Supporting Resilient Coastal Communities and Ecosystems in a Changing Climate: Lessons Learned from an Interdisciplinary Research Program

More than 50% of Americans currently live in coastal and Great Lakes watershed counties and $1 trillion of the gross domestic product comes from the coastal zone. ^{1 2} As a result, human pressures, such as coastal development, pollution, and habitat destruction, are impacting the health and sustainability of coastal ecosystems. As human pressures continue to increase along the coast, so too will the stress placed on these vital ecosystems. In addition to these non-climatic stressors, impacts from changing climate conditions are impacting coastal ecosystems and the communities and economies that depend on them. ³

The Coastal and Ocean Climate Applications (COCA) program is a competitive grants research program with the NOAA Climate Program Office. One of several programs within the CPO Climate and Societal Interactions division, COCA strives support coastal adaptation by addressing the needs of decisions makers dealing with pressing climate-related issues in coastal and marine environments. Since 2006, COCA funds applied research projects, lead by interdisciplinary teams of scientists and practitioners, to develop and transition climate-related research and information to advance coastal decisions.

Annual competitions for the COCA program prioritize specific research topics including: ecosystem services and natural and nature based features, public health impacts related to changes in coastal ecosystems, understanding the impacts of climate variability and change on coastal and marine ecosystems, etc. While the research topics change annually, there are key components of COCA projects to ensure the outcomes inform the response and coping capacity of coastal decision-making and management communities to climate variability and change. This presentation will discuss these key components as well as lessons learned.

Sources 1.Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States. Thomas R. Karl, Jerry M. Melillo, and Thomas C. Peterson, (eds.). Cambridge University Press, 2009 2. U.S. Census Bureau. 2010: Population of U.S. Cities. http://www.census.gov 3. Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States. Thomas R. Karl, Jerry M. Melillo, and Thomas C. Peterson, (eds.). Cambridge University Press, 2009.