Biodiversity and Ecosystems Law and Policy
This tab includes strategies for how to avoid or reduce climate change impacts to ecosystems. It also includes any laws, legislation, regulations, agency guidance, and executive orders relevant to biodiversity and ecosystems.
Resources are automatically presented by rating, but can be sorted by date or title. Apply additional filters to narrow by resource type, state, region, impact, or jurisdictional focus.
50 results are shown below.
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Resource
2017
Blue Forest Conservation is developing the Forest Resilience Bond (FRB) to monetize the benefits of forest restoration for climate resilience. Similar to an Environmental Impact Bond or sustainable infrastructure financing, the FRB is a public-private partnership that deploys private capital to support climate resilient national forests. The FRB creates value for a diverse set of stakeholders or beneficiaries of healthy forests - including the U. S. Forest Service (USFS), water and electric utilities, private water-dependent companies, state governments, and insurance companies.
Resource Category: Solutions
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2017
The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation created the WCS Climate Adaptation Fund to “incentivize new and innovative efforts to help wildlife and ecosystems respond to climate change. ” As of 2016, the WCS Climate Adaptation Fund awarded more than $12 million to 66 adaptation projects across the United States. This report presents 14 climate change adaptation strategies or “solutions” for sustaining wildlife populations and ecosystems, with examples of projects supported by the Climate Adaptation Fund that exemplify each solution.
Resource Category: Solutions
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April 5, 2017
University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR) has produced a 13-page peer-reviewed paper that outlines adaptation strategies that California land owners can take to sustain their forests' value while facing climate change impacts. The report provides specific recommendations for care of three common types of forest from across California, including: Mixed Conifer, Oak Woodlands, and Coastal Redwood Forests. The focal climate impacts addressed are Fire, Moisture Stress, and Insects and Disease, which are detailed for each forest type - along with some indicators of adaptability.
Authors or Affiliated Users: Adrienne Marshall, Susie Kocher, Amber Kerr, Peter Stine
Resource Category: Solutions
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March 10, 2017
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) established a policy in March of 2017 stating that WDFW will manage its operations and assets so as to better understand, mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change. The policy provides guidance for managing risks to agency investments due to climate impacts, such as upgrades to agency infrastructure to be more climate ready, and investing in land acquisitions that support ecosystem resilience. WDFW states that this policy demonstrates their leadership on the issue of climate change - specifically as they are integrating the science necessary to understand climate risks, proactively responding to those risks, and reducing their own carbon footprint.
Resource Category: Solutions
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January 2017
The 2016 Colorado State Forest Service (CSFS) report provides information on the health of Colorado’s 24. 4 million acres of forested land framed by the role that fire and water play in the state’s forest ecosystems. The report also details the impact of insects and diseases, especially the mountain pine beetle epidemic, which has killed over 3 million acres in the state and fueled an increase in forest fires. The CSFS recognizes that these risks, including increasingly severe wildfires, drought and insect infestations are likely to be amplified by climate change in the future.
Resource Category: Assessments
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December 2016
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game developed Alaska’s Wildlife Action Plan to provide a common strategic framework for wildlife management, updated species data, and tools to support the conservation of the state’s aquatic and terrestrial wildlife. The original 2006 plan was updated in 2015, approved in 2016, and has been revised to focus on strategic approaches that will guide priorities and projects over the next 10 years. The purpose of the plan is to identify species of greatest conservation need in Alaska, describe their distribution and habitat use, and the key threats to these species.
Resource Category: Planning
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September 14, 2016
Signed by California Governor Jerry Brown in September 2016, Assembly Bill 2139 created a task force to study the effects of ocean acidification and hypoxia, and to make recommendations to policymakers. The task force is designated to ensure that the California Ocean Protection Council (OPC) decisions are supported by the best available science on ocean acidification and hypoxia, and to provide the Council strategies to address these impacts. Beginning January 1, 2018, and annually thereafter, at its first meeting of the year, the OPC is to adopt recommendations for further actions to address ocean acidification and hypoxia.
Resource Category: Law and Governance
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June 10, 2016
New Hampshire Senate Bill 376-FN requires the Fish and Game Department to identify existing and needed wildlife corridors connecting wildlife habitats in the state, and to make recommendations for legislative changes. SB 376 is designed to help improve wildlife corridors and thereby support wildlife resilience in light of climate change and development pressures.
Resource Category: Law and Governance
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2016
The Pullayup Tribe of Indians, from the Puget Sound area of Washington State, have completed a climate impact assessment and adaptation strategy for the natural resources in the area on which they depend. This report combines the latest climate knowledge for the region with input from Tribal staff and members, and presents primary projected climate impacts for the Tribe and surrounding ecosystems, as well as strategic actions to build climate resilience.
Resource Category: Assessments
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September 9, 2015
This white paper outlines the impacts of climate change on the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR)’s mission and lands, and provides adaptation strategies and a planning framework to address them.
Resource Category: Planning
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