Concept of Adaptation – Coastal Measure and Climate Change

Convenor: Yang Zi Qian

This session is centred on the concept of adaptation. As we plan our coastal protection strategies and waterfront infrastructure, climate change is bringing numerous of challenges, uncertainties, and even opportunities. We must ask ourselves what role should adaptation play in these changing circumstances?

For centuries, our focus was on expanding, sometimes at the expense of nature. We are now realizing that our growth and development must work in harmony with nature. As a result, our solutions are increasingly nature-oriented, nature-based, or at least hybrid approaches that incorporate natural elements.

The purpose of this session is to bring together experts and professionals to explore what it means to be adaptive in the context of our coastal environments. We will discuss best practices, lessons learned, and the challenges we face. Finally, we will consider what our future coastlines should look like to remain adaptive in the face of ongoing (climate) change.