Climate change, seaports, and coastal management in Brazil: An overview of the policy framework

Abstract

Seaports are exposed to a variety of coastal risks, particularly when considering the effects of climate change, due to their location in the land–sea interface. The vulnerability of seaports, besides the robustness and design of their infrastructures, is also directly related to their adaptive capacity. A policy framework plays an important role in facing the effects of climate change by virtue of planning and supporting the implementation of adaptive measures. This research aims to identify and evaluate the extent to which the climate change topic is addressed by the port planning, coastal management, and climate adaptation policies of Brazil. A policy review was carried out and the documents were evaluated based on the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goal 13 (climate action) targets. A multiscale analysis was performed to identify how different management levels address the topic in their planning. The results suggest that although Brazil has effectively addressed the climate issue with its Adaptation National Plan, the coastal management framework and primarily port planning both remain uncertain. The existing coastal policies for climate adaptation purposes remain virtually not implemented, and accomplishments related to port adaptations are based only on a recent national sustainability guideline agenda. Although climate change impacts are perceived on a local scale, the Brazilian coastal ports and cities have not institutionalized efforts to taking climate-adaptive actions. This observed gap points out the necessity of policymakers to enhance the planning and application of adaptation measures at the local level, as well as promote the cooperation between multiscale sectoral agencies. This overview illustrates several opportunities to update, redesign, and innovate coastal and port management instruments to address climate-related issues. Nature-based Solutions would appear as a fundamental approach to be incorporated in multi-scale policy frameworks, which would support coastal ports and cities in their becoming climate-resilient, thus containing socio-economic losses and environmental deterioration.