Sea level rise (SLR) is directly influenced by climate change through the processes of temperature affecting the growth and decay of continental ice (Barron and Thompson 1990). It is a significant environmental challenge that threatens coastal areas of many nations throughout the world. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report issued in 2007 states that SLR poses a serious challenge to sustainable development along many coastal areas. The objectives of this thesis are to examine the SLR management issue both in the P.R.C. and the U.S, identify the government agencies that are concerned with SLR issues in the two countries and the specific programs that have been conducted by these agencies, analyze the key obstacles to managing risks associated with SLR, and recommend actions to address some of these challenges. The research methods include reviewing the monitoring efforts, laws, and administrative systems dealing with SLR in the U.S. and the P.R.C., surveying a panel of experts consisting of government agency administrators and researchers in the two countries, and performing vulnerability analysis through case studies of two significant coastal areas in the U.S. and the P.R.C. The research findings indicate that the SLR monitoring efforts of the two countries are very similar, both in terms of technology used and the density of monitoring stations along the coastlines. However, different stages of policy development related to SLR were evident, with the U.S. having established a more integrated federal and state-level policy framework for incorporating SLR issues into coastal planning through the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972. Currently, risk assessments and some planning activities similar to those conducted in the U.S. are being implemented or are under development by policy makers in the P.R.C.. The main obstacles reported by the experts in both countries to systematically incorporating SLR risks into coastal zone planning were limited budgets, public apathy and the presence of other pressing coastal management issues. Public education efforts designed to convey the potential risk of SLR to stakeholders of specific coastal communities, including possible socioeconomic and environmental consequences, would appear to be a logical strategy to address key reported obstacles to integration of SLR risks into long-term coastal planning.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LSU/oai:etd.lsu.edu:etd-06062011-083753 |
| Date | 09 June 2011 |
| Creators | Chen, Mo |
| Contributors | Reams, Margaret, Wascom, Mike, Lam, Nina |
| Publisher | LSU |
| Source Sets | Louisiana State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.lsu.edu/docs/available/etd-06062011-083753/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached herein a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to LSU or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below and in appropriate University policies, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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