Sea-level rise adaptation measures in local communities of Zhejiang Province, China

Abstract China is a country that is particularly negatively affected by the challenge of sea-level rise (SLR), which will increasingly threaten the country's coastlines. As a result, it is vital that China's local communities adapt to these impacts. This paper assesses how local decision-makers in coastal communities of Zhejiang Province perceive SLR adaptation and how the decision-makers act on these perceptions. We also investigate the effect of an information brochure on local decision-makers' knowledge, awareness, and policy actions regarding SLR adaptation. The results show that decision-makers located along the Zhejiang coast have little knowledge of climate change and SLR, and they do not place a high priority on the issue of SLR. While providing local decision-makers with relevant information could increase their knowledge and awareness of the need to act, it will not necessarily lead to action.

[1]  T. Maraseni,et al.  Climate change, poverty and livelihoods: adaptation practices by rural mountain communities in Nepal , 2012 .

[2]  Maren A. Lau.  Integrated Coastal Zone Management in the People’s Republic of China – An Assessment of Structural Impacts on Decision-making Processes , 2005 .

[3]  O. Pilkey,et al.  Society and Sea Level Rise , 2004, Science.

[4]  A. Patt,et al.  Adaptive capacity and human cognition: The process of individual adaptation to climate change , 2005 .

[5]  L. Chelleri,et al.  Vulnerability to the effects of climate change and adaptation: The case of the Spanish Ebro Delta , 2012 .

[6]  F. Zelli,et al.  Technologies for adaptation to climate change , 2010 .

[7]  S. Moser,et al.  More than information: what coastal managers need to plan for climate change , 2008 .

[8]  Bo Tian,et al.  Forecasting the effects of sea-level rise at Chongming Dongtan Nature Reserve in the Yangtze Delta, Shanghai, China , 2010 .

[9]  D. Orozco,et al.  The effect of written information on adherence to antibiotic treatment in acute sore throat. , 2005, International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents.

[10]  E. Somanathan,et al.  The importance of being informed: Experimental evidence on demand for environmental quality , 2008 .

[11]  Juan L. González,et al.  Coastal erosion and village relocation: a Colombian case study , 2000 .

[12]  J. Shogren,et al.  Linking Adaptation and Mitigation in Climate Change Policy , 2000 .

[13]  R. Pielke,et al.  The neglected heart of science policy: reconciling supply of and demand for science , 2007 .

[14]  H. Lee,et al.  Using Regression Discontinuity Design for Program Evaluation , 2008 .

[15]  Dale Goodhue,et al.  Task-Technology Fit and Individual Performance , 1995, MIS Q..

[16]  Stephen F. McCool,et al.  The Impact of Scientific Information on Ecosystem Management: Making Sense of the Contextual Gap Between Information Providers and Decision Makers , 2008, Environmental management.

[17]  J. Cordery,et al.  Production uncertainty as a contextual moderator of employee reactions to job design. , 1999, The Journal of applied psychology.

[18]  Elliot Bendoly,et al.  Moderating effects of information access on project management behavior, performance and perceptions , 2007 .

[19]  Qinghong Zhang,et al.  Impact of landfalling tropical cyclones in mainland China , 2010 .

[20]  Wu Qiang,et al.  Relative sea-level rising and its control strategy in coastal regions of China in the 21st century , 2003 .

[21]  John W. Payne,et al.  How important is information format? An experimental study of home energy audit programs , 1986 .

[22]  A. Khouakhi,et al.  Impacts of sea-level rise on the Moroccan coastal zone: Quantifying coastal erosion and flooding in the Tangier Bay , 2009 .

[23]  S. Poulos,et al.  The consequences of a future eustatic sea-level rise on the deltaic coasts of Inner Thermaikos Gulf (Aegean Sea) and Kyparissiakos Gulf (Ionian Sea), Greece , 2009 .

[24]  W. Adger,et al.  Adaptation to climate change in the context of sustainable development and equity , 2001 .

[25]  Joel E. Cohen,et al.  Coastal Hazards and the Global Distribution of Human Population , 2000 .

[26]  J. Hay,et al.  Coastal systems and low-lying areas , 2007 .

[27]  John N. Lester,et al.  Public perceptions and attitudes towards a forthcoming managed realignment scheme: Freiston Shore, Lincolnshire, UK , 2003 .

[28]  Corinne Le Quéré,et al.  Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis , 2013 .