Even on a cloudy day in what’s considered the ‘slow’ season, Vanderbilt Beach in Naples, Florida, US, still draws a big crowd.
“Every part of our existence here, fundamentally, depends upon our tourism-based economy,” FGCU professor Mike Savarese said while at the beach. “This is probably Collier County’s greatest asset, and one of the assets that’s threatened by climate change.”
Now, after a three-year effort spearheaded in part by Savarese, there’s a new partnership to help the entire region combat climate change, including impacts like sea level rise and increased storm intensity. It’s called the Southwest Florida Regional Resiliency Compact.
All three coastal counties — Collier, Lee, and Charlotte — have agreed to join the compact, as have each of the incorporated cities, towns, and villages within them. Fourteen jurisdictions make up the compact. The last remaining jurisdiction was signed two months ago.
“The alliance brings together resources, human resources, experts, knowledge that a small jurisdiction doesn’t have, but it also provides a coalition to acquire funds,” Savarese explained. “An effort that took at least three years has reached a milestone.”
Jennifer Nelson serves as a councilmember in Cape Coral and also as the executive director for the Captiva Erosion Prevention District, both of which are part of the compact.
“We have some pretty strong leadership on this compact that have been battling environmental issues for years,” Nelson explained. “To be able to come together as a pact and a group and be able to tackle those issues, collaboratively, I think makes a big difference.”
All 14 jurisdictions have signed a Memorandum of Understanding that lays out the compact’s objectives. Savarese summarized the objectives as such: figure out our region’s weak spots, come up with a plan to address them, and then put that plan in motion.
Savarese said there’s still work to be done — specifically designing the compact — to ensure the efforts to this point don’t fall apart.
“It’s really important to bring all of these people to the table and design something through consensus so that everybody is on the same page from the beginning,” he said.
2021 Waterman