The Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy (ACCAP) and the Southern Climate Impacts Planning Program (SCIPP), NOAA CAP/RISA teams, worked together to publish a new article titled, “Building resilience to extreme weather and climate events in the rural water and wastewater sectors.” Investigators from both teams use a multiple case study approach to assess weather-related extremes affecting rural water management, sensitivities influencing susceptibility to harm from extreme events, and the capacity-building features of networks. One study from each region (western Alaska and southern Louisiana) interviewing rural water and wastewater managers and service providers were used as both are characterized by low coastal elevation, extreme weather events, and service to rural and underserved populations, defined by populations of 50,000 people or less.
The investigators report a range of interrelated historical, environmental, and social factors that influence vulnerability to extreme weather events. Formal and informal social networks serve multiple roles in building resilience. These roles include building technical and financial capacities, supporting emergency response and operational- to long-term planning, fostering data collection and monitoring, supporting information sharing and innovative research, and providing institutional support. Efforts to build equitable partnerships and networks to support resilience are also likely to be enhanced through respecting local knowledge and ways of knowing, integrating local values and priorities into strategic design, sharing resources, and respecting time.
This work was partially funded by NOAA’s Sectoral Applications Research Program (SARP).
For more information, contact Jessica Garrison.
Image credit: Bridget Besaw
