Florida Atlantic University’s Florida Center for Environmental Studies (CES) is hosting its 2nd Annual Sea Level Rise Summit 2013: Resilience in the Face of Change (SLR SUMMIT 2013) The Summit will be held October 16th & 17th in the heart of downtown Fort Lauderdale’s Arts and Entertainment District at The Conference Center, 301 East Broward Blvd, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, 33301. This year’s summit is in partnership with the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture’s Subtropical Cities Conference taking place October 18th & 19th.
The SLR SUMMIT 2013 culminates several years of related conferences and workshops by CES, under the direction of Leonard Berry, addressing important aspects of climate change. An ad-hoc Steering Committee composed on distinguished representatives of the academic research community, and from the public and private sectors, has worked tirelessly for several months with strong support from CES staff and FAU students, to offer this exciting event to you.
This Year’s SLR Summit brings a full and challenging agenda (AGENDA SLR 2013) focusing on critically important topics and issues of interest for vulnerable coastal communities everywhere, which includes an amalgam of distinguished panelists and speakers from the United States and other countries. The Summit program also includes several sponsored collateral activities such as: two screening of the acclaimed movie SHORED UP (FILM) on the 15th and the 18th, and an exciting New Sea Level Rise and Storm Surge Adaptation Clinic (CLINIC) also on the 18th, plus social events and networking opportunities.
Ricardo A. Alvarez (RICARDO) will moderate the opening session of the Summit from 9:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday 16 October focusing on the topic Sea Level Rise and Storm Surge: A Damaging Combination. Ricardo strongly believes those in the research, education and public outreach communities have a mission of being translators of science to inform and communicate critically important knowledge to professional sectors, to policy-makers, and to the public at large so that effective actions will be taken to adapt to the expected impacts of the combined hazards of sea level rise and storm surge on all aspects of human activity and the built-environment that shelters it.
Sea Level Rise and Storm Surge: A Damaging Combination
- Taking stock of our scientific knowledge of sea level rise, understanding storm surge & its damage on natural and built environments, and examining possibilities for collaboration between scientists and design professionals for the adaptation and resilience of vulnerable communities confronted with the dual threat of sea level rise and storm surge.
Adversity, Opportunity and Resilience: Economic Implications of Sea Level Rise
- Examining economic impacts of sea level rise with a focus on the power, insurance and real estate industries, exploring opportunities for businesses and the issues that government, business, and society will face, including rising mitigation and adaptation costs and economic sustainability in the face of environmental uncertainty.
Integrating the Health Impacts of Sea Level Rise into Resiliency & Adaptation Planning
- Identifying ongoing efforts and gaps in understanding the health impacts of sea level rise on resiliency and adaptation planning and providing perspectives from local, state, and federal partners illuminating the need to increase community resilience to the adverse public health impacts of climate change.
Impacts on the Built Environment – Facing a New Design Paradigm
- Examining the issues facing aging and/or vulnerable public infrastructure such as roads, utilities, electrical grid, water and waste management, and exploring new approaches to design thinking that should drive decisions in the immediate, near, and long-term future, along with addressing the needs of architects, planners and others charged with designing the built environment in the face of sea level rise and other climate change related impacts.
Adaptation, Innovation & Resilience on a Local, National & International Front
- Identifying a potential adaptation strategy tool kit for Florida and by extension similar coastal areas nationally and globally and developing a concise set of recommendations for mitigation and adaptation approaches and priorities aiming at truly sustainable adaptation, linking local experience with insights from our international experts.
While the Government Sequester mandated by the Congress, and now the Government “Shutdown’, have prevented or made it extremely difficult for colleagues from federal agencies to attend the Summit, it must be noted that important content reflected in the summit agenda has been contributed by several of these dedicated individuals.
May you all enjoy a rewarding and challenging experience while attending the SLR SUMMIT 2013.