Abstract
Southern Louisiana and its coastal bayous are sites of both frequent flooding and rapid coastal land loss, exacerbated by the increasing effects of climate change. Though much work has examined flood risk perceptions in coastal areas, few studies have considered the qualitative and contextual dimensions of perceptions of coastal land loss and its associated impacts, and how these perceptions relate to local culture, place, and intentions to mitigate personal exposure to risk. We conducted six focus groups in areas with distinct exposure to coastal land loss. Participants expressed strong attachment to community, culture, and place. Personal ties to land loss through family or social connections, experiences with fishing and water-based activities, and indirect impacts on Louisiana’s seafood industry and cuisine provided a lens for understanding the immediate impacts of coastal land loss. Participants felt that exposure to the risks of land loss was inevitable and that mitigation was beyond individual efforts, a feeling that manifested both as pessimism and as a resilient focus on collective action. Considering state history with political corruption, participants generally distrusted state-level mitigation initiatives. These findings shed light on the qualitative dimensions of coastal land loss perceptions in southern Louisiana and their relation to place attachment, mitigation intentions, and sources of risk information. While participants with personal ties to risk report feelings of exposure and inevitability, they are also embedded in communities with strong ties to place. This nuance only complicates the meanings that individuals associate with land loss and the actions that they are motivated to take; impacts of coastal land loss on the landscape and distinct place characteristics of southern Louisiana may lead to significant disruption to identity and well-being, but also provide a pathway for risk awareness and potential motivation of collective mitigation actions.
Highlights
Introduction iationsSouthern Louisiana, home to nearly half of the state’s population, faces increasing precarity due to climate change-driven flood risks and land loss along the coast [1]
The aim of this study is to examine the qualitative and contextual dimensions of individuals’ perceptions of risks from coastal land loss and flooding, mitigation actions, and the importance of place, culture, and context, as well as the information sources that individuals use to gain knowledge about coastal land loss and flood risks
In delving into the contextual dimensions of how residents in this region perceive the pervasive threats of land loss and flooding, our findings provide insight into the challenges of addressing coastal land loss in southern Louisiana
Summary
Introduction iationsSouthern Louisiana, home to nearly half of the state’s population, faces increasing precarity due to climate change-driven flood risks and land loss along the coast [1]. Over the last 80 years, at least 2000 square miles of land area has disappeared, from the combined effects of subsidence, sea level rise, major hurricane events, and oil and gas infrastructure, among other stressors [2]. The flood control structures that regulate the Mississippi River have limited the deposition of sediments and nutrients needed to maintain broader coastal ecosystems, while other human activity such as the construction of canals for oil and gas production has exacerbated wetland degradation and land loss [1,2]. Accelerated sea level rise is projected to lead to the irreversible collapse of the Mississippi Delta’s coastal marshes over the century [3], and this loss of wetlands that serve as protection against storm surges further exacerbates flood risks [1].
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