2 October 2013: The UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) launched an interactive, web-based database aimed at helping Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries in planning coastal management and preventive measures to adapt to the effects of climate change on their coastal zones.
The database was launched on 2 October 2013 during the Tenth Annual Meeting of the Ibero-American Network of Climate Change Offices being held at ECLAC headquarters in Santiago, Chile.
The database was developed as part of a multi-year project, titled 'Effects of Climate Change on the Coast of Latin America and the Caribbean,' which is being implemented by ECLAC in cooperation with Spain's Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment and the University of Cantabria. This project has produced several reports since 2012, examining the vulnerability of the LAC coastline to projected climate change impacts.
The database provides data on LAC coastal dynamics, climate variability, coastal vulnerability and exposure to climate change, current impact and a projection of predictable risks in the future. Outputs of projected impacts are geo-referenced, with details available for blocks of coastline 5 kilometers (km) wide and 30 km long. Among the variables taken into account by the database are annual sea level rise, changes in wave heights, shifts in wind direction, and erosion and changes in sediment dynamics. The database and associated tools are targeted to LAC planners and policymakers with the aim of improving territorial planning in coastal zones and estimated engineering requirements, as well as to put into place appropriate environmental impact procedures. [ECLAC Press Release] [IISD RS Story on ECLAC Report on LAC Coastal Vulnerability to Climate Change] [Publication: Database web viewer]
read more: http://larc.iisd.org/news/eclac-launches-database-on-climate-change-adaptation-in-coastal-zones/
