A new rapid assessment to promote climate-informed conservation and nature-based solutions

Date:
June 17, 2021
Source:
Wildlife Conservation Society
Summary:
A new article introduces a rapid assessment framework that can be
used as a guide to make conservation and nature-based solutions
more robust to future climate.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
A new article, published as a Perspective in the journal Conservation
Science and Practice, introduces a rapid assessment framework that can
be used as a guide to make conservation and nature-based solutions more
robust to future climate.


========================================================================== Climate change poses risks to conservation efforts, if practitioners
assume a future climate similar to the past or present. For example, more frequent and intense disturbances, such as wildfire or drought-induced
tree mortality, can threaten projects that are designed to enhance
habitat for forest-dependent species and sequester carbon. Overlooking
such climate-related risks can result in failed conservation investments
and negative outcomes for people, biodiversity, and ecosystem integrity
as well as lead to carbon-sink reversal.

Drawing from lessons learned from a decade of funding over 100 adaptation initiatives through the WCS Climate Adaptation Fund, the authors offer a
simple framework that enables users to rapidly assess how -- and by what
means - - climate change will require innovation beyond business-as-usual conservation practice.

This tractable assessment encourages practitioners and funders to use the "what, when, where, why, and who" -- or the "5Ws" -- of climate-informed
action as a tool in project design and implementation. The "what,"
for example, means considering whether climate variability and projected changes will require taking new actions or modifying existing actions. The "who" asks users to consider: by whom, with whom, who benefits and who
might bear potential harm or tradeoffs from project implementation and anticipated outcomes.

Using the 5Ws in practice can result in doing conservation differently
in the warming world and help practitioners achieve their desired
objectives. They use available science and local knowledge to
address climate risks to traditional investments in reforestation,
fire management, watershed restoration, and habitat protection. Take reforestation as an example: a traditional approach might aim to
enhance habitat and carbon sequestration using seed or seedlings from historically-dominant tree species. Tree mortality due to unsuitable
climate conditions could then lead to unexpected habitat degradation and reductions in carbon sequestration. A climate-informed approach favors
native species that are expected to thrive under future climate. Seed or seedlings can be sourced from warmer and/or drier locations to assist
migration to climatically-suitable areas. The 5Ws facilitates this
process of figuring out what, if anything, should be done differently
from the status quo.

"There's such a pressing need for adaptation," notes Lauren E. Oakes,
the article's lead author. "So, we need to mainstream strategic actions
that are robust to future climate change into conservation efforts and nature-based solutions across the world." There is a breadth of rigorous
tools available for adaptation practitioners, but the complexity cost and
time required to use them can stall their broad uptake. Oakes says the
"5Ws" offers an initial, less daunting entry into the climate-informed
planning process for practitioners endeavoring to make their projects
more robust to future conditions. The authors offer this rapid assessment
as a pathway to broader adoption of adaptation planning, an urgent need
as investments in nature-based solutions continue to ramp up.

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Wildlife_Conservation_Society. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Lauren E. Oakes, Molly S. Cross, Erika S. Zavaleta. Rapid
assessment to
facilitate climate‐informed conservation and
nature‐based solutions. Conservation Science and Practice,
2021; DOI: 10.1111/csp2.472 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/06/210617163701.htm

--- up 5 weeks, 6 days, 22 hours, 45 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1337:3/111)