The Bureau of Indian Affairs’ Branch of Tribal Community Resilience (TCR) received a directive from Congress to produce a report, The Estimated Unmet Need of Coastal Tribes in the Lower 48 States Facing Relocation Due to Climate Impacts. The report was produced in collaboration with the Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals (ITEP) based out of Northern Arizona University and was completed in December 2023.
The report considers both the need to protect and/or move (relocate) infrastructure and/or cultural resources due to climate impacts such as erosion, sea level rise, increased flooding, wildfire, and more. The report also includes the broad range of needs that Tribes may have related to relocation and protecting-in-place (RP) including legal, infrastructural, and policy needs, information for decision-making, social, health, and cultural considerations, and more.
The report builds on a 2020 document, Informational Report: Unmet Infrastructure Needs of Tribal Communities and Alaska Native Villages in Process of Relocating to Higher Ground as a Result of Climate Change.
Outcomes of the Unmet Need Report included:
Estimated costs for community relocation projects shared by two Tribes.
Estimates for 132 federally-recognized coastal Tribes in the lower 48 states of:
Costs to hire two full-time Tribal staff to support the protection-in-place/relocation efforts.
Costs for planning protection-in-place and relocation projects.
Estimated financial value of coastal Tribal infrastructure at risk from climate impacts.
Discussion of need(s)/challenges and potential solutions associated with:
Environment and land issues, Legal and policy considerations, Information needed for decision-making, Infrastructure and technology considerations, Social, health, and cultural considerations, and Economic considerations (ELIISE).
Coastal Tribes:
This report only considers federally-recognized Tribes in the lower 48 states including Tribes in the Great Lakes region.
If your Tribe self-identifies as coastal, your Tribe will be considered coastal.
If your Tribe is located within a coastal watershed, your Tribe is considered coastal.
Protecting-in-place: The use of shoreline protection measures and structure rehabilitation, re-stabilization, or other adaptation measures to prevent or minimize impacts, allowing portions of a community or the entire the community to remain in its current location.
Relocation: Moving select infrastructure/portions of the community (partial relocation) or the entire community (full relocation) to a new location.