Marine Science Faculty Publications

The METROPOLE Project – An Integrated Framework to Analyse Local Decision Making and Adaptive Capacity to Large-Scale Environmental Change: Decision Making and Adaptation to Sea Level Rise in Santos, Brazil

Document Type

Book Chapter

Publication Date

11-2018

Keywords

Sea-level rise, Adaptation options, Adaptive capacity, Participatory approach, Santos, METROPOLE project

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-96535-2_1

Abstract

Assessment of the risks due to exposure and sensitivity of coastal communities to coastal flooding is essential for informed decision-making. Strategies for public understanding and awareness of the tangible effects of climate change are fundamental in developing policy options. A multidisciplinary, multinational team of natural and social scientists from the USA, the UK, and Brazil developed the METROPOLE Project to evaluate how local governments may decide between adaptation options associated with SLR projections. METROPOLE developed a participatory approach in which public actors engage fully in defining the research problem and evaluating outcomes.

Using a case study of the city of Santos, in the coast of the State of Sao Paulo in Southeastern Brazil, METROPOLE developed a method for evaluating risks jointly with the community, comparing ‘no-action’ to ‘adaptation’ scenarios. At the core of the analysis are estimates of economic costs of the impact of floods on urban real estate under SLR projections through 2050 and 2100. Results helped identify broad preferences and orientations in adaptation planning, which the community, including the Santos municipal government, co-developed in a joint effort with natural and social scientists.

Citation / Publisher Attribution

The METROPOLE Project – An Integrated Framework to Analyse Local Decision Making and Adaptive Capacity to Large-Scale Environmental Change: Decision Making and Adaptation to Sea Level Rise in Santos, Brazil, in L. Nunes, R. Greco & J. Marengo (Eds.), Climate Change in Santos Brazil: Projections, Impacts and Adaptation Options, Springer, p. 3-15

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