ABSTRACT
The riverine system sustained the natural system and human communities developed lifestyles adapted to a dynamic coast and enhanced resilience. If resilience is considered to be the ability to rebound following a disturbance, natural systems and human communities face considerable challenges given the dynamic conditions of this delta setting. Highly developed deltaic coasts, such as the Mississippi Delta, that rely on energy-intensive management, are at high risk for non-sustainable outcomes with climate change in a high energy price. Fostering a connection between formal, top-down government resilience programs that tend to ignore these local networks and practices could yield huge benefits in terms of shifting toward a sustainable coastal society. The forces expected to impact coastal areas during the twenty-first century include climate change, in the form of accelerating sea level rise, changes in river discharge, increase in the frequency of extreme weather events, and the cost and availability of energy.
