Knowra Managed retreat Managed retreat Managed retreat is the planned relocation of people, infrastructure, or activities away from places exposed to hazards, often as part of adapting to climate change.
Planned relocation : The organized movement of people from their homes to safer locations, usually with public support. Managed retreat uses relocation when staying in place no longer offers acceptable safety.
Coastal erosion : The wearing away of shorelines by waves, currents, tides, and other processes. Erosion can make coastal retreat necessary where defenses cannot preserve land or safety.
Coastal armoring : The use of hard structures, such as seawalls and revetments, to defend shorelines from waves and erosion. Armoring attempts to hold the shoreline in place, unlike retreat, which moves assets away.
Environmental justice : The fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people in environmental laws, policies, and decisions. Retreat can distribute costs and benefits unevenly across communities with different resources and political power.
Buyout program : A public program that purchases properties, often after disasters, to move residents away from recurring hazards. Voluntary buyouts can convert exposed properties into open space after residents relocate.
Sea-level rise : A long-term increase in the average level of the global ocean. Rising seas increase chronic flooding and erosion that can make continued coastal occupation untenable.
Living shoreline : A shoreline stabilization approach using vegetation, natural materials, or low-impact structures to reduce erosion. Living shorelines seek to maintain or restore a coast where retreat would relocate development.
Climate migration : Human movement influenced partly or wholly by climate-related environmental change and hazards. Repeated or permanent retreat can become a form of climate-related migration.
Rolling easement : A legal agreement that allows natural features to migrate inland while restricting development that would block their movement. It can make retreat gradual as shorelines shift, rather than requiring a single relocation event.
Floodplain restoration : The recovery of a river floodplain’s natural capacity to store water and support ecological processes. Relocated properties can allow floodplains to absorb high water and reduce downstream risk.
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