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Towards principles and policy levers for advancing living shorelines
Shana C Jones1, J Scott Pippin1
1Carl Vinson Institute of Government, University of Georgia, USA, 201 N. Milledge Avenue, Athens, GA, 30602, USA.
Journal of Environmental Management
|March 11, 2022
Summary
Living shorelines offer superior erosion control compared to hard armoring. Policy innovations are crucial for their increased implementation in estuarine management.
Area of Science:
- Estuarine ecology
- Coastal engineering
- Environmental policy
Background:
- Traditional hard armoring (e.g., bulkheads, seawalls) is prevalent for shoreline stabilization but can be ecologically detrimental.
- Living shorelines present a more sustainable alternative for stabilizing shorelines and mitigating erosion.
- Increased adoption of living shorelines necessitates policy reform and innovative shoreline management strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify policy levers that influence the implementation of living shorelines in estuarine environments.
- To analyze the human dimensions within estuarine management that either promote or hinder living shoreline adoption.
- To inform policy innovation for advancing living shoreline use.
Main Methods:
- Comparative legal analysis of existing policies.
- Identification of four key policy categories influencing living shoreline implementation: erosion/flood control, neighboring structures, rebuild policies/sea-level rise, and jurisdictional boundaries.
- Analysis of how these policy levers promote or inhibit living shoreline adoption.
Main Results:
- Specific policy recommendations to advance living shorelines include prohibiting new hard armoring where erosion is controlled, eliminating hard armoring as a default, and disallowing "gap-filling" policies.
- Recommendations also include requiring living shorelines in partially armored areas (10-25%) and mandating replacement of hard armoring upon repair or meeting sea-level rise thresholds.
- Policy levers significantly impact the rate of living shoreline implementation.
Conclusions:
- Policy levers are critical for advancing the use of living shorelines in estuarine environments.
- Optimal policies include prohibiting certain types of shoreline stabilization and requiring living shorelines under specific conditions.
- Understanding and simulating policy impacts through modeling frameworks is essential for effective coastal management and promoting living shorelines.
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