Visualizing Locally Relevant Sea Level Rise Scenarios

The Takeaway: Coastal management program uses NOAA products to upgrade local and regional planning efforts.

Saipan is highly susceptible to the impacts of climate change and variability, especially rising sea levels. To be proactive, the territory’s Division of Coastal Resources Management developed local flood maps and conducted analyses using land cover data and the Sea Level Rise Viewer from NOAA’s Digital Coast.

In 2017, an Executive Directive by CNMI Governor Ralph Torres established the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands Resilience Working Group to put in action a long-term plan for economic and ecosystem resilience in the face of climate change. The adaptation strategies focus on protecting ecosystems; putting in place local adaptation plans; and increasing the resilience of homes, roads, and water and food supplies. (Original story 2016/updated 2018)

More Information: coast.noaa.gov/digitalcoast/stories/CNMI-SLR

Partners: CNMI Climate Change Working Group, CNMI Division of Coastal Resources Management, NOAA Office for Coastal Management – Pacific Islands