Enhancing the resilience of high-vulnerability, low-elevation coastal zones

Abstract

This paper aims to explore how resilience to climate change can be achieved and optimised within an example of a complex, high-vulnerability and low-elevation coastal zone. In Uist, Outer Hebrides, Scotland, a completed INTERREG project provided a framework for resilience planning in a complex, multifaceted environment, where official bodies, NGOs, academics and the community already work together productively. A range of approaches to coping with climate change in Uist is reviewed, some of these originating from within the community, and the local situation is discussed in the context of the extent to which resilience theory and national policy intertwine. These approaches identify and combine nature-based solutions and compatible engineering-based solutions, demonstrating how resilience can be achieved and enhanced in a vulnerable area via sustained engagement with local communities backed by peer-reviewed research and complying with the policy context.