Risk Perceptions and Adaptation to Climate Change and Sea-Level Rise: Insights from General Public Opinion Survey in Florida
Publication: Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management
Volume 146, Issue 3
Abstract
The Everglades is a unique ecosystem in Florida that offers a variety of ecosystem services (ES), including water supply and flood risk reduction, water purification, habitats for several endemic species, and recreational opportunities. Therefore, the ramifications of climate change, an imminent threat to the Everglades ecosystem, are going to affect these ecosystem services drastically. The climate-induced changes to the ecosystem services are going to affect people’s lives and livelihoods in the region. Thus, understanding public perception and preferences is an important step in addressing the impending risk. In this study, we used an online survey to assess residents’ perceptions about the risk of climate change and their views on mitigating potential consequences. We find that people’s perceptions and preferences are shaped by their level of education, age, participation in outdoor recreational activities, and elevation and distance from the shoreline of their residential location from the mean sea-level. In general, people who are concerned about the flooding risk and people who tend to prioritize environmental conservation are more likely to agree with the potential impacts of climate change and sea-level rise and more likely to support proposed measures for adaptation. We discuss the policy implications for developing socially acceptable plans based on the findings regarding people’s perception and preferences for adaptation in this region.
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Data Availability Statement
The data and code related to the analysis presented in this paper will be made available upon request.
Acknowledgments
We acknowledge support from the National Science Foundation (WSC Program; Award No. 1204762 and CRISP Program; Award No. 1832693). We are grateful to Nadia Seeteram for her contribution to survey design and data collection. We are also thankful to Mike Sukop, Vic Engel, Mahadev Bhat, Jessica Bolson, and the SFWSC workshop participants for their feedback and encouragement in pursuing this study.
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Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management
Volume 146 • Issue 3 • March 2020
Copyright
©2019 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Aug 14, 2018
Accepted: Jun 17, 2019
Published online: Dec 30, 2019
Published in print: Mar 1, 2020
Discussion open until: May 30, 2020
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