Nonstructural Approaches to Coastal Risk Mitigations

Nonstructural coastal risk mitigation options that deal with society-centered instruments have the potential to contribute jointly to coastal settlement safety through vulnerability reduction and resilience enhancement. The paradigmatic characteristics of vulnerability reduction approaches and resilience enhancement approaches are described. Thereafter, vulnerability reduction measures associated with the use of insurance-based, land use planning-based, business recovery plan-based, communication plan-based, postflood management-based, and evacuation plan-based approaches are presented in terms of guidelines for implementation. Resiliency analysis of these approaches is conducted in parallel. This analysis leads to additional recommendations for implementing specific risk-reducing measures. The authors conclude by stressing the importance of three overarching characteristics of nonstructural mitigation options. The first element that is central to all options lies in the need to adopt approaches that mobilize stakeholders in the implementation process. The second element that is central to all nonstructural mitigation options is the fact that they increase safety through a direct reduction in the consequences of flooding. A third element that nonstructural mitigation options share is the obvious fact that they interact strongly, showing the potential to transcend the sum of their individual contributions.