Build in prevention and preparedness to improve climate resilience in coastal cities: lessons from China’s GBA
Urban environment and climate experts from the University of Nottingham Ningbo China and research institutions in the Greater Bay Area (GBA) are challenging decision-makers, urban planners, water and civil engineers, and developers to work together with coastal communities to improve “prevention” and “preparedness”. That is the best opportunity to put this as the “top” agenda before the COP26 upfront at Glasgow for improving climate resilience in global coastal cities.
The commentary – “Build in prevention and preparedness to improve climate resilience in coastal cities: lessons from China’s GBA” – has been honorably invited and published in the influential academic journal One Earth (Cell Press). The commentary paper is led and authored by Dr. Faith Chan (SoGS, UNNC) and co-authored with Dr. Wendy Chen (Geography, University of Hong Kong) and the leading scholars that Faith is currently working in the GBA Climate resilience project such as Prof David Chen (CUHK and CUHK SZ), Dr. Jianfeng Li (HKBU) and research partners such as Prof Wei (Wayne) Huang, Dr. Crystal Cai (both College of Business, SUSTech). Alongside the global leading urban environment experts in CAS IUE, Prof Yong-Guan Zhu and Prof Wei-Qiang Chen and Prof Yanfang Sang from CAS IGSNRR. Also, with Faith’ research partners on community resilience such as Prof Yi Peng (ZUFE), Prof May Tan-Mullins (James Cook University Singapore), on urban hydrology - Dr. James Griffiths (NIWA), on environmental chemistry and pollution control-Prof. Jun He, and the world -leading expert in information system Prof Patrick YK Chau (NUBS, UNNC).
Faith is leading this strong authorship team with Wendy alongside his research students on the related flood, climate resilience, and water studies such as Xiaohui Lu (DTP UNNC-CAS IUE), Xinbing Gu (DTP UNNC – ZUFE), Yunfei Qi, Yuyao Xu (both SoGS, UNNC) and Zilin Wang (now at UCL).
The article highlights the disastrous consequences of coastal floods towards global coastal cities, this commentary particularly argues the necessities and essentials to improve coastal resilience through “prevention” and “preparedness” by the case of GBA that combines with 11 coastal cities including Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions.
In fact, more than 120 million people will settle in the GBA, which covers large coastal cities such as Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong, alongside another 8 GBA coastal cities. GBA cities are vitally important to the nation in relation to their socio-economic contributions that are reflected for its GDP accounting significantly for 11.3% of the total national GDP in 2020. Unfortunately, the region is often hit by typhoons, surges, and rainstorms as the Hong Kong Observatory also recorded more than 20 typhoons that 80% of which enhanced intensive rainstorms that cover multiple cities in the GBA region. Hence, the OECD and World Bank have alarmed Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hong Kong will be highly exposed to coastal flood risk by 2050s and beyond if nothing to be addressed now.
Whilst, Faith and his teammate have done substantial research about the progress of flood risk management in Hong Kong and the GBA region and found that from their previous study that even invested heavily in engineered measures and technologies, floods still occurred severely because 1. Urbanisation rate is too fast and hard for the local drainage system to be coping with; 2. Climate extremes remain a major challenge as the intensity, magnitude and frequency of rainstorms, surges and sea-level rise are increasing according to the last IPCC AR5 report and latest (still publishing) AR6 report that will be discussed further in COP26 in the next few weeks.
That said – we have to take the opportunity to improve current climate resilience, particularly this comment paper further discusses the GBA governments have worked together tightly on setting up the “Joint working group in GBA” to enhance transboundary climate action on sharing co-learning experiences. They overcome the barrier of governance and jurisdiction barriers (e.g. different legislation on “One Country, Two Systems” of climate, water issues, and planning laws) between 9 cities and 2 Special Administrative Regions. They establish a better understanding between GBA’ 11 coastal cities on community-based prevention, emergency preparedness, and post-disaster recovery in prior to setting up long-term regional climate adaptation plans towards 2050s and beyond.
In this comment paper, the research team urges the governments in GBA and elsewhere for global coastal cities to put “prevention” and “preparation” into their FRM strategies, for example, best use of social media and smart technologies ahead for the new era of mobile communication to coastal communities and increase preparation and awareness.
In conclusion, they encourage global coastal cities to learn from GBA case, to enhance better climate governance among all actors across the stakeholders (e.g. Met office, flood bureau, planning department, emergency services, communities, civil society, insurers, and developers, etc.) by following the global climate resilience frameworks (i.e. Sendai Framework for Disaster Reduction, WMO) in prior to co-produce the climate action plan that conducts better climate adaptation plan and practices. Climate resilience and adaptation of coastal cities are still the top agenda in the up-coming COP26.
Please read our full article here at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2021.09.016
About author
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Geographical Sciences / Faculty of Science and Engineering
Professor in Environmental Sciences, Head of Department of Geographical Sciences
Dr Faith Chan specialises in international water management policies, particularly in sustainable flood management and planning practices, flood risk assessment practices in the UK, Europe and East Asian coastal cities, deltas and their applications in both developed and developing countries.