Coastlines Caught in the Middle: How Development Policy and Sea Level Rise Are Eroding Coastal Ecosystems in the United States

Abstract

Coastal ecosystems provide a tremendous amount of value to human wellbeing. Not only do they yield a wealth of services that benefit humans, such as acting as hatcheries and nurseries for commercially valuable fish species, but they also provide more indirect benefits like protecting nearshore development from coastal storm surges. Climate induced sea level rise presents a unique challenge to coastal ecosystems as the natural attributes between the sea and land are impacted through rising waters. Under ideal conditions, coastal attributes would be able to migrate landward as sea levels rise. But in many areas of the United States, coastal ecosystem migration is prevented by both existing and planned coastal development. In essence, there is no place for the coastline to migrate. In the United States of America, current national and state policies that favor both the creation and protection of coastal development at the expense of protecting coastal ecosystems is playing a significant role in exacerbating this problem. The purpose of this paper is to overview the importance and value of coastal ecosystems, show the impact of sea level rise on coastal ecosystems, and examine the role of current coastal development policy in the United States in exacerbating coastal ecosystem decline in an era of climate change. The goal is to show how existing policies, some aligned to mitigate the impacts of climate change, can have the effect of disturbing—and even eradicating—important coastal ecosystems.