Barriers and opportunities for adapting to climate change on the North Coast of São Paulo, Brazil

Abstract

This paper examines barriers and opportunities for climate change adaptation in an urban coastal setting where adaptation is in its infancy. It draws on a diagnostic framework as a foundation for identifying and organising barriers and opportunities in terms of three broad phases of the adaptation process, i.e. (1) understanding the problem, (2) planning adaptation options and (3) managing implementation of such options. Data come from the analysis of documents (e.g. policy, plans and reports) and a survey of 49 representatives from 42 organisations (e.g. government, environmental non-governmental organisations, businesses and local industry and professional associations). Nineteen barriers and/or opportunities pertaining to the different phases of the adaptation process were identified. Three of those barriers (i.e. competing priorities, existing management context and existing ecological context) are our additions to the initial list of common barriers proposed in the diagnostic framework. Barriers pertaining to the understanding phase were the most frequently noted by respondents. The understanding phase was also one which most of the barriers were nevertheless considered as opportunities. Emerging critical barriers and/or opportunities for climate change adaptation included perception of signal, availability and accessibility of information, existing management context and leadership. We propose that addressing these barriers and opportunities would involve improving perception about climate change and availability and accessibility of information, fostering anticipatory planned adaptation through the existing management context and developing leadership for adaptation. Findings from this study may prove useful to other jurisdictions, particularly those where climate adaptation is at its early stages of development.

Changing Trends in Rainfall Extremes in the Metropolitan Area of São Paulo: Causes and Impacts

“…More than 11 million people living in the city of São Paulo in an area of 1,530 km 2 (Figure 1). São Paulo is the leading state on climate adaptation strategies in Brazil (Simões et al, 2017). As pointed out by Di Giulio et al (2018), São Paulo struggles with land-use planning and curbing CO 2 emissions as well as preventing and responding to climate-related impacts.…”

Global costs of protecting against sea-level rise at 1.5 to 4.0 °C

“…7 illustrated that Ghana may have more time to plan adaptation compared with China or Brazil. Coastal adaptation could start to be considered where there is limited long-term management of the coast today, for instance, in Ghana (Sagoe-Addy and Appeaning Addo 2013) or Brazil (Simões et al 2017), or where coastal planning is already constrained by financial, regulatory and management challenges, such as in Egypt (World Bank 2005), China (Moore 2018) or India (Black et al 2017). Other nations face similar challenges.…”

Vulnerability of the São Paulo Macro Metropolis to Droughts and Natural Disasters: Local to Regional Climate Risk Assessments and Policy Responses

“…The identification of hazards and risks related to landslides and floods can be represented by combining the mapping of risk management and territory planning into geotechnical maps, which must be elaborated and integrated into PNPDEC. Simões et al [2], analyzing the context of some Brazilian municipalities on climate change, stated that differing perceptions on the issue, availability, and accessibility of information, existing management context, and leadership are emerging critical barriers for adaptation. Planning and governing in the face of climate change, therefore, needs to adjust its practice to fit local demands.…”

“…Severe droughts, extreme rainfall, and floods have been occurring more severely in various cities in the region during different times of the year. The absence of anticipatory planning adds to barriers for implementing adaptation policies [2], which can lead to loss of life [3], and an increase in the pattern of vulnerabilities [4] and environmental inequalities in cities.…”