U31A:
Mitigating Flood Risk and Climate Change Impacts Through Managed Retreat

Note: Abstract submissions to Union sessions are by invitation only.



Session ID#: 25476

Session Description:
River and coastal flooding remains the costliest natural hazard worldwide.  Spiraling losses are driven by growing human population, expanding infrastructure, and climate change.  Mitigating flood risk is an international priority.  Investments in flood-control infrastructure and mitigation can be locally cost-effective, but for the most vulnerable communities, piecemeal solutions are inadequate.  Among his last acts, President Obama instructed 11 federal agencies to develop a framework for "managed retreat" -- a policy for relocating entire towns threatened by climate-driven flooding and rising sea levels.  Current targets include Isle de Jean Charles in the Louisiana Delta and the Alaska coastal village of Kivalina.  Along US rivers, about a dozen towns over the past 150 years have undertaken wholesale relocations.  Managed retreat – and broader resilience to flooding and climate-driven sea-level rise – requires rigorous interdisciplinary applied science, including in the earth and ocean sciences, climatology, hydrology, anthropology, and many other fields.
Primary Convener:  Nicholas Pinter, University of California Davis, Earth and Planetary Sciences, Davis, United States
Convener:  Christopher Dalbom, Tulane University, Tulane Institute on Water Resources Law and Policy, New Orleans, LA, United States
Chairs:  Christopher Dalbom, Tulane University, Tulane Institute on Water Resources Law and Policy, New Orleans, LA, United States and Nicholas Pinter, University of California Davis, Earth and Planetary Sciences, Davis, United States
OSPA Liaison:  Nicholas Pinter, University of California Davis, Earth and Planetary Sciences, Davis, United States

Cross-Listed:
  • EP - Earth and Planetary Surface Processes
  • GC - Global Environmental Change
  • NH - Natural Hazards
  • PA - Public Affairs
Index Terms:

1630 Impacts of global change [GLOBAL CHANGE]
1641 Sea level change [GLOBAL CHANGE]
4327 Resilience [NATURAL HAZARDS]
4338 Disaster policy [NATURAL HAZARDS]

Abstracts Submitted to this Session:

The Two Edged Sword; Illinois’ Risk Reduction Success Through Managed Retreat And Strong Regulations (Invited) (280868)
Paul Osman, Illinois Office of Water Resources, Springfield, IL, UNITED STATES
"Managed Retreat" in Response to Superstorm Sandy: The Oakwood Beach Story (Invited) (261820)
Joseph Tirone, Oakwood Beach Buyout Committee, Staten Island, NY, UNITED STATES
Norfolk, Virginia—Planning to be the Coastal Community of the Future in a rising water environment (Invited) (238978)
George M Homewood, City of Norfolk, Norfolk, VA, UNITED STATES
LA SAFE and Isle de Jean Charles: Regional Adaptation and Community Resettlement Planning (Invited) (256937)
Mathew Sanders, Louisiana Office of Community Development, New Orleans, LA, UNITED STATES
Academics and Citizens Working Together (Invited) (288271)
Donald Bogen Jr, Bayou Interfaith Shared Community Organizing, Thibodau, LA, UNITED STATES

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