Sea Level Rise Adaptation and Mitigation Planning in Charleston, South Carolina
Abstract
As sea level rise continues to occur on a global scale, coastal cities need to be
evaluating the risk and potential impacts it will have on their communities and developing
adaptation and mitigation strategies to effectively handle these changes. With projections
anticipating a sea level rise as high as four feet within the next 100 years, Charleston
needs to be considering strategies to preserve and protect its coastlines, historical
and cultural assets, natural resources, and its infrastructure. Currently, the City
has taken little initiative to proactively plan and adapt for the impending effects
of sea level rise. Although the Charleston Green Plan demonstrates an interest in
the resiliency and sustainability of the City, it is not a sufficient or comprehensive
response to sea level rise. As such, we recommend that Charleston seek regional support
through the creation of a regional climate compact between the five coastal counties
in South Carolina. By collaborating in a regional compact, more resources, staff,
and funding will be available to work on strategic planning than would otherwise be
available at the local level. Additionally, regional collaboration will demonstrate
to the State that sea level rise is an important issue to these coastal counties and
support at the state level is needed. Secondly, more initiative and political will
is needed at the local level to promote more sustainable practices and encourage collaboration
between local scientists, residents, policy makers, business owners, etc. in order
to create a plan of action for sea level rise. Ideally, the City would hire a dedicated
staff member to serve as the primary contact for planning, as well as, lead community
engagement, education, and outreach programs. However, if that is not an option, local
government should provide platforms (conferences, meetings, educational opportunities,
etc.) for the community to begin discussing the ways in which they would like to see
the city take action against sea level rise. Thirdly, while beachfront development
may be profitable for the region, it further erodes the beach and is at high risk
of being destroyed in light of sea level rise. As such, Charleston should revise the
Beachfront Management Act of 1988 to no longer allow DHEC to move the baseline seaward,
regardless of accretion processes. Although Charleston’s sea level rise adaptation
and mitigation strategy may still be unclear, with sea level rise predictions as high
as 4 feet within the next 100 years, it is clear action is needed to preserve and
protect the city for generations to come.
Type
Master's projectPermalink
https://hdl.handle.net/10161/9690Citation
Prettyman, Julieann (2015). Sea Level Rise Adaptation and Mitigation Planning in Charleston, South Carolina. Master's project, Duke University. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/9690.Collections
More Info
Show full item record
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Rights for Collection: Nicholas School of the Environment
Works are deposited here by their authors, and represent their research and opinions, not that of Duke University. Some materials and descriptions may include offensive content. More info