Regional governance solutions for sea-level rise adaptation: Perspectives from Humboldt Bay, California

Abstract

Sea-level rise (SLR) is a complex challenge which could require the development of new special-purpose governance arrangements that allow for better coordination across jurisdictions and levels. This paper explores perspectives related to regional coordination for SLR adaptation in Humboldt Bay, California. Humboldt Bay is experiencing one of the fastest rates of SLR on the West Coast and exists in a complex regulatory environment with over 20 government entities, three Tribes, and numerous community members and groups connected to the issue. Through a mixed-methods approach that included 46 semi-structured interviews with and a survey of 107 coastal professionals connected to the Bay, we sought to capture local perspectives related to the barriers and opportunities for SLR adaptation, potential regional governance solutions for SLR, and the incorporation of community and equity considerations into SLR planning. Respondents identified several barriers including competing priorities and timelines, ineffective communication, lack of funding and capacity, and the strictness and inflexibility of environmental regulations and permitting processes. There was near universal agreement among respondents that some form of regional coordination on SLR was necessary, but views on the best governance framework were murkier. There was most support for establishing a formal collaborative partnership among local government entities and least support for creating a new authority with concerns that it could siphon time and funding and create an additional layer of bureaucracy. Most respondents preferred the planning authority to be under shared local and state control and preferred coordination to occur on a bay-wide scale, perhaps nested with planning at other scales. Respondents consistently brought up a need for a neutral facilitator to support coordination and they indicated a need to better incorporate community engagement and equity considerations. Findings reveal that development of novel arrangements related to climate governance needs careful consideration as there are potential advantages and drawbacks to new approaches. Development of these frameworks should not be a top-down process foisted upon local areas, but rather be a more bottom-up process designed and led by local actors with a stake or jurisdiction in the specific climate planning process.