Alaska’s Changing Arctic
Coastal Security and Infrastructure
This report is designed for state government and Alaska citizens. It addresses one of four priority lines of effort identified in Alaska’s Arctic Policy, “promoting economic and resource development,” through coastal security and infrastructure.
The report is divided into four major chapters, below.
Alaska’s Arctic Boundaries and Governance
A history of Alaska’s boundaries and why changing conditions can alter future government decisions and planning for northern coasts.
Alaska’s Coastal Ecology and Infrastructure
This overview of the marine, shoreline and coastal ecological systems in Arctic Alaska helps understanding the nature of infrastructure in these locations, including the need for proactive change in design and use of coastal infrastructure.
Environmental and Human Security on Alaska's Coasts
Different geographic scales require specific security considerations. Here the role of the state in responding to different types of needs to keep its population safe, its environment healthy, and its vital nonliving assets protected is explained.
Alaska's Coastal Connectivity
Alaska’s coastlines are not disconnected from the three major population centers in the state; rather, they provide vital economic, social and cultural connections from south to north and east to west. People living far from coasts are nonetheless affected by what happens in these places.