Dr. Mukherji Leads Climate Change Adaptation Planning Research

Dr. Mukherji is currently leading a study funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) through the Climate Program Office’s Adaptation Sciences (AdSCi) Program and composed of a diverse team of faculty and student researchers. This work is a partnership with local communities and looks at the intended and unintended consequences of buyout programs as an adaptive response to compound coastal water events (CCWEs). CCWEs are defined as a sequential or combined occurrence of extreme weather events. The research focuses on two rural, flood-prone, underserved, low-income communities in the Carolinas. The research will apply mixed methods to capture the benefits and costs of buyouts while addressing their fiscal and equity challenges. Dr. Mukherji is working with co-PIs Dr. Meghan Millea and Dr. Jamie Kruse at ECU, Dr. Scott Curtis at The Citadel, and Katie Finegan at South Carolina Sea Grant. Student researchers on the team are Nelson Adeniji (MS Geography) and Bella Sardina (BS Planning to MS Planning Accelerated Program).

This study is a follow-on to a previous research project, also funded by NOAA, that assessed the perceived risks and needs of the hazard management and planning community in response to compound water hazards in rural coastal estuarine environments in eastern North Carolina. The result of this research work has been published in the Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Progress in Disaster Science, and Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences.

A summary report is also available online.