Adaptation Pathways for Shoreline Management Planning

Climate induced coastal change potentially threatens coastal communities, damaging infrastructure and heritage and in some cases causing a loss of homes and land. Coastal habitats and wildlife are also vulnerable, especially where they are constrained by development. In the UK context, it is recognised in a range of strategic plans, including the second generation of Shoreline Management Plans (SMPs), that there is an urgent need to plan our responses to climate change risks and to develop any related opportunities. This requires pro-active planning and implementation of adaptation measures in ways that deal with the inherent dynamics and uncertainties at coastal sites and encourage stakeholder involvement in selecting adaptation actions. Focussing on this concern, the Adaptation Committee of the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) commissioned research into how adaptation pathways could help strategic coastal management decision-making and adaptation, building on the current SMP approach. This paper presents key findings from this research.