Characterizing social barriers to nature-based coastal adaptation approaches

Abstract

Sea levels are rising faster than ever, limiting the effectiveness of hard infrastructure-based coastal protection. Scientists and policymakers are exploring alternative adaptation approaches that use nature's capacity to buffer flooding and erosion – a strategy we refer to as nature-based coastal adaption (NbCA). They involve changes from site-level to landscape scales, and employ design interventions and change in land use behaviour. They can have significant social implications and therefore encounter social barriers with unique underlying characteristics. Since NbCA is a relatively new adaptation approach, empirically driven knowledge about its barriers is less known. To help overcome this knowledge gap, we systematically searched empirical studies and characterized and synthesized social barriers to implementing NbCA. They include institutional, governance, economic, knowledge and informational, cultural, political, and psychological barriers. The properties of these barriers help us to see that: (i) barriers are interconnected; (ii) managing barriers requires alignment of key actors and targeted resources across scales; and (iii) psychological and institutional barriers can be trapped in path-dependency. We conclude that attention to the institutional and social-psychological barriers can help manage other barriers.

Keywords

• Sea level rise
• Coastal flooding
• Natural infrastructure
• Adaptation