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- Permanent Link:
- http://dpanther.fiu.edu/dpService/dpPurlService/purl/FI15060959/00001
Material Information
- Title:
- Resilient Coasts A Blueprint for Action
- Creator:
- The Heinz Center
Ceres
- Publication Date:
- 2009
- Language:
- English
Notes
- Scope and Content:
- The Heinz Center and Ceres – along with those who have developed and endorsed this
Blueprint – undertook the challenging task of forging consensus on principles and actions to
increase coastal resilience for three fundamental reasons: our coasts are threatened, there
are reasonable steps to counter those threats, and we as a nation are not yet taking them.
Powerful storms are wreaking increasing havoc along the world’s coasts, as Hurricane
Katrina and Cyclone Nagris indelibly demonstrated. A recent assessment by the Wharton
School’s Risk Center revealed a dramatic surge in global economic losses from natural
disasters, increasing from just over $50 billion in the 1950s to almost $800 billion in the
1990s, with about $420.6 billion so far in the current decade (through 2007)1. Munich Re
estimated worldwide economic losses from natural catastrophes at $200 billion for 2008,
up from $82 billion in 20072. Lloyd’s of London and Risk Management Solutions (RMS)
predict that flood losses along tropical Atlantic coastlines would increase 80 percent by
2030 with about one foot of sea level rise3 – in line with the conservative estimates of the
2007 report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Of particular interest are the commonsense and cost-effective steps our nation can
take to drastically reduce such risks and their associated economic impacts. Five hundred
commercial clients of the insurer, FM Global, experienced approximately 85 percent less
damage from Hurricane Katrina as similarly situated properties4. This significant reduction
in the amount of damage was directly attributable to hurricane loss prevention and
preparedness measures taken by these policyholders. The return on investment is striking –
a $2.5 million investment in loss prevention resulted in $500 million in avoided losses.5
An increasing number of studies underscore the value and wisdom of reducing our coastal
vulnerabilities. Wharton has demonstrated that homeowners in Florida could reduce losses
from a severe hurricane by 61 percent, resulting in $51 billion in savings, simply by building
to strong construction codes6. Putting this in perspective, the same cost reductions applied
to Katrina damages would have reduced the $41.1 billion worth of insured property losses
to about $16.1 billion. Similarly, the National Institute of Building Sciences showed that
every dollar spent on mitigation saves society about four dollars on recovery costs7. Despite
this evidence, nearly all U.S. coastal cities and towns lack adequate land use requirements
and building code standards to realize these savings. Among the additional benefits of
substantially reduced risks and costs are a stabilized coastal insurance market and less
expensive premiums. Even with stronger building codes, our coasts face escalating risks. Roads, transit lines
and drinking water supplies – the lifelines of our coastal cities – are already facing pressures
they were not designed to withstand. The National Research Council estimates that a sea
level rise of 2-4 feet, expected to occur in the next century, would inundate 27 percent of
the major roads in the Gulf Coast8. Yet today, in most places, even new development is not
being designed to withstand the impacts of swelling seas. As the national science agencies
renew their commitment to climate science, priority must be placed on providing local
governments with the predictive capacities and other tools they need to adapt land use and
infrastructure for an uncertain future.
The need to adapt is also an opportunity to restore our coastal ecosystems, which are a
critical complement to defensive infrastructure. Wetlands provide an estimated $23.2 billion
each year of storm surge and flood protection along our coastlines, according to a study by
the University of Vermont9. Yet the combined pressures of climate change and development
– over half our population lives along the coasts – have led to the systematic depletion of
protective wetlands. Clearly, the resiliency of our coastal populations and our ecosystems go
hand in hand.
Our goal in producing this Resilient Coasts Blueprint is to provide and inspire leadership
and direction throughout our businesses, governments, and communities. The endeavor’s
broad-based collaboration, along with the group’s intention to implement these principles
where appropriate within their institutions and advocate for their broader adoption,
underscores the importance of common cause and collective action. Evidence shows we
can reduce our risks and our costs by 50 percent or more, creating a powerful foundation
for this Blueprint – for while the threats may be inevitable, catastrophes are not.
Record Information
- Source Institution:
- Florida International University
- Rights Management:
- Please contact the owning institution for licensing and permissions. It is the user's responsibility to ensure use does not violate any third party rights.
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