CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2013
| Author | Carranza Maxera, Elías Domingo |
|---|---|
| Title | Coastal Management in Costa Rica Under a Changing Climate |
| Summary | Climate change will considerably impact coastal areas. Coastal management has to take into account the pressures that a changing climate represents to coastlines. To assess the vulnerability and adapt to climate change, different information and adaptive responses have been recognized. In Costa Rica’s internal legislation there is practically no mention of a changing climate. However, the country has approved regional and national climate change strategies. These describe coastal areas as priority sectors for climate change vulnerability assessment and adaptation. Even though Costa Rica has approved these strategies, some of its sectors continue to cause more risk in coasts, which are some of the most vulnerable areas to climate change. The country’s latest coastal planning proposals continue to ignore the pressures represented by a changing climate. Costa Rica does not have many resources to invest in adaptation to a changing climate. In addition, the country is part of a region that is one of the most vulnerable to climate change. However, the country has good chances to adapt to a changing climate, because the majority of its coastline has experienced a minimum development and the first 200-meters from high tide are of public domain. If Costa Rica wants to reduce the associated risks of a changing climate, it would have to adjust the nature of its coastal development. The old planning practices would have to be modified and adapted to the new climate reality. Bigger setbacks should be established, building codes have to be amended, coastal development must be concentrated in the areas less vulnerable to climate change and more resources should be invested in climate science. If the strategies described in this research are effectively implemented, Costa Rica will have a better opportunity to reduce future expenses and damages caused by climate change. |
| Supervisor | Pinter, Laszlo |
| Department | Environment Sciences and Policy MSc |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2013/carranza_elias.pdf |
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