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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Environ. Sci.
Sec. Interdisciplinary Climate Studies
Volume 12 - 2024 |
doi: 10.3389/fenvs.2024.1435833
This article is part of the Research Topic Nature-based solutions for climate change adaptation View all 5 articles
A blueprint for overcoming barriers to the use of nature-based coastal protection in Australia
Provisionally accepted- 1 The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
- 2 Independent researcher, South Geelong, Australia
- 3 Arup, Sydney, Australia
- 4 Alluvium Consulting, East Melbourne, Australia
- 5 Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water, New South Wales Government, Dangar, Australia
- 6 International Coastal Management, Gold Coast, Australia
- 7 Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW), Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
- 8 BMT, Brisbane, Australia
- 9 Department of Environment, Science and Innovation, Brisbane, Australia
- 10 The Nature Conservancy (Australia), North Melbourne, Australia
- 11 Association of Bayside Municipalities, Melbourne, Australia
- 12 Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action, Victoria State Government, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- 13 University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
The global loss of coastal habitats is putting communities at risk of erosion and flooding, as well as impacting ecosystem function, cultural values, biodiversity, and other services. Coastal habitat restoration can provide a nature-based solution to the increasing need for climate adaptation on the coast while recovering lost ecosystems. Despite the benefits of using nature-based coastal protection to manage coastal hazards, there are scientific, socio-political and economic barriers to the broad use of this approach. Understanding the details of these barriers from the perspective of multiple stakeholders is essential to identifying solutions to overcome them. Using a workshop with participants that are key partners and stakeholders (from government, engineering consulting firms, and non-governmental organisations) in the management, design, and delivery of a coastal protection solution we aimed to: (1) gain a better understanding of the barriers faced by multiple stakeholders involved in the implementation of nature-based coastal protection; and (2) identify tangible solutions to these barriers to increase or support implementation, help focus attention on areas for future research, and inform pathways forward for the governance of nature-based coastal protection. We defined 19 barriers to nature-based coastal protection, but the primary ones that are experienced during the delivery of a project are a lack of: education and awareness; community support; necessary expertise and technical guidance; and uncertainty around: the risk reduction that can be achieved; planning and regulatory processes; and ownership of the structure. Two barriers that do not persist during the design stages of a project but are overarching as to whether nature-based coastal protection is considered in the first place, are government support and the availability of funding. The importance of these primary barriers changes depending on the method of nature-based coastal protection. We conclude by identifying both immediate actions and long-term solutions for enabling nature-based coastal protection in response to each of the primary barriers.
Keywords: coastal engineering, Nature-based solutions, Stakeholder workshop, barriers and solutions, Living shorelines
Received: 21 May 2024; Accepted: 27 Aug 2024.
Copyright: © 2024 Morris, Pomeroy, Boxshall, Colleter, Dack, Dunlop, HANSLOW, King, Magini, O'Malley-Jones, Sultmann, Townsend, Valesini, White, Zavadil and Swearer. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Rebecca L. Morris, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
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