A multicriteria decision analysis framework for developing and evaluating coastal retreat policy

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Climate Change Adaptation
• Policy Analysis

Background:

• Sea-level rise necessitates managed retreat for coastal communities.
• Current single-objective frameworks like cost-benefit analysis inadequately address competing values in relocation decisions.
• Stakeholder interests and complex risk-benefit analyses complicate policy selection for coastal adaptation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a strategic multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) framework for evaluating coastal retreat policies.
• To provide a tool for at-risk coastal communities and government agencies to improve decision-making.
• To visualize policy preferences and stakeholder value considerations in hypothetical retreat scenarios.

Main Methods:

• Development of a strategic multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) framework.
• Application of the MCDA to a hypothetical coastal retreat scenario.
• Quantification and evaluation of competing value considerations among stakeholders.

Main Results:

• The MCDA framework effectively quantifies and evaluates diverse stakeholder values in coastal retreat planning.
• The hypothetical scenario demonstrated visualization of policy preferences and differing value considerations.
• The study highlights the limitations of single-objective optimization in complex coastal adaptation scenarios.

Conclusions:

• MCDA provides a robust methodology for balancing competing interests in managed retreat decisions.
• The proposed framework can lead to more sound, acceptable, and implementable coastal retreat policies.
• Integrating MCDA can streamline the adoption of managed retreat as a necessary climate adaptation strategy.