Adaption pathways to manage increasing coastal flood risk

Coastal communities are locked into a future of rising sea levels that will cause more frequent extreme hazards such as storm surge, tidal flooding and permanent inundation of low-lying areas. This will place increasing pressure on governments, businesses and residents to identify preventative strategies that minimise the exposure and vulnerability of people, properties and the environment to coastal flooding.

Hazard Note 67 covers PhD research findings from Dr Timothy Ramm, which show that adaption pathways can support coastal managers to plan alternative actions by mapping out flexible plans and monitoring early warning indicators. This allows changing risks to be anticipated and action to be taken before impacts become unacceptable.

Further reading

Ramm TD (2018), Improving adaptation planning for future sea level rise and coastal flooding, PhD thesis, University of Tasmania, https://eprints.utas.edu.au/29624/

Ramm TD, Watson CS & White CJ (2018), Strategic adaptation pathway planning to manage sea-level rise and changing coastal flood risk, Environmental Science & Policy, 87, pp. 92-101

Ramm TD, Watson CS & White CJ (2018), Describing adaptation tipping points in coastal flood risk management, Computers, Environment and Urban Systems, 69, pp. 74-86

Ramm TD, Graham S, White CJ & Watson CS (2017), Advancing values based approaches to climate change adaptation: a case study from Australia, Environmental Science & Policy, 76, pp. 113-123