Looking to the Future:Climate-Smart Conservation

Naomi EdelsonDirector, State and Federal Wildlife Partnerships

National Wildlife Federation

Dual Approach forResponding to Climate Change

• Mitigation– Addresses causes of global warming

especially through reducing carbon pollution– Focus of NWF’s Climate and Energy team

• Adaptation– Addresses impacts of climate change on

people and wildlife– Focus of NWF’s Safeguards team

Dual—not dueling—approaches:Both are essential and complementary

-- State of the Union 2013We must do more … to prepare our

communities for the consequences of climate change.. AND MORE RECENT EO (Nov 2013)

The future ain’t what it used to be.-- Yogi Berra

“I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.”

--- Wayne Gretsky

Preparing for and Managing Change

NWF’s Safeguards Strategy• Advance the science, policy, and

practice of adaptation– NWF widely recognized as national “thought

leaders” on this emerging field

• Promote adoption and application of climate-smart conservation– Partnering with federal and state agencies, local

communities, and other organizations– Influencing conservation and management on

millions of acres

• Connect the needs of people and wildlife in addressing climate impacts– Growing emphasis on adaptation in cities and

towns using natural system approaches

Vulnerability Assessment to Action

• May reprioritize:

• Species• Habitats• Actions• Monitoring

What Constitutes Good Adaptation?

• Adaptation an emerging field• Still poor understanding of what climate

adaptation means

• Most guidance still at very high level; little operational advice

• Danger of existing work simply re-labeled as adaptation

• Strong interest in understanding what truly constitutes climate adaptation and how to put principles into practice

Building Capacity for Adaptation

• In-Person Vulnerability Training– Have now held ca. 10 sessions across

country in collaboration with FWS NCTC• Monthly Webinars w/ FWS

– Linking leading researchers with practitioner community

• National Climate Assessment technical input on adaptation

• Integrating CC into State Wildlife Action Plans

Vulnerability Assessment Guidance• Successful collaborative process

produced vulnerability assessment guidance• Inter-institutional workgroup with multiple

federal agencies

• Scanning the Conservation Horizon published in 2011• Effort received Secretary of Interior’s

“Partners in Conservation” Award

• NCTC training course• Ongoing training, held more than a dozen

times with more than 400 staff trained

But…vulnerability assessment just one step in adaptation process

Guidance Development Approach

• Expert workgroup convened to develop adaptation guidance – Federal, state, and NGO participants– Publication and training course being developed

• Designed to demystify process – Through breaking down into understandable and

manageable steps

• Non-prescriptive– focus on understanding principles and how to

apply– Encourage innovation and context-specific

application

• Not a recipe book, rather focus is on “the way to cook”

Climate-Smart Conservation Expert Workgroup

• NGOs– National Wildlife Federation– Wildlife Conservation Society– EcoAdapt– Nature Conservancy– Geos Institute– Point Blue Conservation Science

• State Agencies– Florida– Maryland

• Federal Agencies– Fish and Wildlife Service– National Park Service– US Geological Survey– Environmental Protection

Agency– NOAA– US Forest Service– Army Corps of Engineers

Table of Contents

• Section 1 – Getting Started– Introduction to climate-smart conservation– Exploring the climate-smart cycle

• Section 2 – Putting Principles into Practice– Detailed exploration of steps in climate-smart cycle

• Section 3 – Making Adaptation Count– Special topics (e.g., uncertainty, communications) and key

resources (e.g., tools, data sources)

Current Status• Publication

– External review • USGS formal peer review• Broad array (>35) of other external reviewers

– Publication date late April 2014

• Training– Training in collaboration with FWS/NCTC– Pilot training at NCTC October 29-31– Sacramento last week!

Major Themes• Act with intentionality

— link actions to impacts

• Manage for change, not just persistence

• Reconsider goals, not just strategies

• Integrate adaptation into existing work

Key Characteristics of Climate-Smart Conservation

• Actions linked to climate impacts

• Forward looking goals• Broader landscape

context• Robust in an uncertain

future• Agile and informed

management

• Minimizes carbon footprint

• Climate influence on project success

• Safeguards people and wildlife

• Avoids maladaptation

Climate-Smart Conservation Cycle

Step 3Review/Revise Conservation Goals

Inputs• Existing goals/

management objectives– From Step 1

• Understanding of system/target vulnerabilities – From Step 2

Outputs• Agreed-upon set of

climate-informed conservation goals/management objectives

Review/ Revise Conservation

Goals

Intended Outcome Adoption of climate-informed conservation goals

and management objectives

Step 4Identify Possible Adaptation Options

Inputs• Key vulnerabilities

– From Step 3

• Factors contributing to those vulnerabilities– From Step 3

Outputs• Specific actions capable

of reducing key vulnerabilities

• Explicit rationale or logic model for how identified actions link to climate-related impacts

Identify Possible

Adaptation Options

Intended Outcome Identify broad array of possible options for

reducing key vulnerabilities

Step 5Evaluate and Select Adaptation Actions

Inputs• Agreed-upon climate-

informed goals– From Step 3

• Set of possible adaptation actions– From Step 4

Outputs• Set of adaptation actions

most appropriate to implement

• A coherent plan based on selected actions

• Metrics for use in tracking action effectiveness

Evaluate and Select

Adaptation Actions

Intended Outcome A set of operationally feasible actions that collectively help

meet climate-informed conservation goals

Step 6Implement Priority Adaptation Actions

Inputs• Priority actions for

implementation– From Step 5

• Implementation challenges identified during strategy and action evaluation and selection– From Step 5

Outputs• Set of actions put into

practice

Implement Priority

Adaptation Actions

Intended Outcome Successful implementation of selected strategies

and actions

Step 7Track Action Effectiveness and Ecological Response

Inputs• Adaptation actions

selected for implementation– From Step 4

• Possible evaluation metrics– From Step 4

Outputs• Management-relevant

changes in ecological resources documented

Track Action Effectiveness

and Ecological Response

Intended Outcome Inform needed adjustments in adaptation

strategies and actions

A Central Question: How to Connect Vulnerability to Adaptation Actions?

“Kim’s Brain”

Connecting Vulnerability to Adaptation ActionsVersion 2

“Susan/Jordan’s Brain”

Vulnerabilities Key Vulnerabilities

General Strategies

Possible Options

SpecificActions

Identify broad range of options

Evaluate, compare, and select actions

Which best achieve

conservation goals?

Which are climate-smart?

How practicable/ feasible are

they?

Identify what’s of

concern and why?

Connecting Vulnerability to Adaptation ActionsSusan/Jordan’s Brain

Connecting Vulnerability to Adaptation Actions

Which achieve other

(social/econ)goals?

From Adaptation Strategy to Adaptation Action

General Adaptation Strategies• Reduce Non-Climate Stresses • Protect Key Ecosystem Features• Ensure Connectivity• Restore Structure and Function• Support Evolutionary Potential • Protect Refugia• Relocate Organisms

General Strategies

Possible Options

SpecificActions

Striving for “Mindfulness” in Adaptation

• Adaptation Intentional– Designed to address specific climate impacts– Focuses on reducing key vulnerabilities

• Adaptation Consistent– Consistent with general adaptation principles, but not

linked to specific impacts or vulnerabilities

• Adaptation Neutral• Maladaptive

– Actions that increase vulnerabilities or undermine ecosystem resilience