Large-scale CoPe: Strong Coasts: Developing Solutions with Nature and People

University Of South Florida, Tampa FL

Investigators

Abstract

This project will generate knowledge that could be used to reduce risk, confront environmental degradation, enhance adaptive capacities of communities, and advance public and private investment in disaster risk prevention and reduction. Coastal zones provide key services to local communities but also carry significant risks from the land and ocean including threats from waves, storm surges, floods, and sea level rise. Protecting and restoring coastal ecosystems such as coral reefs and mangroves can help mitigate these threats while also supporting local economies and societal resilience. This project explores risks and benefits to communities in tropical coral reef-dependent communities where replenishing coral reef and mangrove ecosystems has been piloted and can be scaled up to regional and national management levels as “Nature-based Solutions” (NBS). This project is co-creating new knowledge with coastal communities in Florida, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Belize on how ecosystem-based processes can help address hazard risk and support appropriate NBS. The team's complementary expertise in engineering, ecology, and social sciences, linking seven academic institutions, multiple local partners, and cross-regional organizations, expands the scope of potential research outcomes. This project advances our understanding of coastal flood and erosion risk and the role of ecosystems and “Nature-based Solutions” (NBS) to empirically assess hazards reduction and overall socio-environmental risk. The goals are to (1) establish a participatory co-design approach for assessing current and future coastal risks and rigorously quantifying the benefits of NBS, including coral reef and mangrove restoration and protection, for reducing risks while enhancing human well-being, economic recovery, and biodiversity benefits, and (2) determine how community experiences of risk differ within and across sites, how that affects NBS implementation, and how adaptive capacity to mitigate risk is related to localized impacts. This convergence research approach advances the quantitative, data-driven evaluation of NBS for hazard risk reduction through the assessment of ecosystem social and economic co-benefits. Project results inform the development of policy changes, community engagement, engineering guidance, and incentives and innovative financing for NBS. The research is standardizing monitoring and analysis methods to allow for effective mainstreaming of active coastal sustainability management solutions. The expanded and standardized use of NBS also opens the opportunity to broaden participation of stakeholders in the hazard adaptation process. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.