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Coastal Resilience and Sustainability Initiative

Background

Learn how the Coastal Resilience and Sustainability Initiative got started and where we are headed.

How We Started

In the Fall of 2019, Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Arden charged a faculty leadership team to develop an interdisciplinary coastal resilience and sustainability effort at NC State that would lead to practical solutions to address the challenges of climate change, resilience, and sustainability in the coastal zone.

The leadership team responded in a White Paper delivered in December 2020.

Resilience with Sustainability

Resilience is often conceptualized as the ability for socio-ecological systems to bounce back after disturbance. Resilience with sustainable is conceptualized as bouncing forward to better (more just and sustainable) future states. “Just” is way of emphasizing justice, which is often the term that best encompasses diversity, equity, and inclusion. And, there are ample opportunities for advancing mitigation and adaptation through innovation that is driven with and for communities. These innovations that enable us to bounce forward should result in enhanced quality of life for all beings (embracing multiple ways of knowing and values) by enabling continuity of ecosystem services (provisioning, regulating, cultural and supporting services).

NC State Has What It Takes

NC State has many strengths to support this initiative.

  • Innovation in science and engineering
  • New approaches to public infrastructure and renewable energy
  • Sustainable business acumen
  • Leadership in systems modeling, prediction and visualization
  • Leadership in K-12 and informal education to build scientific literacy
  • A world-class extension network
  • Numerous community partnerships

Over 200 NC State faculty members are already engaged and working to improve coastal resilience and sustainability in North Carolina.

Strong Partnerships Are Key

This initiative will leverage other efforts at NC State and build bridges to the many groups beyond our campus that share our vision.

  • Kenan Institute for Engineering, Technology and Science Climate Leaders Program
  • Institute for Emmerging Issues
  • N.C. Cooperative Extension
  • NC Climate Office
  • NC Sea Grant, supported by NOAA
  • US Geological Survey’s Southeast Climate Adaptation Science Center
  • And many more…

Together, with our partners, there is so much we can do to address this defining issue of our time.