What is the Adaptation Forum?
The Adaptation Forums are quarterly meetings to bring together professionals in adaptation including local municipal government staff, scientific experts, private sector engineers, state and federal agency staff, NGOs and other stakeholders to facilitate regional coordination, information exchange and share adaptation best practices.
Addresses concerns, best practices and collaboration for adaptation to SLR in Virginia.
Meeting since late 2012, the forums have built a network of professionals that share information, adaptation lessons learned, and provide an opportunity for stakeholders to discuss science and policy in an informal setting. The forum has two main functions.
OBJECTIVE ONE
Provide an opportunity for up-to-date research on flooding and SLR to be presented to those who will be using it to make public policy decisions. New research on SLR, flood modeling and adaptation options is constantly being released, and the forum allows for researchers and users to present their findings and answer questions from local government staff.
OBJECTIVE TWO
Provide an opportunity for dialogue and networking between information providers and users. This allows for the deliberation and discussion of current research, the sharing of best practices between local government staff from different communities, and the identification of specific research needs in Hampton Roads that can be addressed by the regional academic community. Using information from the forum, local government staff have made recommendations to update comprehensive plans to incorporate sea level rise and floodplain management ordinances to address increased flooding risks and recent regulatory changes.
