Influence
Overview
At the local, national and global levels, the Coastal Resilience Network promotes the development of partnerships, political support, policies and funding that encourage the use of natural solutions in climate, development and disaster risk planning.
The Coastal Resilience Network works to advise governments on how to shape national, regional and local policies and institutional arrangement to reduce climate related risks and losses, and to design and develop policy and financial incentives and tools for increased investments in cost-effective and ecosystem-based adaptation and risk management measures.
Bill signing ceremony with Connecticut Governor Malloy for Public Act 13-179, which requires town and state planning to include consideration of NOAA sea level rise scenarios. Photo courtesy of Governor Malloy’s office.
Programs that Influence
The Network also allows opportunities to work together to engage in programs to reduce the cost of risk by incorporating the science and economics of natural coastal protection into relevant policy, risk models and financial incentives.
The Nature Conservancy’s Coastal Resilience workshop in Punta Gorda, Florida. Photo credit: Cara Byington
Places that the Coastal Resilience Network is currently promoting ecosystem-based approaches to adaptation and disaster risk reduction at a national and international level, include;
- United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
- UNISDR: Hyogo Framework on disaster Risk Reduction
- UNISDR: Post 2015 agenda
- Partnership for Environment and Disaster Risk Reduction (PEDRR)
- Alliance for Development Works
- United Nations University
- U.S. Smarter – Safer Coalition
- National Flood Insurance Program
- Washington State Floodplains by Design
World Risk Report 2012
Environmental degradation is a significant factor that reduces the capacity of societies to deal with disaster risk in many countries around the world. This is the key message of the World Risk Report 2012, presented October 11th in Brussels, Belgium by the German Alliance for Development Works (Alliance), United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS) and The Nature Conservancy.
The World Risk Report examines who is at risk from natural disasters, what contributes to this risk and what can be done about it. The record for the decade 2002 to 2011 is alarming: 4,130 disasters, more than a million deaths and an economic loss of at least 1.195 trillion dollars.
The centerpiece of the report, the World Risk Index, developed by UNU-EHS in cooperation with the Alliance, determines the risk of becoming the victim of a disaster as a result of natural hazards for 173 countries throughout the world.
Also see our Coasts at Risk assessment of 2014 that includes other global indicators of risk and the role of environmental solutions. This can be found under Reports and Publications in our Resources section.