“Climate Justice in Frontline Communities: Here’s how to (really) help”

Thursday, September 10, 3-4:30 PM ET

Presenters: Katherine Egland and Harriet Festing, Higher Ground

Description: The Climigration Network Learning Community was honored to host a very special 90-minute presentation and discussion on Thursday, September 10 from 3-4:30 PM ET. In lieu of the many compounding crises across the country, the Climigration Network is deeply privileged to have leaders from frontline communities join us to share their knowledge on how to help affected residents with the ongoing impacts of climate change and environmental injustice. In this session, Harriet Festing, Director of Anthropocene Alliance, introduced Higher Ground to our Learning Community. Her introduction was followed by a presentation from Katherine Egland. Katherine is a flood and BP oil spill survivor, a member of the Higher Ground Council, and co-founder of the Education, Economics, Environmental, Climate and Health Organization (EEECHO), a Gulf Coast environmental and social justice coalition. Katherine also chairs the Environmental and Climate Justice Committee for the National Board of Directors of NAACP and is the co-author of a op-ed in The Hill, "Climate justice in frontline communities: Here's how to (really) help". Katherine's presentation was followed by an extended discussion of how Climigration Network members and the Learning Community can directly foster meaningful relationships and collaborations between academics, practitioners, and the communities they seek to serve. 

We encourage participants to read the this op-ed, linked from The Hill, and to watch the recording of the plenary session below! (The recording does not include the breakout sessions.)

Planned Retreat Approaches to Support Building Long-term Climate Resilience

Thursday, June 25, 12-1PM ET

Presenters: Dr. Brent Doberstein, Dr. Patrick Saunders-Hastings, Michael Bernard, John Sommerville

Description: Dr. Doberstein and the project team shared findings from an environmental scan and current state analysis of planned retreat in Canada and relevant international contexts, prepared for Natural Resources Canada. The team conducted a comprehensive review of planned retreat in the broader context of climate change adaptation processes, teasing out key themes related to triggers, sources of resistance, barriers and enablers of retreat. Analyses informed the development of a set of good practices. Drawing on three case studies of planned retreat discussions and programs from Surrey, BC; Lake Erie, ON; and Gatineau, PQ, Dr. Doberstein discussed key lessons learned and lifted up good practices for learning and replication. This Learning Session delved into how managed or planned retreat looks outside of the U.S. policy and bureaucratic framework.

Watch the session below (the recording does not include breakout group conversations).

Fiscal Challenges of Climate Change and Implications for Managed Retreat

Thursday, May 28, 3-4PM ET

Presenter: Linda Shi, Assistant Professor, Cornell University

Recent disasters and growing concerns about climate change have spurred calls for cities to retreat from and avoid developing in coastal areas. Instead, cities have doubled down on waterfront development. This Learning Session provides an overview of the relationship between local fiscal budgeting, land use planning, and climate change. It shares evidence from Massachusetts and Florida on the impact of sea level rise on local tax revenues, and the implications of this on municipal service provision, adaptation responses, and regional dynamics of housing and inequality of either in-situ adaptation or managed retreat. The session offered an opportunity for practitioners to reflect on how municipalities can respond to fiscal constraints on coastal adaptation, and how they can anticipate the future fiscal impacts of sea level rise.

Watch the session below (the recording does not include breakout group conversations).

Neighborhood-level Resilience to Recurrent Flooding in the City of Hampton, Virginia

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22, 3-4PM EDT

Presenter: Anamaria Bukvic, Assistant professor, Department of Geography, Virginia Tech

Guest Speaker: Skip Stiles, Executive Director, Wetlands Watch, Norfolk, VA

The Climigration Network explored the resilience towards coastal flooding among culturally, historically, and socioeconomically different urban neighborhoods in the City of Hampton, VA, with Anamaria Bukvic (Assistant professor, Department of Geography, Virginia Tech) and Skip Stiles (Executive Director, Wetlands Watch, Norfolk, VA). This Learning Session discussed the results from a household survey about residents’ confidence in ability to cope with recurrent flooding, their prior experiences with flood events, as well as support for different adaptation strategies including permanent relocation. Results show that residents living in the areas more exposed to storm surge and sea level rise also believe their personal vulnerability to flooding is higher. In all surveyed locations, the most frequently experienced flood impacts are school delays and closures, followed by difficulty commuting to work, businesses closures, and yard damage.

Watch the complete session below.

 

Making it Personal: Getting Vulnerable Neighborhoods to Talk About Long-Term Flood Risk

Ever since Hurricane Sandy came barreling up the Atlantic Coast seven years ago, Piermont, NY, has strived to make their small Hudson River-front community resilient in the face of rising seas and more intense storms. The village has made more progress than many. But Piermont’s most vulnerable neighborhoods have gained little ground in having sustained conversations about longer-term options. 

In 2018, three Climigration Network members - Kristin Marcell (NYS DEC’s Hudson River Estuary Program), Nava Tabak (Scenic Hudson), and Bennett Brooks (CBI) - decided to take a step into unchartered and risky territory: bringing together residents from Piermont’s four most at-risk neighborhoods to face the most daunting challenges, including the potential for moving away from the water’s edge. The project embraced several unique aspects:

  • Recruiting and training a small corps of local residents (referred to as liaisons) to help organize and manage discussions with neighbors 

  • Translating vague flooding forecasts into something more tangible and hard to ignore: an individualized assessment of flood risk over the next forty years

  • Using a personal risk tolerance questionnaire to help residents take stock of their unique situation

  • Bringing together residents from the village’s most flood-prone neighborhoods to share their individual perspectives on risk and possible adaptation options

Watch the recording of Kristin, Nava, and Bennett sharing their recent experiences - from innovations and successes to lessons learned.

Catalyzing Community-led Projects on Managed Retreat

The Climigration Network hosted the “Catalyzing Community-led Projects on Managed Retreat” webinar on June 4, 2019. The webinar featured the five 2018 Climigration Awardees highlighting the work accomplished with their 2018 funding, sharing lessons learned, and outlining their next steps and vision for their work moving forward. (More information on the 2018 Climigration Awardees is below the video.)

Speakers (in order of presentations):

  • Harriet Festing, Anthropocene Alliance

  • David Kaye, C.J. Lewis, Cameron Wake, and Julia Peterson, UNH PowerPlay

  • Victoria Herrmann, The Arctic Institute, in coordination with The Lowlander Center

  • Jay Diener and Kirsten Howard, Seabrook-Hamptons Estuary Alliance

  • Robin Bronen, The Alaska Institute for Justice

Background

The Climigration Network, with support from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, awarded $7,500 in 2018 to five organizations to facilitate peer-to-peer learning and fund innovative community-led approaches to the challenge of managed retreat. While every relocation is unique to its people, culture, and needs, we believe as communities seriously consider managed retreat, or undertake it, they can learn from the successes and obstacles of others.

The five winners are situated across the United States, and work across a range of fields, including human rights, applied theater, community advocacy, grassroots organizing, and citizen science. Their approaches are creative, instructive, and uniquely influenced by their local context. Each project focused on using the award to complete one or two small but pivotal steps in a larger vision, positioning them for further support and engagement.(Read more here.)

The 2018 Climigration Awardees:

  • The Anthropocene Alliance - Resident leaders in seven flood-prone, marginalized communities in TX, FL, LA, NY, CT, and VA are exploring ways to discuss managed retreat with their neighbors.

  • The Lowlander Center - Building the space for a dialogue between Bayou-Lowlands “sending communities” and inland-high ground “receiving communities” in Louisiana.

  • UNH PowerPlay - Scientists, experts in technical assistance and outreach, and professional actors developing an interactive applied theater workshop to help improve communication and understanding with communities facing managed retreat.