As Inland Becomes Coastal: Shifting Equity and Flood Risk in the Amite River Basin (USA)

Abstract

Coastal Louisiana is experiencing the most rapid relative sea-level rise in the US due to a combination of a subsiding delta and rising coastal waters. Consequently, the influences of extreme coastal weather are reaching farther inland and impacting urban areas where traditional environmental policy, organised at the parish (county) level, is unable to address this changing flood risks. This situation is most prominent in the metro Baton Rouge region with the largest city situated upstream from two small, but rapidly growing, parishes. Following a massive flood in 2016, the upstream parishes have undertaken policy adjustments to facilitate the expulsion of water toward downstream neighbors and foster redevelopment in the floodplain. The lower parish has expressed concerns about the anticipated increases in discharge to be sent its way. Although the state is concerned with rising sea levels, it has not merged coastal and inland flood policy considerations. Downstream residents have little voice in upstream policy making and the absence of basin-wide management strategy perpetuates emergent risks and environmental injustices. As climate change drives coastal conditions inland, the misalignment between locally based governance and regional environmental realities will become more pronounced and exacerbate social injustices.