Today my 100th journal paper (at least according to Scopus) was published open access in Journal of Flood Risk Management, Reimagining nature-based coastal adaptation: A nested framework. This paper was submitted as a perspective but seems to have been ‘upgraded’ by JFRM to ‘original article’ during press. It is a conceptual piece that synthesizes some of the insights from work with colleagues in TransCoastal Adaptations Centre for Nature Based Solutions (Rahman, Manuel, Rapaport and van Proosdij)–specifically the Making Room for Movement and Making Room for Wetlands projects–and NSERC ResNet’s Bay of Fundy case study (Wells and van Proosdij).
This paper advocates for a broader definition of nature-based coastal adaptation that includes the work that is done to get people out of the way and allow for natural coastal dynamism. For instance, reimagining what it means to live a good coastal life, reserving space for retreat and restoration, and relocating infrastructure and homes that sit in areas that face increasing impacts from that dynamism (instead of trying to simply use natural materials to facilitate the status quo). Using managed dyke realignment as a case study, we demonstrate that five R words are critical to a more forward-thinking kind of nature-based coastal adaptation: Reimagine, Reserve, Relocate, Restore and Reinforce. We also assert that they are nested, and thus success depends on those cultural changes. Things like insurance that keep people at risk are not considered nature-based at all (although they are important), because they prolong risky situations for people and nature. Below is the framework we propose, compared with elements from the more common PARA framework.
Figure 1 in Sherren et al. (2024) The 5R NBCA approaches with reference to coverage of the PARA framework.
