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<br />
<br />Acquisition of Environmentally Sensitive Areas,
<br />Environmentally sensitive areas, such as floodplains,
<br />wetlands, barrier islands, sounds, marshlands, and
<br />steep-sloped locales, are often highly vulnerable to the
<br />impacts of natural disasters, Exposed development
<br />can be avoided if these areas are protected in their
<br />natural states through acquisition or other measures.
<br />Examples include acquisition of sensitive wetland
<br />habitats in flood'prone areas, protection of dune
<br />systems, removal of buildings from floodplains, or
<br />acquisition of vulnerable barrier island lots,
<br />
<br />
<br />Coastal Area Management Act, At the state level, the
<br />
<br />CAMA protects natural resources in the coastal zone by designating certain geo'
<br />
<br />graphic areas as Areas of Environmental Concern (AEC), In these areas, uncon,
<br />
<br />trolled or incompatible development might result in irreversible damage, AEC are
<br />
<br />organized into four groups:
<br />
<br />estuarine system areas, \vhich include estuarine waters, coastal vvetlands. and
<br />public trust areas;
<br />
<br />ocean hazard areas, which include beaches, frontal dunes, inlet islands, and
<br />other areas \I;'ith the possibility of erosion or Flood damage;
<br />
<br />water supply areas. v\/hich include valuable, small surface \va(er supply \\'ater-
<br />sheds and public water supply well fields: and
<br />
<br />. fragile coastal natural and cultural resource areas, \vhich include areas contain~
<br />ing environmental, natural, or cui rural resources of more than local signifi~
<br />canee.
<br />
<br />At the local level, the CAMA requires each of North Carolina's 20 coastal counties to
<br />prepare a land use plan giving special attention to the environmentally fragile and
<br />important AEC. Plans must address, among other elements, land use trends that
<br />may impact AEC.
<br />
<br />While CAMA has been criticized since its inception because of its lack of legal
<br />authority outside of the AEC,14 there are an increasing number of communities,
<br />including Wrightsville Beach, that are using public policy to direct development
<br />away from natural beaches and dune systems, The role of the CAMA as an effec,
<br />tive tool in promoting environmental intervention and hazard mitigation is dis~
<br />cussed in Part Three of this report.
<br />
<br />Disseminate Information
<br />One of the greatest challenges faced when implementing a community,based
<br />mitigation strategy is public outreach, The challenge is to consistently and effec,
<br />tively reach a broad and diverse audience with useful information, Valuable
<br />information includes describing natural hazards, the risks they pose, and steps that
<br />can be taken to reduce risks - at the household, neighborhood, and community
<br />levels, Information dissemination measures include hazard disclosure, disaster
<br />warning, and educational training,
<br />
<br />''''7,,?,*'W~ .~
<br />Part One: Hazard Mitigation arId Sust~inableCoffimur1Jties
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