Community engagement for increased resilience to coastal hazards at local geopark, Caota sand dunes Taiwan

Abstract

A new Geopark in Taiwan (Caota) currently conserves the most complete coastal sand dune system on the island. The imperatives of this geopark; coastal protection, nature conservation, education and local community engagement align well with the Nature-based Solutions (NbS) concept. NbS entails an all-inclusive management approach by creating partnerships for long-term resilience to hazards and provide multiple social and environmental benefits. Even though local community collaboration and partnerships proves to be key in these concepts, it remains challenging. In the development of the Caota Geopark, the community has not been involved from the beginning. The purpose of this study is to learn how the belated involvement has affected collaboration, what benefits the local community members perceive and how community engagement can be further enhanced for improved hazard control. Data for this study are collected through in-depth interviews and focus-group discussions with local stakeholders and community members that are actively involved in geopark management. The results point out that education and awareness building through various workshops and events have contributed to an increased sense of responsibility and commitment from within the local community. The desire to protect and enhance the environment has led to various bottom-up initiatives. However, the community indicates that they are lacking benefits from the geopark, which prevents more (and younger) people to be included in future geopark management. Evidently, community perceptions have a strong role in conservation and disaster risk reduction strategies and they should be included early on in the development process to optimize multiple benefits.