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Valuing Maine’s Beaches: Assets, Challenges, and Actions for Today and Tomorrow

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Plenary Session I

The Economic Impact of Climate Change on Southern California Beaches

• Linwood Pendleton, Senior Fellow, The Ocean Foundation

Climate-driven sea level rise will have two important impacts on beaches: (1) higher sea level will cause all beaches to become narrower and (2) sea level rise may affect patterns of beach erosion and accretion when severe storms combine with higher high tides. We examined the physical and economic effects of permanent beach loss caused by inundation due to sea level rise of one meter and of erosion and accretion caused by a single, extremely stormy year (El Niño 1982/1983.) We used a novel model of beach choice in Southern California that examines the impacts of changes on beach width for beach users visiting public beaches in Los Angeles and Orange Counties. We found that the effect of climate-driven beach change is different for users that participate in bike path activities, sand-based activities, and water-based activities. We simulated the effects of climate-related beach loss on attendance patterns at 51 public beaches, beach-related expenditures at those beaches, and the non-market (consumer surplus) value of beach going to those beaches. We found that increasing sea level causes an overall reduction of economic value in beach going, but with some beaches experiencing increasing attendance and beach-related earnings while others lose attendance and earnings. The potential annual economic impacts from a single stormy year may be as large as those caused by permanent inundation that would result from a rise in sea level of one meter. The presentation also provides simple estimates of the cost of mitigating beach loss by nourishing beaches with sand.

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Last updated on June 2, 2009

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