A major component of social resilience that stands out in Folke ' s description of resilience is place attachment . A theme that is abundantly apparent through interactions with residents of coastal communities , especially those in the South Carolina lowcountry ( Halfacre , 2016 ; Bundrick , 2019 ; Bundrick and Nowlin , 2020 ). Individuals within a community care about one another and the place they live in . When a disturbance , or focusing event , is introduced to the social-ecological system , decision making and policy development tend to follow suit as a reaction to bring the system back to equilibrium .
ENHANCING RESILENCE
The community has acknowledged the need to improve resilience to hazards along the coast , including issues related to sea-level rise and tidal flooding . TOKI , KICA , and the Kiawah Conservancy have previously made commitments to address these issues and develop comprehensive monitoring programs to assess potential vulnerabilities . In order to address vulnerabilities and adapt to changing conditions , it is critical to identify alternative practices which seek to preserve and enhance the resilience of both human and wildlife communities . This includes identifying naturebased solutions , which are focused on addressing resilience through the enhancement of natural infrastructure through green-infrastructure and habitat restoration . Identifying these alternative practices and suitable site characteristics for their implementation will further the capacity for the community to address vulnerabilities and bolster our resilience capacity . Identifying suitable solutions for addressing vulnerabilities requires an understanding of our current environmental conditions and meaningful engagement of key stakeholder organizations .
Environmental Research
Environmental research supporting these efforts has provided information about the critical components of the island ’ s physical environment which affect both human and wildlife communities ( e . g ., shoreline change , saltwater intrusion ). While serving to identify vulnerabilities of the island ’ s physical environment , these evaluations will also help in the selection and prioritization of sites for habitat restoration projects to bolster resilience . Three research projects , the Groundwater Table Study , Marsh Vulnerability Study , and Integrated Watershed Study , aided in gathering information about the local environment . These projects were conducted in collaboration between the Department of Geology at the College of Charleston and the Kiawah Conservancy through funding from the Town of Kiawah Island from 2019 to 2022 .
The groundwater table study initiated a long-term monitoring effort across Kiawah Island to study groundwater levels and salinity . In total , 24 groundwater monitoring wells were established across the island based on soil characteristics , elevation , and geographical region . A summary of details about barrier island hydrology and its impacts on natural habitat are included in the Maritime Forest section . The Integrated Watershed Study , conducted by the Kiawah Conservancy with assistance from TOKI and KICA , was initiated in 2021 . This project sought to build upon groundwater monitoring efforts and to provide a comprehensive understanding of the dynamics of water resources on Kiawah Island . This included the development of water budgets for individual watershed regions and the procurement of water quality monitoring equipment , both of which are reproductions of similar research and monitoring methods used in projects within the nearby Ashepoo Combahee Edisto Basin National Estuarine Research Reserve ( Kassabian et al ., 2015 ; NOAA System-Wide Monitoring Program ).
The Marsh Vulnerability Study conducted several analyses on conditions within the tidal salt marshes surrounding Kiawah Island . This began with studying the historical changes in vegetated extents of marsh near tidal creeks and rivers between 1977 and 2019 . A catalog of hardened shoreline structures and docks were also compiled in the process . The project also studied current conditions within the marsh using mapping products from the S . C .
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