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Could artificial islands stop another Sandy? U.S. feds mulling the idea

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SEASIDE HEIGHTS, N.J. -- A string of artificial islands off the coast of New Jersey and New York could blunt the impact of storm surges that proved so deadly during Superstorm Sandy, according to a proposal vying for attention and funding as the region continues its recovery.

It's a big proposal that would cost $10 billion to $12 billion. But it's also the kind of innovative idea that federal officials requested as they consider how best to protect the heavily populated region from future storms.

"We've discussed this with the governor's office of Recovery and Resiliency and the Department of Environmental Protection, and they all look at me like, 'Whoa! This is a big deal!" said Alan Blumberg, a professor at New Jersey's Stevens Institute of Technology. "Yes, it is a big deal. It can save lives and protect property."

The "Blue Dunes" proposal is part of Rebuild By Design, a competition sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to come up with novel ways to protect against the next big storm. It is one of 10 projects that will be evaluated and voted on next week, but there's no guarantee any of them will receive funding. Other ideas include building sea walls around cities, re-establishing oyster colonies in tidal flats to blunt wave action and creating water-absorbent nature and recreational preserves.

The artificial islands plan was created by Stevens Institute, along with the WXY architectural firm and West 8 Urban Design and Landscape Architecture. It is designed to blunt the worst effect of Sandy: the storm surge that pounded the coast. From Maryland to New Hampshire, the storm was blamed for 159 deaths, and New Jersey and New York alone claimed a total of nearly $79 billion in damage.

"How do you protect New Jersey and New York at the same time from the storm of the future?" Blumberg asked. "Our idea is to build a chain of islands, like a long slender banana. The wave action and storm surge will reflect off these islands and go back out to sea rather than hitting the coast. Barnegat Bay would not be pounded, nor would lower Manhattan or Hoboken."

The islands 10 to 12 miles off the coast would be uninhabited, though day trips for surfing or fishing might be allowed, Blumberg said. They would be built by pumping sand atop some hard base made of rock, concrete or other material, he said.

Steve Sandberg, a spokesman for U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., said funding for at least some of the proposals is already available as part of the $60 billion in Sandy aid that Congress passed last year. Other money could come from disaster recovery grants as well as public and private-sector funding, according to the Rebuild by Design website.

A gap would be left between the New York and New Jersey island groups, mainly to allow water from the Hudson River to flow out into the ocean.

Blumberg also said computer modeling has shown such islands would have produced vastly lesser damage during Sandy, Hurricane Donna in 1962 and the destructive December 1992 nor'easter.

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Could artificial islands stop another Sandy? U.S. feds mulling the idea

After Sandy, feds mull plan for artificial islands off NJ, NY

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This artist rendering provided by WXY/West 8/Stevens Institute of Technology shows a proposed project to create a string of artificial barrier islands off the coast of New Jersey and New York to protect the shoreline from storm surges like the ones that caused billions of dollars worth of damage during Superstorm Sandy.AP

SEASIDE HEIGHTS, N.J. A string of artificial islands off the coast of New Jersey and New York could blunt the impact of storm surges that proved so deadly during Superstorm Sandy, according to a proposal vying for attention and funding as the region continues its recovery.

It's a big proposal that would cost $10 billion to $12 billion. But it's also the kind of innovative idea that federal officials requested as they consider how best to protect the heavily populated region from future storms.

"We've discussed this with the governor's office of Recovery and Resiliency and the Department of Environmental Protection, and they all look at me like, `Whoa! This is a big deal!" said Alan Blumberg, a professor at New Jersey's Stevens Institute of Technology. "Yes, it is a big deal. It can save lives and protect property."

The "Blue Dunes" proposal is part of Rebuild By Design, a competition sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to come up with novel ways to protect against the next big storm. It is one of 10 projects that will be evaluated and voted on next week, but there's no guarantee any of them will receive funding. Other ideas include building sea walls around cities, re-establishing oyster colonies in tidal flats to blunt wave action and creating water-absorbent nature and recreational preserves.

The artificial islands plan was created by Stevens Institute, along with the WXY architectural firm and West 8 Urban Design and Landscape Architecture. It is designed to blunt the worst effect of Sandy: the storm surge that pounded the coast. From Maryland to New Hampshire, the storm was blamed for 159 deaths, and New Jersey and New York alone claimed a total of nearly $79 billion in damage.

"How do you protect New Jersey and New York at the same time from the storm of the future?" Blumberg asked. "Our idea is to build a chain of islands, like a long slender banana. The wave action and storm surge will reflect off these islands and go back out to sea rather than hitting the coast. Barnegat Bay would not be pounded, nor would lower Manhattan or Hoboken."

The islands 10 to 12 miles off the coast would be uninhabited, though day trips for surfing or fishing might be allowed, Blumberg said. They would be built by pumping sand atop some hard base made of rock, concrete or other material, he said.

Steve Sandberg, a spokesman for U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., said funding for at least some of the proposals is already available as part of the $60 billion in Sandy aid that Congress passed last year. Other money could come from disaster recovery grants as well as public and private-sector funding, according to the Rebuild by Design website.

A gap would be left between the New York and New Jersey island groups, mainly to allow water from the Hudson River to flow out into the ocean.

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After Sandy, feds mull plan for artificial islands off NJ, NY

After Sandy, feds discuss plans for artificial islands off New Jersey, New York

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By FOX NEWS -

SEASIDE HEIGHTS, N.J. A string of artificial islands off the coast of New Jersey and New York could blunt the impact of storm surges that proved so deadly during Superstorm Sandy, according to a proposal vying for attention and funding as the region continues its recovery.

It's a big proposal that would cost $10 billion to $12 billion. But it's also the kind of innovative idea that federal officials requested as they consider how best to protect the heavily populated region from future storms.

"We've discussed this with the governor's office of Recovery and Resiliency and the Department of Environmental Protection, and they all look at me like, `Whoa! This is a big deal!" said Alan Blumberg, a professor at New Jersey's Stevens Institute of Technology. "Yes, it is a big deal. It can save lives and protect property."

The "Blue Dunes" proposal is part of Rebuild By Design, a competition sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to come up with novel ways to protect against the next big storm. It is one of 10 projects that will be evaluated and voted on next week, but there's no guarantee any of them will receive funding. Other ideas include building sea walls around cities, re-establishing oyster colonies in tidal flats to blunt wave action and creating water-absorbent nature and recreational preserves.

The artificial islands plan was created by Stevens Institute, along with the WXY architectural firm and West 8 Urban Design and Landscape Architecture. It is designed to blunt the worst effect of Sandy: the storm surge that pounded the coast. From Maryland to New Hampshire, the storm was blamed for 159 deaths, and New Jersey and New York alone claimed a total of nearly $79 billion in damage.

"How do you protect New Jersey and New York at the same time from the storm of the future?" Blumberg asked. "Our idea is to build a chain of islands, like a long slender banana. The wave action and storm surge will reflect off these islands and go back out to sea rather than hitting the coast. Barnegat Bay would not be pounded, nor would lower Manhattan or Hoboken."

The islands 10 to 12 miles off the coast would be uninhabited, though day trips for surfing or fishing might be allowed, Blumberg said. They would be built by pumping sand atop some hard base made of rock, concrete or other material, he said.

Steve Sandberg, a spokesman for U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., said funding for at least some of the proposals is already available as part of the $60 billion in Sandy aid that Congress passed last year. Other money could come from disaster recovery grants as well as public and private-sector funding, according to the Rebuild by Design website.

A gap would be left between the New York and New Jersey island groups, mainly to allow water from the Hudson River to flow out into the ocean.

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After Sandy, feds discuss plans for artificial islands off New Jersey, New York

Pacific Islands Forum provides ongoing support to developmen

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Pacific Islands Forum provides ongoing support to Pacific development

In the wake of 13 Pacific Forum Island Countries (FICs) completing peer reviews of their country development systems over the last four years, the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS) is continuing to review progress made on implementing the review Recommendations.

The Forum Secretariat is also continuing to discuss with countries their Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) progress and the post 2015 development agenda. As part of this ongoing support, a review team from the Forum Secretariat is visiting and meeting with government, development partners, NGOs and private sector representatives in both Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu in order to gauge progress against the peer review recommendations and the MDGs.

It is a long term endeavor, and success depends on the sustained commitment and participation of Forum Island Countries, development partners and other stakeholders, says Charmina Saili, Regional Planning Adviser at the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat. We are here this week to continue our support, to discuss progress, challenges and how we and the rest of the region can help.

The Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat is focused on supporting this crucial follow-up process and where needed helping countries mobilize additional resources to support the implementation of their peer review recommendations.

Over time the real benefits of better development coordination such as more effective use of development resources, reduced administrative burden for countries, improved information to guide decision-making and ultimately more effective delivery of health, education, energy, water and sanitation services to Pacific citizens will be fully realized.

The Forums Regional MDGs Adviser, Resina Katafono, is part of the delegation and will be discussing with government and their stakeholders progress and actions taken to achieve the MDGs by 2015. Papua New Guinea developed its own set of targets and indicators associated with each of the MDGs, says Ms Katafono. They did this in order to better reflect the realities in the country.

The 2013 Tracking the Effectiveness of Development Efforts in the Pacific Report notes that there has been good progress over the past year in strengthening country systems and processes for planning, budgeting, public financial and aid management. Peer reviews of country systems have revealed that FICs are paying more attention to setting medium term costed priorities and establishing frameworks and systems to underpin and ensure effective progress in implementing national development plans.

There are strong signs of good progress at the country level to strengthen country systems and processes. As a result, more FICs are exerting stronger leadership over their development agenda and engaging more effectively with development partners.

The challenge now is for FICs to sustain this momentum with the collective support of their development partners.

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Pacific Islands Forum provides ongoing support to developmen

Understanding new and emerging export markets

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Understanding new and emerging export markets

The Pacific Islands Trade & Invest (PT&I) network, the trade and investment arm of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, is organising a three day workshop from 31 March to 2 April in Suva.

The Pacific Path to Market Workshop a first for Fiji, will address market compliance constraints and highlight specific solutions to enhance exporters capacity. The importance of branding, cost-effective packaging, dealing with logistics and having an effective supply chain will also be discussed.

The Pacific Path to Market Workshop is specifically designed to respond to the exporters current and future needs. The programme has been developed based on consultations with a number of businesses in Fiji over the past year to assist in increasing their exports.

The workshop is funded by the European Union through the European Development Fund, under the Pacific Integration Technical Assistance Project (PITAP) implemented by the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat. PITAP is a component of the Strengthening Pacific Economic Integration through Trade (SPEITT).

The Pacific Islands Trade & Invest network has brought industry experts and international speakers from China and New Zealand to give a first-hand account of doing business in these markets. Export promotion staff from the PT&I offices in Auckland, Beijing and Sydney will be presenting opportunities in these markets for Fiji exports.

More than 80 businesses have confirmed attendance. This high level of interest shown by Fiji businesses is an indication of the drive that Fijis private sector has to explore new and emerging opportunities.

The Pacific Path to Market Workshop is expected to be organised in other Forum island countries later in the year. Representatives from some of the Pacific island countries are attending as observers at this workshop.

Ends

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Understanding new and emerging export markets


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