Sea level rise hazardscapes of North Carolina: Perceptions of risk and prospects for policy

Abstract

Like other risk management strategies, effective sea level rise response must suit local socio-ecological contexts. These include particular civic discourses, perceptions of agency, and analytic deliberation, the latter integrating scientific information with local knowledge and social values. We describe three cases in eastern North Carolina, in the southeastern United States, with differing conceptions of economic development, environmental change, governance, property rights, and social collectivities. On the flat coastal plain and barrier islands, wetland conservation, soft engineering, and other coastal zone management options can protect shorelines from flooding and erosion, whereas hard engineered structures can cause long term problems. Fearing that scientific information would lower real estate values, a well-financed advocacy group averted public discussion of proactive policy by deploying discursive and legislative strategies to suppress scientific decision support. We find that a study site with high financial resources showed the most resistance to science-based adaptation in the public interest, whereas a study site with minimal financial resources was the most receptive. Ideology proves to be a significant consideration in the framing of information to advance coastal policy.