Policy changes related to Sea Level Rise

model. Also shown are examples of potential policy changes related to preparing for and mitigating SLR impacts that might be made during the open policy window. For policy change to occur, the risks related to SLR need to be appreciated and on the agenda of policy-makers, responses must have been proposed, and key stakeholders must be amenable to change.”]

Fig. 5. This timeline shows events related to North Carolina SLR research and policy in the problem, policies, and politics streams from the 1970s to the present and how their confluence has opened a policy window, consistent with Kingdon’s [25

Recent results from global climate models suggest that rates of SLR will continue to increase over the next century [22]. Governments, researchers, and management institutions are investigating potential climate impacts across multiple sectors in coastal environments
(Table 1). In this paper, we*** review issues related to SLR being studied in North Carolina (USA) and discuss recent factors advancing policy changes related to SLR.

The recent history of SLR research, dialogue, and coastal planning
in North Carolina provides a valuable example for other
coastal regions (Fig. 5). Globally, the risks associated with SLR will
disproportionately affect low-lying areas, including in many
developing countries, as well as highly-populated areas. While
some coastal areas have been developed with vulnerability to flooding in mind (e.g., London’s Thames River flood barrier and Holland’s extensive dike and pump networks), others have not yet explored mitigation strategies. In many regions, vulnerabilities to inundation are highly uncertain and physical processes related to shoreline change and hydrologic responses are poorly understood, impeding readiness to make policy decisions. For widespread progress to occur toward thoughtful new policies responding to SLR, some of the drivers (research progress and understandings of the problems, availability of and dialogue about potential
responses, and political climates) must change, opening policy windows for stakeholders

Benjamin Poulter a,*, Rebecca L. Feldman b,c, Mark M. Brinson d,e, Benjamin P. Horton f,
Michael K. Orbach b, Samuel H. Pearsall g, Enrique Reyes d,e, Stanley R. Riggs d,e,
John C. Whitehead h
a Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Earth System Science, Telegrafenberg A62, 14412 Potsdam, Germany
b Duke University, Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences, Beaufort, NC, USA
c Dean John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship Program, NOAA Climate Program Office, Silver Spring, MD, USA
d East Carolina University, Coastal Resources Management Program and the Department of Biology, Greenville, NC, USA
e East Carolina University, Coastal Resources Management Program and the Department of Geological Sciences, Greenville, NC, USA
f University of Pennsylvania, Department of Earth and Environmental Science, Philadelphia, PA, USA
g The Nature Conservancy, North Carolina Chapter, Durham, NC, USA
h Appalachian State University, Department of Economics, Boone, NC, USA