What does adaptation mean for coastal communities?

The UK Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs' coastal change ‘Pathfinder’ initiative was designed to better engage communities in the process of planning to adapt to coastal change. Successful engagement requires a common understanding of ‘adaptation’ – a challenge when it may mean anything from an engineering intervention to a state of mind. This challenge is increased by the range of stakeholders whose involvement is essential – residents, statutory agencies and interest groups, but also visitors who support the coastal economy. The Jurassic Coast Pathfinder project has explored these and other issues with six diverse communities in Dorset and East Devon. All have one thing in common: if shoreline management plan policies are implemented, they will face significant changes in their social, economic and environmental fabric. Overcoming scepticism about the purpose of the project proved to be a significant hurdle at the outset. Having overcome this, developing ideas about how we might adapt proved relatively easy. Developing ideas which are affordable, deliverable and sustainable has proved more difficult.