Adapting to Coastal Climate Change: A Guidebook for Development Plannersprovides a detailed treatment of climate concerns and adaptation options in coastal areas.  Developed in conjunction with the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the Guidebook is both a tool itself and a link to other resources valuable for assessing vulnerability, developing and implementing adaptation options, and integrating options into programs, plans, and projects at the national and local levels.

This coastal adaptation Guidebook is a companion document to theAdapting to Climate Variability and Change – A Guidance Manual for Development Planning, developed by the USAID in 2007.  The six-step vulnerability and adaptation helps planners and stakeholders to assess vulnerability to climate variability and change, and to identify, assess, select, implement, and evaluate adaptation options that reduce climate impacts.

The coastal Guidebook is divided into three sections.  The Summary for Policy Makers, provides an overview of the critical issues and introduces the process to incorporate adaptation within coastal programs.  The Chapters provide practical insight, tools, and references  to plan and implement coastal adaptation.  Chapters 1 through 3 highlight vulnerability assessment and action planning, while Chapters 4 through 6 focus on how adaptation can be mainstreamed, implemented and evaluated.  The Annex of Adaptation Measures includes 17 practitioner briefs which outline approaches for adaptation through management actions and strategies listed below. Many of these will be familiar to coastal management professionals—the climate lens is new, but in most cases the tools are not. A climate change lens means planning with a longer time scale and a wider range of possible variability in mind.