Adaptive Strategies for Coastal Resource Management in the Era of Climate Change: Literature Review
Keywords:
Climate Change Adaptation, Coastal ManagementAbstract
Purpose: The study aims to clarify the responsive steps taken in the management of coastal resources in order to address the growing climate stresses. It seeks to identify and categorize adaptation approaches, and to evaluate their effectiveness in promoting sustainable and resilient governance.
Subjects and Methods: The research is a systematic literature review based on 84 peer-reviewed journal articles and authoritative grey literature published between 2000–2025. The analysis focused on identifying patterns, typologies, and governance frameworks employed in coastal resource management.
Results: The review identified a typology consisting of four main areas of response: (1) Institutional and policy-based modes; (2) Community-based adaptation; (3) Ecosystem-based frameworks; (4) Technology-infrastructure responses. Findings reveal increasing complexity in coastal governance under conditions of epistemic uncertainty, with innovation occurring alongside institutional inertia. Decentralized governance has gained prominence but remains limited by regulatory constraints, jurisdictional fragmentation, and short-term focus. Ecosystem-based interventions offer long-term benefits but face challenges in policy integration and implementation. Technological and infrastructure responses help manage immediate risks but often neglect equity and long-term resilience.
Conclusions: The study highlights the need for systems-based, iterative-learning, and cross-scalar interaction frameworks in adaptive governance. It suggests that future management should move beyond short-term fixes and adopt proactive, inclusive, and resilient approaches. The findings offer both theoretical and empirical opportunities for policy change, capacity building, and improved resource planning to confront escalating climate impacts.
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