Bay Area Nonprofits SFEI And SPUR Release Groundbreaking Adaptation Atlas

OAKLAND, Calif., May 2, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI) and San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR) launched the San Francisco Bay Shoreline Adaptation Atlas, a landmark report that offers a national model for regional collaboration and proposes a science-based, geographically specific framework to understand and respond to sea level rise.

The result of a two-year collaboration between SFEI and SPUR, the Adaptation Atlas presents a thorough and graphically detailed assessment of the environmental and urban sea level rise-related conditions facing the Bay Area now and in the future. The report cuts across traditional boundaries to daylight "nature's jurisdictions" in 30 unique segments along 400 miles of Bay shoreline.

These new designations offer new opportunities for stakeholders who experience similar hazards and share similar coastal settings to collaborate in developing effective nature-based adaptation strategies. The Adaptation Atlas proposes a suite of nature-based adaptation options specific to each of the 30 unique shoreline segments. It also offers guidance for the regulators, regional governments, planners, and members of local communities on how to integrate these adaptation measures proactively into their long-term plans.

A recent USGS report estimated the cost of sea level rise to the Bay Area at $100 billion in property and infrastructure damage, affecting 400,000 people. For this reason and others, local scientists, engineers, and planners are working proactively on solutions that can serve all of the region's diverse coastal landscapes.

"There is increasing interest in using nature to adapt to sea level rise, but little guidance on where or how," said report co-author Julie Beagle, Deputy Program Director at SFEI.  "This report starts to put contours around the options for nature-based approaches in San Francisco Bay, which we hope will encourage the development of a more resilient and adaptable shoreline."

Major regional agencies, like the Bay Conservation & Development Commission (BCDC) and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), are already adopting the data and concepts into their planning efforts, and over the past year, the SFEI/SPUR team worked with leaders in San Mateo and Marin counties in their county-based adaptation planning processes.

"The Atlas takes some of the mystery out of planning for sea level rise by identifying areas that are connected to each other by nature, and offering solutions that work with nature and natural processes to build resilient shorelines," said co-author Laura Tam, Sustainable Development Policy Director at SPUR. "The Atlas also offers ideas about how communities can begin to plan for the long-term, for when sea levels rise very significantly ? things like how to adjust land use through policy and financial strategies."

For more details about this project, please visit https://www.sfei.org/adaptationatlas. To participate in a report launch webinar being held on May 2 at 2:00 PM PDT, please visit http://bit.ly/adaptationatlaswebinar.

Contact:
Warner Chabot, Executive Director, San Francisco Estuary Institute
[email protected]    510 375-2141

Allison Arieff, Editorial Director, SPUR
[email protected]   (415) 644-4297

San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI) is one of California's premier aquatic and ecosystem science institutes, committed to providing scientific support and tools for decision-making and communication through collaborative efforts. Learn more at www.sfei.org.

San Francisco Bay Planning and Urban Research Institute (SPUR) promotes good planning and good government in the San Francisco Bay Area through research, education, and advocacy. Learn more at www.spur.org.

SOURCE San Francisco Estuary Institute