Soft limits to adaptation for coastal flooding and erosion are already being experienced in Samoa owing largely to financial, physical and technological constraints . While sea walls have been erected to minimise coastal erosion, these defences need regular upgrading and replacement as high swells, tropical cyclones and constant wave action erode their effectiveness. The high costs of installing, upgrading and enlarging such infrastructure has led to sea walls only being used in specific locations, leaving communities that are beyond the extent of these measures exposed to inundation and erosion. Native tree replanting has also been implemented, but coastal flooding and erosion persist as large swells lead to high failure rates of replanting efforts. Across SIDS, adaptation to coastal flooding and erosion in particular is increasingly facing soft limits due to high costs, unavailability of technological options and limited physical space or environmental suitability for hard engineering or ecosystem-based approaches .
IPCC
Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability
IPCC Report