In last month’s blog post, we talked about nature-based coastal adaptation as an innovative solution for increasingly severe coastal flooding, erosion, and storm surges. On one side of the solution spectrum, you have hard infrastructure. Hard infrastructure is made up of stone and concrete that degrades over time and creates problems by diverting wave energy to surrounding areas. On the other side, you have nature-based approaches. Nature-based coastal adaptation comes with benefits like increased habitat for birds and fish, green and blue space to connect with nature, and infrastructure that will become stronger and require less maintenance (i.e., money) over time. So why do landowners continue building stone and concrete structures? And why do governing bodies continue approving hard infrastructure proposals?
For starters, change takes time. The world of coastal protection has been built on a stone and concrete foundation. That means that current guidance, policies, and habits have been shaped by the belief that hard infrastructure is the way to protect coastal places. In bureaucracies with hierarchical decision structures, the transfer of new knowledge to strategies and action can move slower than the threats those strategies are addressing. Institutional innovation may be required to help governing bodies revaluate and adapt coastal policies and regulations. Some governing bodies have taken steps in the right direction. For example, the Province of PEI has temporarily limited coastal development so they can make more informed planning decisions. For similar reasons, the Municipality of the District of Lunenburg asked the provincial government of Nova Scotia to implement a development moratorium within its boundaries. While celebrating forward progress for some places, we must recognize there is still room for improvement. Recently, the Province of Nova Scotia backed away from critical regulatory measures that would limit coastal development and accompanying hard infrastructure.
Change also takes effort, legitimacy, knowledge-sharing, and trust between communities, governing bodies, and others with a stake in the coast’s future. In a recent study, researchers found that coastal residents in Nova Scotia have ongoing trust in hard infrastructure. While residents were willing to learn about nature-based approaches, they wanted more information about risks, costs and benefits, and examples of real-life adaptation projects in places like theirs. When the public trusts hard infrastructure, decision makers respond to the public (who vote for them), and they support hard infrastructure too. The innovation of nature-based approaches is exciting, but also makes them seem riskier. It feels safer to, in the words of the High School Musical cast, “stick to the status quo.”
Overcoming institutional, social, and psychological challenges associated with nature-based coastal adaptation is, and will continue to be, an ongoing effort. There are several examples of successful nature-based coastal adaptation projects along Canadian coastlines. These projects are shifting the status quo. In Nova Scotia, projects are ongoing in the Mahone Bay living shoreline, Town of Shelburne living shoreline, and Onslow-North River managed dyke realignment and wetland restoration. In British Columbia, the Living with Water project is developing new planning, design, and decision tools to support flood adaptation. As more projects are implemented, and more people learn about and consider nature-based approaches, more opportunities will arise for these innovative solutions. Rita Mae Brown once said, “insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results.” Let’s stop relying on infrastructure that is, in many cases, too expensive and unsustainable to be our “go-to” solution. Every person who cares about the coast has the power to help shift the status quo. To say all it takes is a little courage would be misleading — but a little courage is a good start.
Photo credit: Bruce Kratofil, Flickr
