MOREHEAD CITY – Local governments along with coastal residents and business owners will soon sit down with climate scientists, state and federal agencies and other experts to discuss one of the most pressing issues facing our coast: how to make their communities and businesses more resilient to climate impacts and intense weather events.
The North Carolina Division of Coastal Management is partnering with the North Carolina Coastal Federation and other organizations to host the North Carolina Coastal Resilience Summit June 11-12 at the Havelock Tourist and Event Center.
In October 2018, Gov. Roy Cooper signed Executive Order 80 calling for the preparation of the North Carolina Climate Risk Assessment and Resilience Plan that will set a framework for integrating climate adaptation and resiliency planning into state policies, programs and operations. The Order recognizes the need for better preparedness for rising sea levels, frequency and severity of flooding, increasing extreme weather, changing groundwater conditions and other shifting natural conditions.
The summit will feature presentations and panel discussions about coastal hazards and showcase strategies for protecting human life and health, property, natural and built infrastructure, cultural resources, and other public and private coastal assets. Information and ideas presented at the summit will help generate potential strategies for inclusion in the state’s new resiliency plan which is to be completed by March 2020.
The summit is open to the public. Pre-registration is required at nccoast.org/resilience, and the deadline to register is June 5th. Registration cost is $45.
For more information about the summit, contact Ana Zivanovic-Nenadovic at anaz@nccoast.org or 252-393-8185.
The summit is hosted by the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality – Division of Coastal Management in coordination with the North Carolina Coastal Federation, Eastern Carolina Council, Cape Fear Public Utilities Authority, Albemarle Commission, Mid-East Commission, The Nature Conservancy, North Carolina Sea Grant, UNC School of Government, Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Partnership (APNEP), Brooks Pierce and others.
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