According to research carried out by NASA through satellite observation spanning almost three decades back, it is expected that the sea level around Contiguous Coastlines in the US could experience a rise of as much as 12 inches(0.3 meters) above current sea level by the year 2050. By measurement, it means the sea could be rising at the rate of 0.44 inch every year. This rise is almost four times what was experienced within the year 2001-2021 where sea level rise was about 0.13 inch yearly. But what is the cause of the sea level rising at such rates? And what impact could this have on coastal communities?

Global Warming today, has become a serious issue that is affecting almost every natural order of how things  suppose to be, including the rise of sea level. Melting glaciers is another factor causing this increase and due to global warming, this glaciers are melting faster than they should their causing an increase in the rise of sea levels. 

If the sea level continues to rise as expected, coastal communities could experience serious weather changes, such as increased intensity of storm surges, heavy flooding and damage t coastal areas. This could also lead to loss of land around this coastal regions, and even more so, loss of infrastructures. With this effects, its quite easy to imagine how much this will negatively affect the lives of people who reside in this communities both economically, socially and even cultural as such effects could potential dispose or displace an entire population which could lead to the loss of cultural heritage, the extinction of the Mayan civilization is an example of cases like this comes to mind with regards to flood destroying civilization. This is more reason why it is important to understand the issue of things at hand to properly understand what can be done to help communities in coastal areas.

To be able to know damages that may be done, communities around this regions have a task at hand to carry out assessment of their lands, and how vulnerable they would be when push comes to shove. Evaluations should also be carried out on how exposed the community is with regards to being affected by the signs that will follow along with the sea level rising. 

With issues like this in consideration, communities should also decide on what’s best to do to curb the effects that may occur and how to handle to consequences that may follow each decision to be carried out. Some communities may decide to relocate, and this could possible affect the socio-economic lifestyle of persons in such communities. 

For communities who decide to stay, existing policies and other legal documents should be analyzed to see how effective they are and if some certain steps should be put in place to implement the necessary adaptation measures that will be taken. Some actions that can be taken could involve the use of resilience measures like building sea walls, and restorations of mangrove. How will such actions help with defending against the sea level rising? The developing of sea walls is not just to separate the sea from the earth. This infrastructure stands to serve as a means to avoid  sea water from eroding coastlines of specific areas. Many communities have used this methods in the past and it is quite an impressive defensive means that is vital to reducing the effect on land caused by sea waters. The restorations of mangrove forest can serve as way to reduce the impacts of storms surges, tsunamis. Their roots can also serve to reduce the impact of wave energy, hence protecting coastal communities from damages they could occur from the effects of rising sea levels.

It is important to for this communities to educate their people on individual actions that can be taken. Some of this individual actions that can be taken by residents of coastal communities include:

Engaging In Coastal Cleanup: This means participating in cleaning up wastes at the beach and local initiatives to reduce pollution and preserve coastal environments.

Support Mangrove Restoration: Everyone in the community has to be involved with regards to the mangrove restoration project, and each person can participate by planting a tree and ensuring to promote biodiversity in their environment.

Advocate For Sustainable Fishing Projects: To help reduce effects of sea level rising, it is important to ensure the long-term health of marine resources. This can be done by making use of sustainable fishing practices, such as the use of selective fishing gear, aiding to laws such as the fishing quotas and size limits, and adhering seasonal closure of water bodies to allow breeding and to avoid attacking certain species during their high vulnerability period. And more so, do not fish in a No-Take Zone.

Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Like we said earlier, one of the major causes of rising sea level is due to global warming, and one of the main causes of global warming is the emission of greenhouse gases. So it is important that in order to fight the effect of sea level rising, we do not participate in building up the causes of sea level  rising. This can be achieved by minimizing carbon footprint by promoting use of renewable energy, and reduction of waste.

Get Involved In Community Planning: Be part of the land-use planning and coastal management discussions to ensure that proper adaptation measures are included in the community development plans.

Preserve Coastal Vegetation’s: Do not over-exploit available coastal resources and vegetation. Now is the time to grow and sow rather eat and throw away the resources present, as this resources play a vital role in protecting coastal environment.

Elevate Homes And Buildings: If it is possible to be achieved, individuals and cooperate bodies should be encouraged to elevate buildings and homes. This should be done to reduce vulnerabilities that may be caused by rising tides and floods.

Prepare Emergency Plans: "Hope for the best, plan for the worst". While trying to prevent the effect caused by sea level rising, it is important to also plan emergency kits should incase plans to curb this effects do not work out effectively.


Government also have an important role to play to help sustain this communities. Government should provide valuable resources needed by this communities to ensure adaptive strategies are properly implemented.

The government should also collaborate with government of other nations to ensure ideas and updates to be passed on to fully prepare for pending disasters.

It is important to ask, Can't this pending danger be prevented from actually occurring?

The naked truth is that, it would be a difficult task to prevent sea levels from rising, due to past actions such as emissions of pollutant gases that have given rise to climate change and global warming. But despite that, it doesn't mean we shouldn't try. 

So what can be done to either prevent or reduce the rate at which the sea level is rising?

Here are some Key strategies that can be used to address and further prevent an increase in sea-level rising:

Mitigate Climate Change: As always, the most important step to take with regards to an environment issue, is to take actions that would involve the reduction of green house gas emissions. This can be done through transitioning to clean and renewable energy sources, increasing the use of efficient energy and implementation of eco-friendly policies at local, national and global scale.

Adaptations And Resilience: As discussed earlier, we've seen how communities can adapt and become resilient to effects of sea level rising by implementing adaptive strategies such as the use of mangroves and other natural processes and also the building of coastal infrastructures such as sea walls to help withstand the rising sea level and extreme weather events.

Water Management: It is important that water management processes are improved on, such as flood control management, water conservation and efficient storm water management system.

International Cooperation: "Two heads are better than one". It is important for countries globally to come to agreements on policies that will be able to address the issues of climate change and sea level rising at an international scale.

Reduction Of Glaciers And Ice Sheets Melting: Issues causing the acceleration of ice melting in polar regions should be addressed through climate mitigation and also by supporting scientific research on ice dynamics.


As said earlier, preventing sea levels from rising may not be easy to achieve. It is important for to know that use of proactive measures and that through sustainable effort to address climate change and its consequences can help to significantly reduce the impact of sea level rising on coastal communities and ecosystem. But achieving this requires both global cooperation and individual commitment to creating a more sustainable and resilient future.