Towards principles and policy levers for advancing living shorelines: new article published in Journal of Environmental Management


Living shorelines provide an attractive alternative to traditional shoreline armoring, such as bulkheads and seawalls. They stabilize shorelines, reduce erosion, and decrease wave energy, as well as providing recreation opportunities for nearby communities. Before they can be adopted across the landscape, however, there are several policy barriers that must be adapted.

IRIS affiliates Shana Jones and Scott Pippin recently published an article in the Journal of Environmental Management about the need for new approaches to shoreline management. They identified “policy levers,” or legal variables that influence system-wide behavior, in four different categories: erosion and flood control; neighboring stabilization structures; rebuild policies and sea-level rise projections; and jurisdictional boundaries.

Read the whole article here.