Download Overview of Project (Blair) - Consensus Building Institute

Overview of Hudson River
Sustainable Shorelines
Project
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
Sea Level Rise Estimates for
New York City*
- By 2020s: 2-5” (5-10”**)
- By 2050s: 7-12” (19-29”)
- By 2080s: 12-23” (41-55”)
*
Climate Risk Information, New York City Panel on Climate Change
(original source: Columbia Center for Climate Systems Research)
** Rapid ice-melt scenario – based on acceleration of recent rates of ice
melt in the Greenland and west Antarctica ice sheets
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
Hudson River Tidal Shorelines
• Over 300 miles:
– Natural 47%
– Hard engineered 41%
– Remnant engineered 12%
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
How will we manage shorelines
& erosion in the future?
• Harden to reduce
erosion?
• Construct dikes?
• Use “soft” engineering
approaches?
• Allow shorelines to
migrate landward?
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
Effects on Adjacent Habitats
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
NRC and CICEET Roles
• National Research Council (NRC) Committee on Mitigating Shore Erosion
Along Sheltered Coasts
• Cooperative Institute on Coastal and
Estuarine Environmental Technology
(CICEET) – Request for Proposals $$
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
CICEET’s 3 Key Questions
1. Determine the tradeoffs in ecosystem
services that arise from land use
management, shoreline hardening, and
vegetative approaches to erosion control.
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
Ecosystem Services
• The benefits provided
to humans by naturally
functioning ecosystems
• Nature’s contributions
to human well-being
See February 2009 issue of Ecological
Society of America’s Frontiers in
Ecology and the Environment
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
General Ecosystem Services of
Tidal Shorelines
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Provide vital habitat
Dissipate energy
Regulate vital processes
Serve as dispersal corridors
Support high biodiversity and
produce plants and animals
Dave Strayer. 2008. Ecology of freshwater
shore zones, unpublished.
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
CICEET’s 3 Key Questions
2. Determine the short- and long-term costs
of different erosion prevention measures,
using long-term forecasts of erosion
control performance in the context of sea
level rise.
3. Transfer new knowledge and tools to
relevant stakeholders.
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
Short and Long-term Cost
Calculations
• Forecast erosion control performance in
context of sea level rise scenarios
• Consider broad array of costs:
– Capital and operating costs
– Impacts on adjacent upland properties
– Impacts on public uses
– Impacts on ecosystem services
$$$
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
Engage Key Stakeholders and
Shoreline Decision-Makers
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Property owners
Experts and consultants
Government regulators
Policy and law makers
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
Geographic
Scope
• Tappan Zee
Bridge to Troy
Dam
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
Collaborative Process
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Active engagement of intended users
throughout the process
Formal structure of teams with clear
roles
Consensus process
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
Link to Regional Climate
Change Adaptation Initiatives
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NYS Sea Level Rise Task Force
Rising Waters
Hudson Valley Climate Change Network
NYS Ocean & Great Lakes Initiative
NYSERDA initiatives
Others TBD
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
Challenges
• Technical challenges in ecosystem
studies, economic analyses, and outreach
• Complex array of incentives, disincentives,
policies and other factors guide erosion
control
• Diverse stakeholders
• Decision-makers often focus on
minimizing short-term costs
• Climate change unknowns
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
Opportunity!
• Wider acceptance of climate change
adaptation imperatives
• Excellent team and partners
• Vital issue
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
Betsy Blair
Manager, Hudson River NERR
Manager, Hudson River Habitat Protection Program
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
(845) 889-4745 x113
[email protected]
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation