Shoreline change and community-based climate change adaptation: Lessons learnt from Brebes Regency, Indonesia

Abstract

Little is known about the efficacy of community-based climate change adaptation (CBA) for adequately addressing shoreline change. This knowledge is especially urgent in developing countries where shoreline change is very likely to inflict economic burdens on coastal communities. Here, we review a CBA shoreline remediation project in Brebes Regency, Indonesia using a mixed method approach (shoreline change analysis, field visits with semi-structured interviews, and participatory community meetings). The findings reveal that the CBA dependent on reactive adaptation measures did not adequately control coastal erosion. Limited coordination between government agencies and the Brebes CBA practitioners, and a poor understanding of the physical processes occurring along the coast, were major barriers to the success of CBA actions. The CBA actions, in fact, exposed the areas to subsequent erosion, making the effort to manage the shoreline change unnecessary and costly. The CBA actions cannot be effective until coordination among the relevant stakeholders, and knowledge of coastal processes, both improve.