The City of Santa Cruz is developing a coastal resilience and shoreline adaptation strategy for its coastline that seeks to develop and integrate  environmental and social monitoring of distinct climate change “adaptation pathways” with (1) requirements of state coastal law and policy and (2) community resilience and sustainability needs. The city will engage Dr. Lester and OCPC through a subaward, pursuant to a state planning grant, to participate as part of an interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral team that assesses and develops geophysical and social monitoring programs, methods and criteria for implementing strategic shoreline adaptation pathways. Dr. Lester will contribute his expertise in coastal law and management, sea level rise adaptation and California legal and policy requirements to the assessment,
coordination and development of a monitoring program meeting state legal
requirements to support climate change adaptation and resilience in Santa Cruz. The program may serve as a proto-type for implementation of coastal adaptation pathways in other places along California’s coast and beyond. The work performed by Dr. Lester may contribute to the evolution of climate change adaptation pathway theory and evaluation.