Lessons learnt and best practices of managing coastal risk from local communities’ perspectives.

Abstract

The objective here is to present how various hazards affecting coastal areas impact the local communities in selected countries, and how these matters are being managed by national, regional and local governmental institutions. This analysis was conducted for nine countries, namely Bangladesh, Costa Rica, Gabon, Ghana, Lebanon, Myanmar, Senegal, Uruguay and Venezuela. The information is organised in nine national chapters with a similar structure: first, a general presentation of the country and its coastal zone; secondly, an overview of the main natural hazards affecting their coasts; then, the management of such hazards is described at national and local level; this is followed by a description of concrete adaptation measures; and, to conclude, some final remarks to reinforce key ideas or set guidelines for future governance in the country. From the perspective of the local communities, this publication also intends to present lessons learnt and good practices emerging from the national experiences with natural hazards affecting the coastal zone. This work is part of the activities led by the MSPglobal Initiative of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO and European Commission, and is supported by the Government of Sweden. It relates to the projects 2020 Regional and global development actions in support of Ocean Literacy for all and the Joint Roadmap on marine spatial planning process worldwide in the context of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. To carry out the work, IOC-UNESCO gathered a group of international consultants from various backgrounds related to marine sciences to review previous and ongoing national public strategies, plans and actions dealing with coastal Location map zone management, coastal risk management and conservation of coastal areas. Scientific publications and technical reports addressing coastal hazards and the vulnerability of coastal communities were also considered in this review, as well as publications by diverse bodies of the United Nations. Finally, the international consultants of each analysed country also obtained and examined the perceptions of scientists, civil society actors, municipality managers and technicians, and representatives of coastal communities through a series of interviews aimed at providing additional information drawn from the bibliographic analysis. These stakeholders were requested to assess current and future risks, identify key priorities requiring intervention and highlight potential recommendations based on their experience in their respective sectors and institutions