Designing effective incentives for living shorelines as a habitat conservation strategy along residential coasts
Abstract Shoreline armoring is a pervasive driver of habitat loss and ecosystem decline along coastlines. Nature‐based strategies for coastal protection, such as “living shorelines,” offer potential alternatives to armoring and are rapidly gaining traction among conservation scientists and practitio...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2020-09-01
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| Series: | Conservation Letters |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.12744 |
| _version_ | 1828907411702808576 |
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| author | Steven B. Scyphers Michael W. Beck Kelsi L. Furman Judy Haner Andrew G. Keeler Craig E. Landry Kiera L. O'Donnell Bret M. Webb Jonathan H. Grabowski |
| author_facet | Steven B. Scyphers Michael W. Beck Kelsi L. Furman Judy Haner Andrew G. Keeler Craig E. Landry Kiera L. O'Donnell Bret M. Webb Jonathan H. Grabowski |
| author_sort | Steven B. Scyphers |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Shoreline armoring is a pervasive driver of habitat loss and ecosystem decline along coastlines. Nature‐based strategies for coastal protection, such as “living shorelines,” offer potential alternatives to armoring and are rapidly gaining traction among conservation scientists and practitioners. However, along residential coasts where armoring has often occurred at high rates, transitioning away from armoring has been generally slow. We studied the attitudes, beliefs, and decisions of waterfront homeowners with a goal of identifying effective incentives for living shorelines as a conservation tool for reversing coastal habitat loss. We show that while only 18% of homeowners with armored shorelines would willingly transition to living shorelines during a key window of opportunity, a modest economic incentive could increase the likelihood among 43% of all respondents and up to 61% of recent homeowners. Our study demonstrates potential pathways for navigating social, economic, and environmental influences on landowner decisions for coastal habitat conservation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-13T17:52:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-46bb2ee51cf74fbda7aa478c0bef5e03 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1755-263X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-13T17:52:11Z |
| publishDate | 2020-09-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Conservation Letters |
| spelling | doaj.art-46bb2ee51cf74fbda7aa478c0bef5e032022-12-21T23:36:28ZengWileyConservation Letters1755-263X2020-09-01135n/an/a10.1111/conl.12744Designing effective incentives for living shorelines as a habitat conservation strategy along residential coastsSteven B. Scyphers0Michael W. Beck1Kelsi L. Furman2Judy Haner3Andrew G. Keeler4Craig E. Landry5Kiera L. O'Donnell6Bret M. Webb7Jonathan H. Grabowski8Department of Marine & Environmental Sciences, Coastal Sustainability Institute Northeastern University Nahant MassachusettsInstitute of Marine Science & The Nature Conservancy University of California Santa Cruz CaliforniaDepartment of Marine & Environmental Sciences, Coastal Sustainability Institute Northeastern University Nahant MassachusettsThe Nature Conservancy Alabama Coastal Program Mobile AlabamaUniversity of North Carolina—Coastal Studies Institute & Department of Economics East Carolina University Wanchese North CarolinaDepartment of Agricultural & Applied Economics University of Georgia Athens GeorgiaDepartment of Marine & Environmental Sciences, Coastal Sustainability Institute Northeastern University Nahant MassachusettsDepartment of Civil Engineering University of South Alabama Mobile AlabamaDepartment of Marine & Environmental Sciences, Coastal Sustainability Institute Northeastern University Nahant MassachusettsAbstract Shoreline armoring is a pervasive driver of habitat loss and ecosystem decline along coastlines. Nature‐based strategies for coastal protection, such as “living shorelines,” offer potential alternatives to armoring and are rapidly gaining traction among conservation scientists and practitioners. However, along residential coasts where armoring has often occurred at high rates, transitioning away from armoring has been generally slow. We studied the attitudes, beliefs, and decisions of waterfront homeowners with a goal of identifying effective incentives for living shorelines as a conservation tool for reversing coastal habitat loss. We show that while only 18% of homeowners with armored shorelines would willingly transition to living shorelines during a key window of opportunity, a modest economic incentive could increase the likelihood among 43% of all respondents and up to 61% of recent homeowners. Our study demonstrates potential pathways for navigating social, economic, and environmental influences on landowner decisions for coastal habitat conservation.https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.12744decision‐makingecological restorationparticipatory conservationshoreline armoringsocial‐ecological systemsurban landscapes |
| spellingShingle | Steven B. Scyphers Michael W. Beck Kelsi L. Furman Judy Haner Andrew G. Keeler Craig E. Landry Kiera L. O'Donnell Bret M. Webb Jonathan H. Grabowski Designing effective incentives for living shorelines as a habitat conservation strategy along residential coasts Conservation Letters decision‐making ecological restoration participatory conservation shoreline armoring social‐ecological systems urban landscapes |
| title | Designing effective incentives for living shorelines as a habitat conservation strategy along residential coasts |
| title_full | Designing effective incentives for living shorelines as a habitat conservation strategy along residential coasts |
| title_fullStr | Designing effective incentives for living shorelines as a habitat conservation strategy along residential coasts |
| title_full_unstemmed | Designing effective incentives for living shorelines as a habitat conservation strategy along residential coasts |
| title_short | Designing effective incentives for living shorelines as a habitat conservation strategy along residential coasts |
| title_sort | designing effective incentives for living shorelines as a habitat conservation strategy along residential coasts |
| topic | decision‐making ecological restoration participatory conservation shoreline armoring social‐ecological systems urban landscapes |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.12744 |
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