. They influence the decision to adopt one strategy or policy over another one, such as using soft shore protection measures instead of traditional hard structures. Even though soft shore protection has gained attention for its role in sea level rise adaptation, flood risk reduction and providing multiple ecosystem services, compared to the hard structures its legal and regulatory basis has developed at various significance levels in different places. Even within the same geographical and ecological region such as the Salish Sea, the presence of two countries, Canada and the United States, proves how institutions and their hierarchical structures impact the implementation of soft shore protection across the region. In order to foster the development and implementation of soft shore protection, organizational gaps and limitations, as well as drivers and opportunities should be identified. Therefore, this presentation addresses the following question: what are the institutional barriers and facilitators affecting soft shore protection implementation? Document analysis and semi-structured interviews with local, regional and provincial/state government experts are used to collect data. The results of this project highlight the institutional barriers and facilitators that are rooted in the governance systems in British Columbia and Washington State, and brings forward recommendations to fill institutional gaps and reduce limitations.
Session Title
Challenges and Solutions for Shoreline Armor Removal and Design of Soft Shore Protection: Part II
Conference Track
SSE1: Habitat Restoration and Protection
Conference Name
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2018 : Seattle, Wash.)
Document Type
Event
SSEC Identifier
SSE1-330
Start Date
4-4-2018 3:45 PM
End Date
4-4-2018 4:00 PM
Type of Presentation
Oral
Genre/Form
presentations (communicative events)
Contributing Repository
Digital content made available by University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Subjects – Topical (LCSH)
Infrastructure (Economics)--Risk management--Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.); Shore protection--Economic aspects--Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.); Sea level--Risk assessment--Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.); Coastal zone management--Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.)
Geographic Coverage
Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.)
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
Institutional barriers and facilitators in green infrastructure implementation in British Columbia and Washington State
Soft shore protection measures, when applied in appropriate scales and locations, can offer a cost-effective, dynamic, safe and multi-functional coastal protection option and sea level rise adaptation strategy. Preserving existing natural buffers at the shore and responsibly creating new ones can help communities with limited resources to tackle challenges of climate change impacts. But why soft shore protection measures are widely developed and implemented in Washington State, but face barriers in British Columbia? Institutions and their hierarchical structures play critical roles in sea level rise adaptation and flood risk reduction actions. They influence the decision to adopt one strategy or policy over another one, such as using soft shore protection measures instead of traditional hard structures. Even though soft shore protection has gained attention for its role in sea level rise adaptation, flood risk reduction and providing multiple ecosystem services, compared to the hard structures its legal and regulatory basis has developed at various significance levels in different places. Even within the same geographical and ecological region such as the Salish Sea, the presence of two countries, Canada and the United States, proves how institutions and their hierarchical structures impact the implementation of soft shore protection across the region. In order to foster the development and implementation of soft shore protection, organizational gaps and limitations, as well as drivers and opportunities should be identified. Therefore, this presentation addresses the following question: what are the institutional barriers and facilitators affecting soft shore protection implementation? Document analysis and semi-structured interviews with local, regional and provincial/state government experts are used to collect data. The results of this project highlight the institutional barriers and facilitators that are rooted in the governance systems in British Columbia and Washington State, and brings forward recommendations to fill institutional gaps and reduce limitations.
