Coastal Lawscape: A framework for understanding the complexities of climate change adaptation

Coastlines around the world face complex, multi-sectoral challenges as these volatile areas adapt to a changing climate. Despite claims that law can play a central role in overcoming these challenges and advancing adaptation trajectories, there is relatively little research that connects law, adaptation, and coastal landscapes through the lens of legal geography. This paper systematically makes these connections to empirically explore the role of law in climate change adaptation. In doing so, the paper posits a ‘Coastal Lawscape’ as a useful frame through which to both theorise and to empirically explore coastal climate change adaptation. After detailing the concept of Coastal Lawscape, the paper explores how Coastal Lawscape manifests and influences climate change adaptation trajectories via a case study of four sites within one state jurisdiction. The empirical evidence shows that Coastal Lawscape comprises legal, political and cultural normative systems, and argues that understanding the interconnectedness of these systems is critical for advancing coastal climate change adaptation literature and policy.