Wave climate variability is important for assessing coastal hazards and inform coastal planners of coastal adaptations needed. We wrote a paper on wave climate variability (link) in the South West of Vanuatu to improve coastal hazard assessments in this region where monitoring data are often absent.
Anticipated sea level rise in coastal regions is expected to worsen the impact of coastal hazards such as erosion, inundation and flooding from storm surges. Accordingly, the resulting impacts on coastal settlements and infrastructure will be widespread. These impacts are particularly critical in small islands as the settlements and infrastructure are mainly located along coastlines with almost no, or very limited relocation options.
Adapting to changing climate requires taking steps to prevent or reduce the negative impacts of these changes on socio-ecological systems. It also requires the integration of disciplines, stakeholders, different modelling approaches, treatment options, and scales of analysis. To address these issues, we reviewed 116 peer-reviewed research papers to understand planning frameworks, methods and tools utilised in the region.