Hazard Resilient Coastal Communities
LaDon Swann, Director NOAA’s Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium and
Auburn University Marine Center
Nine Consortium Members
USM is fiscal host.
Sea Grant Focus Areas
• Safe and Sustainable Seafood Supply
• Hazard Resilient Coastal Communities
• Sustainable Coastal Development
• Healthy Coastal Ecosystems
Yearly, more people die from this natural hazard than
all others combined
1. Hurricanes2. Lightening3. Earthquakes4. Tornadoes5. Heat6. Tsunamis7. Volcanoes
Question One• How does your organization communicate the
health and social impacts of natural and man-made disasters, including those that may be associated with changes in climate? What should that communication include?– MASGC communicates directly to constituent groups
and our messages are grounded in the most credible science available.
– MASGC uses community based social marketing– Regional Climate Community of Practice (CoP)
Hazard Resilient Coastal Communities
A Community of Practice is a group of professionals who aim to achieve common outcomes. By working together, they can learn from one another and develop a set of effective common approaches that can be refined over time.
Question Two• What mitigation or adaptation strategies should be
adopted by health and social service agencies, in collaboration with other agencies involved in emergency response and/or coastal resilience?– Peer Listening for mental health issues
• Everyone needs it during a time of crisis• Everyone needs it to help mitigate against the longer term
repercussions from a disaster.
– Medical screening for at-risk groups– Long-term longitudinal studies using a suite of well-being
indicators
Question Three• How should the health and social aspects of coastal
community resilience be measured– Million dollar question…..– The answer should be determined by a diverse group of people and
led by health professionals– The metrics may not always be the ones that are routinely collected,
but they serve as a very good starting point• What are the best indicators of well-being?
– Mental health metrics are, in my opinion, too often overlooked– Metrics should have a historical baseline so far comparisons can be
made• Measuring PAHs, for example, were little more than a snapshot in time
because there was little historical data from our region
Pol
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Social Networks
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Socio-Economic Valuation
Pol
icy
Act
ions
Non-policy Driven FactorsAdvocacy Groups
NGOs/INGOsNot-for-profit Organizations
Decision Support
Policy-Driven FactorsEnvironmental Regulation
Economic Regulation and ReformSocial Programs
Access to servicesAltruism
Clean environmentEconomic growth
Ecosystem conditionEducation
HealthLeisure time
Life satisfaction/ happinessNutrition
Public InfrastructureSafety and security
ShelterSocial cohesion
Spiritual and cultural fulfillmentTopophilia and biophilia
Wealth
Well-Being Domains
Freedom and Choice
Ecosystem ServicesWater Quality Regulation
Air Quality RegulationNatural Hazard Protection
Food & Fiber Recreation and AestheticsAtmospheric Regulation
Soil & Sediment Quality RegulationPest & Disease RegulationWater Quantity Regulation
Social ServicesHealthcare
Public HealthFinancial Assistance
Family ServicesActivismJusticeLabor
Claimed Civil LibertiesEmergency Preparedness
EducationPublic Works
CommunicationCommunity & Faith Based Initiatives
Economic ServicesLabor MarketStabilization
Government BudgetInterest Rates
Redistribution of Income
State of the Economy
Social Conditions
Good governance
SocietalWelfare
Human Well-being
Societal
Well-being
Environmental
Well-being
Economic
Well-being
Subjective Well-being
Basic Human Needs
State of the Environment
Smith, L.M. et al. 2011. Ecosystem services and human well-being: Integrating existing measures of well-being into a conceptual framework. In �review. Ecology and Society.
Maslow's Hierarchy of NeedsCan everything be distilled down to this?
“Normal” Person’s Interpretation
EverythingElse
Seafood
Resilient HomeInsurance
Curry
Sleep Water
Whiskey