Federal Resilience Programs: Coastlines and People | Article

Coastal ecosystems, including wetlands, kelp forests, and coral reefs, provide habitat for a variety of animals such as migratory birds , sea mammals, and fish. Coastlines are also home to 127 million people in the United States—about 40 percent of the population . Coastlines generate 45 percent of the national gross domestic product through industries like fishing, tourism, and energy production.

Climate change threatens coastal ecosystems and dense population centers by contributing to more frequent storms and driving sea level rise, increasing the risk of coastal flooding. Sea levels have increased by an average of 7 to 8 inches since 1900. Further, warmer water temperatures disrupt aquatic ecosystems by killing fish and fueling m ore frequent and intense algal blooms. Ensuring resilience to these growing threats is vital to protect coastal communities and ecosystems.

Federal programs, such as Coastlines and People, aim to make coastal communities more resilient to climate change impacts and other environmental threats.

What is the Coastlines and People program (CoPe)?

The Coastlines and People (CoPe) program, administered by the National Science Foundation (NSF), funds innovative research seeking to make communities more sustainable in the face of changing environments and establishes Coastal Research Hubs to carry out this work. According to NSF, these Coastal Research Hubs use a holistic earth science approach that “integrates improved understanding of and, where possible, predictions about natural, social, and technological processes with efforts to increase the resilience of coastal systems.” Central to CoPe’s work is collaboration between institutions, local communities, and other diverse stakeholders through community engagement and citizen science.

How does CoPe relate to climate adaptation and resilience?

CoPe-produced research helps inform climate adaptation and resilience strategies to better prepare coastal communities for climate change and other environmental issues. In particular, CoPe produces long-term assessments to analyze changing coastlines, which help communities develop infrastructure and adaptation strategies that integrate future coastal conditions. Communities are also involved in developing research and policy recommendations to address their specific concerns.

How does CoPe work?

Higher education institutions and non-profit, non-academic organizations can submit grant proposal s for either Focused Hubs (projects centered on narrower geographic areas or research questions with total budgets of up to $1 million per year for 3 to 5 years), or for Large-scale Hubs (projects serving larger regions or broader questions with total budgets of $2-4 million per year for up to 5 years). CoPe also supports Research Coordination Networks, which connect researchers and stakeholders to collaboratively tackle long-term, multi-discipline research projects. Additionally, CoPE funds Early-concept Grants for Exploratory Research (EAGER) for untested, but potentially groundbreaking research, such as Michigan State University’s citizen-science project that trains community stakeholders to monitor coastal changes in the Great Lakes through drones and smartphones. Other CoPe projects include conferences and the INTERN program, which allows graduate students who are benefiting from NSF awards to intern with non-academic partners on relevant CoPe topics.

CoPe in Action: Sea Level Rise in Hawaii

Sea levels in Hawaii are currently rising one inch every four years, which contributes to coastal erosion. This erosion threatens over 70 percent of the state’s beaches and results in increased flooding that endangers 66,000 people, with 152,000 more projected to be at risk of regular flooding by 2050. In January 2020, the University of Hawaii began its CoPe EAGER project, “Identifying Mult iple Values for Beaches and Coastlines Under Sea Level Rise," to evaluate how sea level rise impacts the social, economic, and ecological benefits and uses of several coastal sites in Hawaii. Projected to conclude by the end of 2021, the study seeks to inform local policy and planning decisions about the tradeoffs and benefits of adaptation strategies such as managed retreat, which proactively relocates communities away from coastal hazards.

What is the outcome of CoPe?

CoPe has funded 52 total projects, and recently created three Focused Hubs in North Carolina, Virginia, and Texas and two Large-scale Hubs in the Northeast and on the West Coast. Most CoPe projects are still in their early stages.

What is the current state of CoPe?

The NSF Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 budget requests $28 million for CoPe, an increase of $10 million from FY 2021 enacted levels. In 2020, the Senate Appropriations Committee encouraged NSF “to continue research that advances understanding of the impacts of coastal environmental viability and natural hazards on populated coastal regions.”

Author: Valerie Nguyen