ANTHC gets federal grant to combat coastal erosion

Funds totally nearly $1.4 million have been awarded to the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium to combat coastal flooding and erosion in remote Alaska Native communities as the climate continues to warm.

The ANTHC grant is one of 46 coastal resilience projects totaling $55 million from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and NOAA in 25 states and U.S. territories. Matching funds are anticipated to result in a total conservation impact of $92 million.

ANTHC matched its grant with $821,588, bringing the total project amount to $2,182,389.

The money will be used to provide adaptation planning and development of hazard mitigation and restoration solution support for 44 Alaska resilience hub communities with capacity building on coastal flooding and erosion for the development of informed mitigation solutions and future design of restoration, NFWF officials said. The specific communities involved were not identified.

The project aims to take an innovative, comprehensive, culturally sensitive approach to building capacity and conducting urgently needed coastal risk assessments in remove Alaska Native communities, they said.

This year’s additional financial, supporters to the program include AT&T the Environmental Protection Agency and Defense Department.

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NFWF, in partnership with NOAA, and joined initially by Shell and TransRe, an international reinsurance organization, launched the National Coastal Resilience Fund in 2018 to support on-the-ground projects that engage communities and reduce their vulnerability to growing risks from coastal storms sea level rise, flooding, erosion and extreme weather through strengthening natural ecosystems that also benefit fish and wildlife.

Their goal is to re-shape the way people think about how to protect communities from projected environmental stressors and use innovative approaches to address those challenges.

These projects are designed to remain resilient to future environmental conditions, NFWF officials said.

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