About this Project

California's coastlines are vulnerable to the impacts from climate change and sea-level rise (SLR). Coastal managers at local, regional, state, and federal levels will need to plan and implement adaptation measures to cope with these impacts. This study aims to assess California coastal managers' current state of preparedness and planning for the impacts of climate change and sea-level rise.

Key Research Questions:

• What are California coastal managers' perceptions of current inundation-related risks, the added risks from climate change, and their vulnerability to these growing coastal problems?
• To what extent have they begun thinking about and tackling these increasing management challenges?
• What specific information and knowledge resources do coastal managers need to address adaptation to climate change in their day-to-day management responsibilities?

This study is part of a larger scientific effort commissioned by CalEPA and the California Energy Commission in response to Governor Schwarzenegger's June 1, 2005 executive order 5-3-05. In this executive order, the Governor requested - among other things - an update on the state of science of climate change impacts on the state by January 2006, including possible response options to reduce greenhouse gas emission and to deal with the unavoidable impacts of global warming in the next few decades.

Photo Credit: Copyright (C) 2002-2006 Kenneth & Gabrielle Adelman. California Coastal Records Project www.californiacoastline.org