While many researchers, conservation practitioners and resource managers understand the reality of climate change they are often still challenged by what to do about it. As a result the conservation community needs assistance in developing its thinking on dealing with climate change, finding the information or data it needs to make informed decisions, and finding people to interact with on this topic as individuals develop their own approaches.
This half-day workshop will provide context, guidance, and examples of how climate change adaptation or resilience building is being addressed in these fields. It will also invite participants to become part of a scientific and management community aimed at building a robust field of climate change adaptation in the hopes of making it definable and approachable to a broader community.
Participants will be introduced to a new, interactive online tool called the Climate Adaptation Knowledge Exchange (CAKE), which can help support practitioners’ efforts. Participants will begin to develop climate change adaptation and resilience strategies for incorporation in their own work through presentation of case studies, exploration of CAKE, and discussion of personal experiences.
Discussion will focus on successes and challenges – what has worked and what has not – as well as what information might be needed that is not currently or readily available. Participants will also have access to spatial data organization and visualization tools provided by the Data Basin Climate Center, one of CAKE’s primary partners.
Lara Hansen, EcoAdapt Chief Scientist and Executive Director, will facilitate the workshop and provide a primer to climate change adaptation.
Rachel Gregg, EcoAdapt Scientist, will provide a tour of CAKE and its functionality.
Tosha Comendant, Conservation Biology Institute Senior Conservation Biologist, will provide an overview of Data Basin, highlighting the Climate Center and some key features relevant to wildlife management.
- Climate Change Adaptation for Conservation Targets (ACT) Framework. Climate Change and Wildlife Conservation Working Group. 2010. (View on CAKE.)
- Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences and Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. 2010. Climate Change and Massachusetts Fish and Wildlife.
- Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy. Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. 2006. Chapter Synopses, State Programs.
- Climate Change and Conservation: A Primer for Assessing Impacts and Advancing Ecosystemâbased Adaptation in The Nature Conservancy. The Nature Conservancy. 2010. (View on CAKE.)
- Theoharides, K., G. Barnhart, and P. Glick. 2009. Climate Change Adaptation Across the Landscape: A Survey of Federal and State Agencies, Conservation Organizations, and Academic Institutions in the United States. Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, Defenders of Wildlife, The Nature Conservancy, and The National Wildlife Federation. (View on CAKE.)
- Climate Adaptation Priorities for the Western States: Scoping Report. Western Governors Association. 2010. (View of CAKE.)
- Mawdsley, J.R., O'Malley, R. and Ojima, D.S. 2009. A Review of Climate-Change Adaptation Strategies for Wildlife Management and Biodiversity Conservation. (View on CAKE.)
- Climate Change Wildlife Action Plan Work Group and Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies Climate Change and Teaming with Wildlife Committees. 2010.
- Voluntary Guidance for States to Incorporate Climate Change into State Wildlife Action Plans and Other Management Plans. Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. 2009. (View on CAKE.) (Latest version here.)
- Climate Change Action Plan For The Florida Reef System 2010-2015. Florida Reef Resilience Program. 2010. (View on CAKE.)
Adaptation Case Studies About Wildlife on CAKE:
- Integrating Climate Change into the Massachusetts State Wildlife Action Plan Using an Expert Panel-based Vulnerability Assessment
- Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge/Albemarle-Pamlico Peninsula Climate Adaptation Project
- Polar Bear Designation Under the U.S. Endangered Species Act
- Mesoamerican Biological Corridor Project
- Listing of Coral Reef Species under U.S. Endangered Species Act
- Using a Precautionary Approach to Manage North Pacific Fisheries Under Uncertainty
- The Tongass National Forest Conservation Strategy
- Adapting People and Nature to Maine’s Changing Climate
- Developing a Washington State Climate Change Impacts Response Strategy
- Incorporating Climate Change into Landscape Connectivity Plans
- Climate Change Action Plan for the Florida Reef Tract – 2010-2015
Useful Websites: