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The federal government is giving more than a half-billion dollars to coastal communities to help them use nature-based preventative measures to address climate-related flooding and other disasters.<\/p>\n
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Friday announced it is allocating $575 million to 19 resiliency projects in several states, with a particular emphasis on Native American, urban and traditionally underserved communities that experience repeated floods, wildfires and other weather-related disasters.<\/p>\n
U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said in a statement that the effort was intended to \u201chelp make sure America\u2019s coastal communities are more resilient to the effects of climate change.\u201d<\/p>\n
The projects include more than $72 million for so-called \u201cliving shorelines\u201d in New Jersey, using native plants, oyster reefs and other natural materials to restore and protect waterfronts. There also is money to replace sidewalks with permeable pavement, to top buildings with plants to help absorb heat, and to establish parks in flood-prone areas that can absorb floodwaters.<\/p>\n
Other work<\/a>\u00a0includes climate risk assessments for over 100 Native communities in Alaska, expanding statewide tribal adaptation technical assistance, and sharing local knowledge.<\/p>\n It also includes using nature-based solutions to protect California\u2019s Monterrey Bay, establish native forests to reduce wildfire risk in Hawaii, and open spaces on Rhode Island\u2019s Aquidneck Island.<\/p>\n Officials from NOAA and the U.S. Commerce Department held a press conference Friday in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, to describe some of the work planned for that state, which was\u00a0pummeled by Superstorm Sandy<\/a>. The gathering was held on a bayfront walkway that was rebuilt using government recovery funds after the 2012 storm.<\/p>\n \u201cClimate change is real, it is here, and it is now,\u201d said Shawn LaTourette, New Jersey\u2019s environmental protection commissioner. \u201cWe experience routine flooding that pushes families out of their homes on such a frequent basis. That illustrates the need for federal action and investment.\u201d<\/p>\n The money is part of\u00a0NOAA\u2019s Climate Resilience Regional Challenge<\/a>\u00a0funded by the Inflation Reduction Act.<\/p>\n Environmental groups have long favored natural coastal protection over so-called \u201chard engineering\u201d solutions such as sea walls and bulkheads. Those, they argue, can worsen erosion by causing sand and sediment to scour away from the barriers.<\/p>\n Many coastal communities seek to use a mixture of both types of shore protection in areas where nature-based solutions alone won\u2019t suffice.<\/p>\n But some innovative projects have emerged from this school of thought, including work by New Jersey\u2019s American Littoral Society to protect the eroding shorelines of a river by\u00a0using coconut husk fibers<\/a>\u00a0in mats to stabilize the land where it meets the water.<\/p>\n U.S. Rep Frank Pallone Jr., a New Jersey Democrat, said several of the projects will incorporate rain gardens, \u201cgreen roofs\u201d and permeable pavement to absorb rain water and storm surges rather than carrying them into quickly overflowing sewers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nRecommended Newsletter:<\/strong> CEO Daily provides key context for the news leaders need to know from across the world of business. Every weekday morning, more than 125,000 readers trust CEO Daily for insights about\u2013and from inside\u2013the C-suite. Subscribe Now<\/a>.<\/div>\n