Adapting to sea level rise: participatory, solution-oriented policy tools in vulnerable Mediterranean areas

Abstract

The coasts of the Mediterranean basin are exposed to the ongoing effects of climate change and anthropogenic pressure. Low elevated coastal plains, river deltas, lagoons and reclamation areas are experiencing beach retreat, coastal erosion and marine flooding. This makes them particularly vulnerable to sea level rise (SLR), which is expected to increase up to 1 m by 2100 AD, according to the projections of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. In this study, selected stakeholders from four Mediterranean coastal areas that are highly vulnerable to the impacts of SLR have been engaged through a structured participatory process for the development of solution-oriented, case-specific and site-specific Policy Tools to address SLR. The developed Policy Tools for the Venice Lagoon, the Metaponto reclamation area and the Basento river mouth, in Italy, the Ebro River Delta in Spain, and the coastal plain of Chalastra, near the Axios River Delta, in Greece, contain relevant, effective and implementable actions stemming from stakeholder interaction and consensus building. The interconnected stakeholder engagement steps employed in this study identified relevant issues that should be considered when defining SLR adaptation policies to bridge knowledge and perception gaps, facilitate knowledge exchange and foster social learning through structured science communication on SLR. This participatory stakeholder process can lay the foundations for more extensive participation in public processes through which the resulting Policy Tools can materialise into collectively accepted, concrete actions to help vulnerable areas adapt to the expected SLR and consequent coastal hazards by the end of this century.

Optimizing waste management for green shipping: industry commitment through participatory processes in Cyprus

“…The initials "DeCyDe" are a play on the word "decide" where "ci" has been replaced by "Cy", which stands for Cyprus, the country where ISOTECH is based. The suffix "-4" stands for the word 'for' and is included to denote the fact that the main "DeCyDe" method is adapted to meet the specificities of each decision-making problem at hand, forming dedicated "DeCyDe-4" tools (Loizidou et al 2023). In this specific study, DeCyDe-4 was adapted to develop the DeCyDe-4-Shipping version and associated tools.…”

Is Sea Level Rise a Known Threat? A Discussion Based on an Online Survey

“…Generally speaking, it is thus of paramount importance to evaluate the knowledge of people about the causes and the effects of long-lasting phenomena, such as SLR, to set up the level of information and dissemination so as to improve prevention actions and adaptation planning. Although there are many publications about the SLR perception of the public around the world [1,10,[12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22], there are still only a few studies of the Mediterranean area [2,9,23,24]. The phenomenon has only recently been taken into account as a consequence of the increased awareness of climate change.…”

“…Coastal sites are undergoing coastal retreat and erosion, with relevant socioeconomic effects on human activities. Although the effects of rising sea levels can drastically change coastal areas in the long run and affect human activities, as has already happened in past centuries [1], the accelerated rise in sea level in the coming decades is still considered a minor risk by most coastal populations [2].…”

“…Conversely, SLR is a global phenomenon that can affect in time the coasts of each continent and island of the world, as well as populations who have been living close to the coastline since historical times [1]. Decision-makers and individuals are not sufficiently aware of the associated risks to take appropriate mitigation and adaptation policies [2,10].…”

Bayesian Network Analysis for Shoreline Dynamics, Coastal Water Quality, and Their Related Risks in the Venice Littoral Zone, Italy

“…Given these challenges, it is essential to have accurate assessments of coastal erosion to inform Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) strategies and climate change adaptation measures [20]. Such assessments are necessary to aid international, national, and local stakeholders and communities in navigating the impacts of climate change, proactively identifying potential environmental degradation and mitigating associated financial losses [21].…”