Coastal communities that carry out well-developed hazard mitigation and resilience plans will likely gain an economic edge over less-prepared communities. Consider these findings from an independent study of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program:
Every dollar spent on hazard mitigation saves society an estimated four dollars in the long term.
When mitigation efforts are directed specifically at wind and flooding hazards, society receives a five-dollar rate of return for every dollar spent. The largest return on investment occurs when mitigation projects focus on reducing business interruption from the loss of utilities.
It may seem impossibly difficult to convince your coastal community that seeds of resilience planted today will bring an economic harvest later. But you can break down this goal into manageable steps with the help of the NOAA Coastal Services Center products described here.
Communicating the Message and Identifying Aims
Familiarize yourself with economic terms and methods with the guide Introduction to Economics for Coastal Managers. Learn how to increase community buy-in with the publication Introduction to Stakeholder Participation. Learn to establish realistic resilience goals and gauge economic and other outcomes with the training Project Design and Delivery.
Providing Accessible Facts and Tools
Introduce your audience to the Coastal County Snapshots tool for instant facts on local hazard vulnerabilities. Share the Economics: National Ocean Watch website, where easy-to-grasp statistics show how ocean or Great Lakes resources contribute to each local economy. Help stakeholders picture the potential effects of local coastal changes such as flooding and sea level rise with CanVis, and encourage them to take the Web-based training.
Seeking Consensus and Taking Action
Take the Public Issues and Conflict Management training, which will help you design, conduct, and control meetings in public forums. Add the Introducing Green Infrastructure for Coastal Resilience training to understand the ecological, economic, and societal benefits of green infrastructure. And encourage planners, officials, and managers to take the Web-based training Roadmap for Adapting to Coastal Risk, which will help them work together on identifying risks and crafting adaptation strategies.
