With climate change threatening coastal areas, adaptation will be necessary for many communities. Pre-emptive adaptation of coastal regions is possible and presents an opportunity to bring long-term social, environmental, and economic benefits while being more cost-effective and providing better value for money for society.
Promoting Adaptation to Changing Coasts (PACCo) is being piloted on a cross-border initiative between the Lower Otter Valley in East Devon, England, and the Saâne Valley in Normandy, France. The project aims to demonstrate that it is possible to work with stakeholders in estuarine regions to deliver a range of benefits for people and the environment by adapting pre-emptively to climate change. PACCo's primary output will be a transferable model to influence policy-makers at national and EU levels and to enable climate change adaptation at more sites.
Solutions will be collated as a ‘one-stop shop’ model, which by adopting, benefits and savings can be achieved at up to 70 other estuarine sites providing guidance on how to proceed. Projected benefits include:
- avoiding costs of repair and replacement of existing flood defenses
- increased socio-economic benefits from tourism
- public health cost saving
- increased natural capital value of restored wetland habitats
- improved ecosystem services
Take a look at the Lower Otter Restoration Project website.