Adapting to climate change

When it comes to climate change, moving people and development away from at-risk areas can be viewed, not as a defeat, but as a smart strategy that allows communities to adapt and thrive.

Thats the case for carefully planned managed retreat made by three environmental researchers in an article published in the Policy Forum section of the journal Science. The article was written by lead author A.R. Siders of the University of Delaware, with co-authors Miyuki Hino and Katharine J. Mach of Stanford University and the University of Miami, respectively.

We need to stop picturing our relationship with nature as a war, said Siders, who is a core faculty member of UDs Disaster Research Center and an assistant professor of public policy and administration and of geography.

Were not winning or losing; were adjusting to changes in nature. Sea levels rise, storms surge into flood plains, so we need to move back.

Moving away from coastal and other endangered areas usually occurs after disaster strikes, she said, and is often handled inefficiently and haphazardly. Instead, the researchers argue that retreating from those areas should be done thoughtfully, with planning that is strategic as well as managed.

Retreat is a tool that can help achieve societal goals like community revitalization, equity and sustainability if it is used purposefully, Siders said. People sometimes see retreat as defeatist, but I see it as picking your battles.

In the Science paper, the researchers point out that retreat is a difficult and complex issue for many reasons, including the short-term economic gains of coastal development, subsidized insurance rates and disaster recovery costs, and peoples attachment to the place where they live and to the status quo. Also, when disaster strikes, the more affluent residents are more able to relocate, often leaving behind those who dont have the financial resources to move.

No matter the circumstances, moving is hard, Hino said. People have chosen where to live for a reason, and it is often difficult to find a place to move to that meets all their social, cultural and financial requirements.

One major challenge with retreat is that were so focused on getting people out of harms way, we miss the chance to help them move to opportunity.

The researchers take the long view, noting that retreat may be the answer to climate change in some areas, but it may not be a step thats necessary this year or even this decade.

The challenge is to prepare for long-term retreat by limiting development in at-risk areas, they write, and making plans for further action based on responding to specific triggers and constantly  monitoring and evaluating conditions.

The story of retreat as a climate response is just beginning, Mach said. Retreat is compelling because it brings together so many aspects of how societies work, what individuals are trying to achieve  and what it takes to ensure preparedness and resilience in a changing climate.

The paper makes note of a variety of areas where additional work is needed, including coordination of various levels of government and support for relocation assistance programs. First, Siders said, communities must identify which areas they most want to protect and how to encourage and assist relocation.

Managed retreat needs to be embedded in larger conversations and social programs, she said. Retreat cant be just about avoiding risk. It needs to be about moving toward something better.

More about the article and the researchers

The Case for Strategic and Managed Climate Retreat: Why, where, when, and how should communities relocate? was published Aug. 23 in Science.

A.R. Siders, previously an environmental fellow at the Harvard University Center for the Environment, joined the UD faculty in August. 

Hino is a doctoral candidate in the Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources at Stanford University.

Mach previously was director of the Stanford Environment Assessment Facility at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment and a senior research scientist at Stanfords School of Earth, Energy and Environmental Sciences. She is now an associate professor at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science and a faculty scholar at the universitys Abess center.

Article by Ann Manser; illustration by Jeffrey C. Chase