Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Decision Tools and Approaches to Advance Ecosystem-Based Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation in the Twenty-First Century

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Ecosystem-Based Disaster Risk Reduction and Adaptation in Practice

Part of the book series: Advances in Natural and Technological Hazards Research ((NTHR,volume 42))

Abstract

Organisations and governments around the globe are developing methodologies to cope with increasing numbers of disasters and climate change as well as implementing risk reducing measures across diverse socio-economic and environmental sectors and scales. What is often overlooked and certainly required for comprehensive planning and programming are better tools and approaches that include ecosystems in the equations. Collectively, these mechanisms can help to enhance societies’ abilities to capture the protective benefits of ecosystems for communities facing disaster and climate risks. As illustrated within this chapter, decision support tools and approaches are clearly improving rapidly. Despite these advancements, factors such as resistance to change, the cautious approach by development agencies, governance structure and overlapping jurisdictions, funding, and limited community engagement remain, in many cases, pre-requisites to successful implementation of ecosystem-based solutions. Herein we provide case studies, lessons learned and recommendations from applications of decision support tools and approaches that advance better risk assessments and implementation of ecosystem-based solutions. The case studies featured in this chapter illustrate opportunities that have been enhanced with cutting edge tools, social media and crowdsourcing, cost/benefit comparisons, and scenario planning mechanisms. Undoubtedly, due to the large areas and extent of exposure to natural hazards, ecosystems will increasingly become a critical part of societies’ overall responses to equitably solve issues of disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 89.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 119.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 159.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Ambrette B, Whelchel AW (2013) Adapting to the rise: a guide for Connecticut’s Coastal Communities. The Nature Conservancy, Coastal Resilience Program. Publication 13–5, New Haven, CT. https://www.conservationgateway.org/ConservationPractices/Marine/crr/library/Documents/TNC%20Adapting%20to%20the%20Rise.pdf. Accessed 15 Mar 2015

  • Beck MW, Brumbaugh RD, Airoldi L et al (2011) Oyster reefs at risk and recommendations for conservation, restoration, and management. Bioscience 61:107–116

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beck MW, Gilmer B, Whelchel AW et al (2013) Using interactive decision support to integrate coast hazard mitigation and ecosystem services in Long Island Sound, New York and Connecticut USA. In: Renaud F, Sudmeier-Rieux K, Estrella M (eds) Linkages between ecosystems, livelihoods and disaster risk reduction. PEDRR, UNU Press, Bonn, pp 140–163

    Google Scholar 

  • CCRIF (2010) Enhancing the climate risk and adaptation fact base for the Caribbean: preliminary results of the economics of climate adaptation study, vol 28. Caribbean Catastrophic Risk Insurance Facility, Cayman Islands

    Google Scholar 

  • Dawson RJ, Ball T, Werritty J et al (2011) Assessing the effectiveness of non-structural flood management measures in the Thames Esturary under conditions of socio-economic and environmental change. Glob Environ Chang 21(2):628–646

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Degrossi LC, de Albuquerque JP, Fava MC, Mendiondo EM (2010) Flood citizen observatory: a crowdsourcing-based approach for flood risk management in Brazil. http://www.agora.icmc.usp.br/site/files/papers/degrossi-seke2014.pdf. Accessed 2 Oct 2014

  • Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction (2013) http://www.preventionweb.net/english/hyogo/gar/2013/en/home/GAR_2013/GAR_2013_2.html. Accessed 20 Jan 2015

  • Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction (2015) http://www.preventionweb.net/english/hyogo/gar/2015/en/gar-pdf/GAR2015_EN.pdf. Accessed 28 Aug 2015

  • Ferdaña Z, Newkirk S, Whelchel AW et al (2010) Building interactive decision support to meet management objectives for coastal conservation and hazard mitigation on Long Island, New York, USA In: Andrade PĂ©rez A, Herrera Fernandez B, Cazzolla Gatti R (eds) Building resilience to climate change, Gland, IUCN, Switzerland, pp 72–87

    Google Scholar 

  • Ferrario F, Beck MB, Storlazzi C et al (2014) The effectiveness of coral reefs for coastal hazard risk reduction. Nat Commun 5(3794):1–9

    Google Scholar 

  • Gilmer B, Ferdaña Z (2012) Developing a framework for assessing coastal vulnerability to sea level rise in Southern New England, USA. In: Otto-Zimmermann K (ed) Resilient cities 2: cities and adaptation to climate change proceedings of the global forum, Bonn, August 2011. Springer Science and Business Media BV

    Google Scholar 

  • Gleason M, Mccreary S, Miller-Henson M et al (2010) Science-based and stakeholder-driven marine protected area network planning: a successful case study from north central California. Ocean Coast Manag 53(2):52–68

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goldman-Brenner RL, Benitez S, Boucher T et al (2012) Water funds and payments for ecosystem services: practice learns from theory and theory can learn from practice. Oryx 46(1):55–63

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gonzalez CA (2011) Severe flooding from extreme meteorological events in Monterrey, Mexico. In: Valentine EM, Apelt CJ, Ball J, Chanson H et al (eds) Proceedings of the 34th World Congress of the International Association for Hydro- Environment Research and Engineering, Australia, pp 615–622

    Google Scholar 

  • Green A, Smith SE, Lipsett-Moore G et al (2009) Designing a resilient network of marine protected areas for Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea. Oryx 93(4):488–498

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haklay ME, Antoniou V, Basiouka S et al (2014) Crowdsourced geographic information use in government. Global Facility for Disaster Reduction & Recovery, World Bank, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Hale LZ, Meliane I, Davidson S et al (2009) Ecosystem-based adaptation in marine and coastal systems. Renewable Resour J 25(4):21–28

    Google Scholar 

  • Halpern BS, Diamond J, Gaines S et al (2012) Near-term priorities for the science, policy and practice of coastal and marine spatial planning. Mar Policy 36:198–205

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holderness T, Turpin (2015) Assessing the role of social media for civic co-management duing monsoon floooding in Jakarta, Indonesia. http://petajakarta.org/banjir/en/research/. Accessed 28 Aug 2015

  • Hoover M, Whelchel AW (2015) Tidal marsh classification approaches and future marsh migration mapping methods for Long Island Sound, Connecticut, and New York. In: Tiner RW, Lang MW, Klemas VV (eds) Remote sensing of wetlands: applications and advances. CRC Press, Boca Raton

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoover M, Civco DL, Whelchel AW (2010) The development of a salt marsh migration tool and its applications in Long Island Sound. ASPRS, San Diego, http://clear.uconn.edu/publications/research/tech_papers/Hoover_et_al_ASPRS2010.pdf. Accessed 20 Oct 2014

    Google Scholar 

  • Horton R, Yohe G, Easterling W et al (2014) Chapter 16: Northeast. Climate change impacts in the United States. In: Melillo JM, Richmond TC, Yohe GW (eds) The third national climate assessment. U.S. Global Change Research Program, pp 371–395. doi:10.7930/J0SF2T3P

  • Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force (2013) Hurricane sandy rebuilding strategy: stronger communities, a resilient region., U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/documents/huddoc?id=HSRebuildingStrategy.pdf. Accessed 16 Oct 2014

    Google Scholar 

  • Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 5th Assessment Report (2014) http://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/. Acessed 16 Oct 2014

  • Jones HP, Hole DG, Zavaleta ES (2012) Harnessing nature to help people adapt to climate change. Nat Clim Chang 2:504–509

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mahmoud MI, Gupta HV, Rajagopal S (2011) Scenario development for water resources planning and watershed management: Methodology and semi-arid region case study. Environ Model Softw 26(7):873–885

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moller I, Kudella M, Rupprecht F et al (2014) Wave attenutation over coastal salt marshes under storm surge conditions. Nat Geosci Lett 7:727–731

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morris BL, Lawrence ARL, Chilton PJC et al (2003) Groundwater and its susceptibility to degradation: a global assessment of the problem and options for management. Early warning and assessment report series, RS 03–3. United Nations Environment Programme, Nairobi, Kenya

    Google Scholar 

  • National Weather Service (2013) Hurricane/Post-Tropical cyclone sandy (October 22–29, 2012). Service Assessment. Department of Commerce, United States of America http://www.nws.noaa.gov/os/assessments/pdfs/Sandy13.pdf. Accessed 3 Nov 2014

  • New York 2100 Commission (2013) Recommendations to improve the strength and resilience of the empire state’s infrastructure. http://www.governor.ny.gov/assets/documents/NYS2100.pdf. Accessed 21 Oct 2014

  • NYC Special Initiative For Rebuilding And Resiliency (2014) A stronger, more resilient New York. City of New York. http://www.nyc.gov/html/sirr/html/report/report.shtml. Accessed 05 Jan 2015

  • Pineda MVG (2012) Exploring the potentials of a community-based disaster risk management system (CBDRMS), the Philippine experience. Int J Innov Manag Technol 3(6):708–712

    Google Scholar 

  • Pritchard D (2009) Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries (REDD) – the link with wetlands. Foundation for International Environmental Law and Development, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Renaud FG, Sudmeier-Rieux K, Estrella M (eds) (2013) The role of ecosystems in disaster risk reduction. United Nations University Press, Tokyo

    Google Scholar 

  • Ryan A, Whelchel AW (2014) A Salt Marsh Advancement Zone Assessment of Stratford, Connecticut. The Nature Conservancy, Coastal Resilience Program. Publication Series #1-F, New Haven, Connecticut. https://www.conservationgateway.org/ConservationPractices/Marine/crr/library/Documents/Stratford%20Salt%20Marsh%20Advancement%20Zone%20Assessment%20September%202014.pdf. Accessed 10 Oct 2014

  • Ryan A, Whelchel AW (2015) A Salt Marsh Advancement Zone Assessment of Connecticut. The Nature Conservancy, Coastal Resilience Program. Publication Series #1 Final (A-W), New Haven, Connecticut. http://coastalresilience.org/project-areas/connecticut-solutions/. Accessed 10 February 2015

  • Sharp R, Chaplin-Kramer R, Wood S et al (eds) (2014) InVEST user’s guide: integrated valuation of environmental services and tradeoffs. The Natural Capital Project, Stanford

    Google Scholar 

  • Shepard C, Dixon DJ, Gourlay M et al (2005) Coral mortality increases wave energy reaching shores protected by reef flats in the Seychelles. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 64:223–234

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shepard C, Crain C, Beck MW (2011) The protective role of coastal marshes: a systematic review and metaanalysis. PLoS One 6(11):272–283

    Google Scholar 

  • Sheppard SRJ, Shaw A, Flanders D et al (2011) Future visioning of local climate change: a framework for community engagement and planning with scenarios and visualisation. Futures 43(4):400–412

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith MP, Schiff R, Olivera A, MacBroom JG (2008) Active river area: a conservation framework for protecting rivers and streams. The Nature Conservancy, Boston, http://www.floods.org/PDF/ASFPM_TNC_Active_River_%20Area.pdf. Accessed 17 Sept 2015

  • Spalding M, Kainuma M, Collins L (2010) World atlas of mangroves. Earthscan, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Spalding MD, McIvor A, Beck MW et al (2014) Coastal ecosystems: a critical element of risk reduction. Conserv Lett 7:293–301

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sumioka SS, Kresch DL, Kasnick KD (1998) Magnitude and frequency of floods in Washington. U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report: 97–4277

    Google Scholar 

  • Tallis H, Kareiva P, Marvier M, Chang A (2008) An ecosystem service framework to support both practical conservation and economic development. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 105(28):9457–9464

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Temmerman S, Meire P, Bouma PJ et al (2013) Ecosystem-based coastal defence in the face of global change. Nature 504(7478):79–83

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • United States National Climate Assessment (2014) http://nca2014.globalchange.gov/. Accessed 2 Oct 2014

  • UNU-EHS (2014) Coasts at risk: an assessment of coastal risks and the role of environmental solutions. http://www.crc.uri.edu/download/SUC09_CoastsatRisk.pdf.Accessed 24 Oct 2014

  • van den Hoek R, Brugnach M, Hoekstra A (2012) Shifting to ecological engineering in flood management: introducing new uncertainties in the development of a Building with Nature pilot project. Environ Sci Pol 22:85–99

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wan Z, Hong Y, Khan S et al (2014) A cloud-based global flood disaster community cyber-infrastructure: development and demonstration. NASA Publications. Paper 146. http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/nasapub/146. Accessed 8 Oct 2014

  • Warner JF, van Buuren A, Edelenbos J (eds) (2013) Making space for the river: governance experiences with multifunctional river flood management in the US and Europe. IWA Publishing, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Washington Department of Ecology (2004) Map moderization business plan: Washington State. http://www.floods.org/PDF/SBP_WA_04.pdf. Accessed 4 Nov 2014

  • Whelchel AW (2012) City of Bridgeport, Connecticut community resilience building workshop summary of findings. The Nature Conservancy, New Haven, https://www.conservationgateway.org/ConservationPractices/Marine/crr/library/Documents/Bridgeport%20Climate%20Preparedness%20Workshops%20Report%20August%202012.pdf. Accessed 11 Nov 2014

  • Whelchel AW, Ryan A (2014) Town of Madison, Connecticut community resilience building workshop summary of findings. The Nature Conservancy Coastal Resilience Program – Publication #14-1, New Haven https://www.conservationgateway.org/ConservationPractices/Marine/crr/library/Documents/Madison%20Hazards%20and%20Community%20Resilience%20Workshop%20Summary%20of%20Findings%20Final.pdf. Assessed 20 June 2015.

  • World Risk Report (2012) http://www.worldriskreport.com/uploads/media/WRR_2012_en_online.pdf. Accessed 2 Oct 2014

  • World Bank (2016) Managing coasts with natural solutions: guidelines for measuring and valuing the coastal protection services of mangroves and coral reefs. In: Beck MW, Lange G-M (eds) Wealth Accounting and the Valuation of Ecosystem Services Partnership (WAVES). World Bank, Washington, DC, http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2016/02/25930035/managing-coasts-natural-solutions-guidelines-measuring-valuing-coastal-protection-services-mangroves-coral-reefs. Accessed 15 Jun 2016

    Google Scholar 

  • WWAP (2009) The United Nations world water development report 3: water in a changing world. UNESCO/Earthscan, Paris/London, http://webworld.unesco.org/water/wwap/wwdr/wwdr3/pdf/WWDR3_Water_in_a_Changing_World.pdf. Accessed 10 Oct 2014

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Nature Conservancy, 55 Church Street, Floor 3, New Haven, CT, USA

    Adam W. Whelchel & Michael W. Beck

Authors
  1. Adam W. Whelchel
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Michael W. Beck
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Adam W. Whelchel .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Environment and Human Secu, United Nations University, Bonn, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany

    Fabrice G. Renaud

  2. Commission on Ecosystem Management, International Union for Conservation of Nature, Gland, Switzerland

    Karen Sudmeier-Rieux

  3. Post-Conflict and Disaster Management Branch, United Nations Environment Programme, Geneva, Switzerland

    Marisol Estrella

  4. Institute for Technology and Resources Management in the Tropics and Subtropics (ITT), TH Köln, University of Applied Sciences, Köln, Germany

    Udo Nehren

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Whelchel, A.W., Beck, M.W. (2016). Decision Tools and Approaches to Advance Ecosystem-Based Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation in the Twenty-First Century. In: Renaud, F., Sudmeier-Rieux, K., Estrella, M., Nehren, U. (eds) Ecosystem-Based Disaster Risk Reduction and Adaptation in Practice. Advances in Natural and Technological Hazards Research, vol 42. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-43633-3_6

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation