South Florida Program (SFP): Resilience
The EPA includes resilience to storms, high water events, and rising seas into our South Florida Program to fulfill our mission to protect human health and the environment.
Increasing resilience to environmental events in south Florida is critical as natural disasters become more frequent and severe. NOAA’s State Climate Summary for Florida describes three key messages:
- Hurricane rainfall rates are projected to increase as the climate continues to warm.
- The intensity of naturally occurring droughts are projected to increase due to the higher temperatures.
- Global sea level is projected to increase by 1-4 feet by 2100, increasing the frequency of coastal flooding and saltwater impacting coastal freshwater.
A goal of the South Florida Program is to protect and restore our waterways, including coral reef, mangrove, and seagrasses to provide protection against these events.
Resilience: The capacity of a system to maintain function in the face of stresses imposed by increasing storm events and to adapt the system to be better prepared for future impacts.
Resilience in the South Florida Program
The EPA evaluates grant proposal submissions under the annual Notice of Funding Opportunity based on a few factors. These include the extent and quality to which projects include nature-based solutions, community resilience, vulnerability assessments, and/or the protection and restoration of aquatic habitats to improve resilience.
Program applicants are encouraged to use data, tools, and information to consider how their proposed projects will affect future resilience. This may include:
- sea level rise
- inland or coastal flooding events
- the frequency, duration, and intensity of precipitation events
- wildfires and smoke
- exposure and sensitivity to extreme temperatures (including heat, drought, and wildfire)
Resources, Tools, and Information:
Learn more about climate resilience at the EPA by referencing The EPA’s Climate Adaptation Action Plan.
The EPA’s Climate Change webpages provide information about the science, impacts, indicators, and resources surrounding climate change.
The National Climate Assessment regional chapters provide broad information on climate change impacts for each U.S. region. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's State Climate Summaries provide climate change information specific to each U.S. state.
The Climate Mapping for Resilience and Adaptation portal is an interactive website that helps users understand current and projected climate-related hazards that are relevant to investment decision-making.