This lecture discusses climate actions to “build capacity” and “increase climate resilience” but in the context of what does this actually mean for people living in coastal communities? The paper presents a case study of a coastal community in the west of Ireland that is successfully building capacity and building resilience to climate and human pressures. The enablers and barriers to achieving resilience are presented at the local scale, but also scaled up to provide an international context. Local enablers include strategic partnerships (politicians; local authorities; agencies; universities), funding, inclusivity of the entire community, governance structures, media engagement, and diversity in objectives. Local barriers include competing values and priorities, lack of funding, lack of expertise, lack of enforcement, EU protection statuses and (again) governance structures.

Part of Bath Spa University’s Hazard, Risk and Disaster (HRD) Research Lecture Series 2020-21.

More information: https://www.bathspa.ac.uk/news-and-events/events/enablers-and-barriers-to-building-resilience/