Local Mitigation on My Mind: What s Going on Around the Country that You Could Do Too?

Transcription

1 Local Mitigation on My Mind: What s Going on Around the Country that You Could Do Too? 39 th Annual Association of State Floodplain Managers Conference Gavin Smith, Ph.D., AICP Research Professor University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Department of City & Regional Planning Executive Director Department of Homeland Security - Coastal Hazards Center of Excellence Director Department of Homeland Security - Coastal Resilience Center of Excellence

2 Overview Linking Natural Hazards Risk Management and Climate Change Adaptation through Planning Climate Change Adaptation Challenges and Opportunities Hazard Mitigation Disaster Recovery Local Implications/Relevance for Floodplain Administrators National Hazard Mitigation Study Recommendations

3 Organizing Principles Poor Coordination between Climate Change Adaptation and Natural Hazards Risk Management Community (Hazard Mitigation, Disaster Recovery) Role of Planning and Resilience

4 Disaster Resilience Designed in advance to anticipate, weather and recover from the impacts of natural or terrorist hazards built on principles derived from past experience with disasters Comprised of networked social communities and lifeline systems adapting and learning from disasters strong and flexible (rather than brittle and fragile) new development is guided away from known high hazard areas and their vulnerable existing development is relocated to safe areas buildings are constructed or retrofitted to meet code standards based on hazard threats natural environmental protective systems are conserved to maintain valuable hazard mitigation functions governmental, non-governmental, and private sector organizations are prepared with up-to-date information about hazard vulnerability and disaster resources, as linked with effective communication networks, and are experienced in working together (Godschalk 2003, pp ).

5 Section 2. The Nature of Disasters and the Role of Hazards Planning in Building Resilient Communities Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction in Highland Peru (Anthony Oliver- Smith) Adaptation as a long-standing cultural phenomenon closely associated with the persistence of societies Need for meaningful engagement/use of indigenous knowledge Castles on Sand: The Shifting Sources of Flood Risk and the Implications for Flood Governance (Iain White) Challenges of urbanization in cities and regions in England Changing way of thinking-shift from post-event flood defenses to preemptive spatial/land use planning Planning for Resilient Coastal Communities: Emerging Practice and Future Directions (Tim Beatley) Vision of resilient coastal communities, including underlying principles Highlights ways that communities have achieved this objective Resilience and Adaptation: The Emergence of Local Action in California (Bill Simbieda) Berkeley and San Francisco physical and institutional resilience Emergence of leadership Rising to the Challenge: Planning for Adaptation in the Age of Climate Change (Phil Berke) Scenario-based planning means to confront uncertainty in our understanding of climate changerelated impacts while providing necessary flexibility (robust and contingent strategies)

6 Section 3. Case Studies: Lessons from Natural Hazards Applying Hurricane Recovery Lessons in the US to Climate Change Adaptation: Hurricanes Fran and Floyd in North Carolina (Gavin Smith) The 2004 Manawatu floods, NZ: Integrating Flood Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation (Bruce Glavovic) Learning from Analyses of Policy Frames and Informal Institutions in the Fire Management Sector of Victoria, Australia (Karen Bosomworth, John Handmer and Steven Dovers) Natural Coastal Hazards Planning: the 2004 Tsunami and Lessons Learned for Climate Change Adaptation in Samoa (Namouta Poutasi, Michele Daly, Jude Kohlhase and Filomena Nelson) Recovering from the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami: Lessons for Climate Change Response (Ahana Lakshmi. R. Purvaja and R. Ramesch) Disaster Recovery in Coastal Mississippi: Lesson Drawing from Hurricanes Camille and Katrina (Gavin Smith) Waves of Adversity, Layers of Resilience: Floods, Hurricanes, Oil Spills and Adapting to Climate Change in the Mississippi Delta (Bruce Glavovic)

7 Case Study Themes Importance of collaborative governance Influence of pre-event conditions (culture, wealth/poverty, policy frameworks and institutions Value of establishing good vertical connectivity between national policy and local plans Adopting varied and flexible risk management strategies Viewing disasters as focusing events (including adoption of new policies and practices that reduce exposure to extreme events and confront the drivers and root causes of vulnerability)

8 Adaptation Challenges and Opportunities Slow-Onset and Episodic Events Differing timescales (episodic versus slow onset) Differing camps of researchers and practitioners Knowledge base and terminology (physical science/engineering, social sciences, planning); hazard mitigation/adaptation Policy frameworks (while different, both emphasize sustainability and resilience) Linking Global Assessments and Local Impacts (downscaling data)

9 Broad Issues Underpinning Disaster Risk Demographic Change and Geographic Shifts Aging population Growth in high hazard areas Reactive Nature of Hazards and Disaster Policy Post-Disaster Policy (Rubin s disaster timeline) Unintended Consequences / Incentivizing Development in High Hazard Areas (e.g., NFIP, post-disaster assistance) Settlement Patterns and Land Use Urbanization Smart Growth, New Urbanism-linkage to natural hazards risk reduction and climate change adaptation?

10 Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 Response to Rising Disaster Losses and Unexpended Hazard Mitigation Grant Program Balances Effort to Develop More Proactive, Pre-disaster Approach to Hazard Mitigation Emphasis on Projects Federal Planning Requirements Hazard Mitigation Plans required for State and local governments to remain eligible for grant funding Local plans must be approved by State and FEMA, adopted by participating jurisdictions

11 Hazard Mitigation Study (Berke, Smith and Lyles) First National Evaluation of State and Local Coastal Hazard Mitigation Plans Post-DMA of 2000 Six-year, Department of Homeland Security, Office of University Program s Funded Study East Coast, Gulf Coast, Great Lakes, West Coast Application of Plan Quality Principles

12 Plan Quality Principles / Examples Goals G1 resilience G2 equity G3 economic development Fact Base F1 projections F2 current land use F3 future land use F4 natural environment Policies P1 regulations P2 incentives P3 land acquisition P4 infrastructure Implementation I1 timeline to act I2 prioritized actions I3 organizational responsibility I4 funding Monitoring M1 measurable indicators M2 organizational responsibility M3 evaluation Inter-governmental Coordination C1 information sharing C2 inter-governmental agreements C3 conflict management Engagement E1 stakeholders E2 engagement techniques E3 stakeholder influence

13 Hazard Mitigation Study (Berke, Smith and Lyles) Key Findings Poor Nexus Between Risk Assessment, Projects, and Policies Land Use as a Risk Reduction Measure is Limited Flood Mitigation Plans/CRS Study Very Limited Reference to Climate Change Adaptation Role of State as Capacity-Builder Highly Varied Staffing State Policies Education and Outreach

14 The Planner / Emergency Manager Divide Kartez and Faupel 1994; Smith 2011; Lyles 2012 (limited interaction between emergency manager and planner) Hazard mitigation plans often overseen by local emergency manager EM led plans emphasize response/preparedness Planner led plans placed greater emphasis on land use Complimentary skills (EM - hazard history, linkage with state and federal emergency management agencies and resources, Planner - land use, plan-making, dispute resolution) Planners may not realize that hazard mitigation plans are within their purview Applicability to Local Floodplain Administrators?

15 The Role of Planning in Climate Change Adaptation and Natural Hazards Risk Management Improved Use of Existing Planning Tools and Processes Pre-Event Planning (hazard mitigation and disaster recovery) Land Use Planning Tools / Spatial Orientation Scenario-Based Planning / Temporal Dimension Robust and Contingent Strategies Planners as Coalition Builders and Boundary Spanners Integrating Risk Reduction, Resilience, and Adaptation

16 Adaptation Imperatives and Lessons Learned from Natural Hazards Experience and Scholarship Governance Imperative Capability Imperative Planning Imperative Moral Imperative

17 Recommendations Create Plans that Advance Retrospective AND Prospective Vision Require Land Use Element Address the Planner / Emergency Manager Divide Require Clear Linkage between Risk Assessment and Projects AND Policies Explicitly Link Hazard Mitigation Plans, Climate Change Adaptation Plans, and Comprehensive Plans Scenario Planning

18 Recommendations Increase Emphasis on Federal, State, and Local Capacity Building Efforts Use of indigenous knowledge Confront Governance Challenge Building Powerful Coalitions that Advance Hazards Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation Address Powerful Disincentives to Achieving Resilient Communities (Post-disaster aid/local government paradox) Improve the Education of the Next Generation of Hazards Mitigation Practitioners and Scholars (planners, policymakers, floodplain managers, academics, design professionals, others)