Resilience
Nature-based solutions and the integration of green and gray/traditional measures like seawalls provide cost-effective approaches to protect communities and businesses from increased flooding, hurricanes and sea level rise. Policy solutions include:
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Support the state’s Chief Resilience Officer (CRO) with funding and dedicated staff resources to support increasing investment in and coordination of Resilient Florida projects.
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Create a Resilience Council comprised of leads from state agencies to integrate and coordinate a whole-of-government approach to strengthen planning.
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Support a statewide natural infrastructure assessment regarding the use of mangroves and other nature-based solutions for flood reduction.
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Strengthen flood disclosure laws to include records of past flood damage and include disclosures for renters and leased properties.
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Continue and increase support for additional funding to be designated to the Resilient Florida program within the Department of Environmental Protection to support resilience projects across the state.
Florida's Communities: Resilience in Collier County
Collier County's 37 miles of Gulf coastline leave the county especially vulnerable to the threats of climate change and sea level rise.
What's the scoop on Collier's storm surge study?
In Spring 2023, Collier County and the Corps of Engineers sought input on project ideas that would protect against storm surge.
Most initial proposals presented traditional structural engineering, such as concrete seawalls and gates.
EDF recognized the opportunity to introduce innovative concepts that blended structural measures with local nature-based elements, including mangroves, reefs, and dunes.
EDF teamed up with engineering experts...
To create design concepts that integrate nature-based (green) and traditional hardened (gray) measures, blending the best of both to increase resilience and protection. An example of this integrated approach is shown this image.
What is the path forward?
When structural measures were removed from the scope of the study, so too were the design concepts we proposed that contained any trace of hardened or gray measures. However, this doesn’t mean the County can’t explore these innovative solutions separately.
It's important that nature-based solutions be considered not only in the Corps' study, but also in all of the County's resilience efforts moving forward. It will be critical to consider projects like planting mangroves to mitigate the effects of climate change along Florida's coasts, but it's going to take all of the tools in the toolbox, including traditional methods like seawalls, to be considered alongside them.
As the county moves forward towards finding solutions to protect the region against storms and flooding and residents prepare for the start of hurricane season, it is more important than ever that the County takes a proactive approach to these threats.
The County can look to other local governments, such nearby Punta Gorda, as an example of a community that has taken advantage of Resilient Florida planning money to develop an adaptation plan. This effort is one straightforward way that Collier County can develop similar concepts to what EDF shared with them. The portal for this funding opens on July 1st, and we urge Collier County to apply for funding to develop an adaptation plan in addition to their ongoing vulnerability assessment.