• Ecosystems Resources

Biodiversity and Ecosystems Resources

This tab includes all resources relevant to biodiversity and ecosystem adaptation. Apply filters to view resources for a particular region, state, resource category, or jurisdictional focus. Resources are automatically presented by date, but can also be sorted by title. 

 

 

1260 results are shown below.

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Development of an Adaptation Toolbox to Protect Southeast Florida Water Supplies from Climate Change

October 14, 2011

This project was performed to create a toolbox of options that southeast Florida utilities could pursue to meet water management needs, as well as the toolbox may have wider application to other coastal communities. This paper creates the connection between sustainable water supplies and Everglades restoration, outlines potential effects of sea level rise scenarios for coastal southeast Florida, and provides the toolbox of adaptation options for water, wastewater, and stormwater utilities.   Also included are milestones to trigger infrastructure investments, as climate changes may occur more rapidly or more slowly than currently projected.

Authors or Affiliated Users: Frederick Bloetscher, Barry Heimlich, Daniel E. Meeroff

Resource Category: Planning

 

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State of Illinois Drought Preparedness and Response Plan

October 12, 2011

The State Water Task Force is an interagency group that was assembled in 1980 to guide policy decisions related to water issues, and to prepare a State Water Plan for Illinois.  The Task Force updates Illinois’ 1983 Drought Contingency Plan with this Drought Preparedness and Response Plan - continuing to provide local and state officials and the public with information on water supply issues, and key considerations for drought preparedness. This plan was developed from pilot regional water supply assessments and planning projects.

Resource Category: Planning

 

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San Francisco Bay Plan (California)

October 6, 2011

The San Francisco Bay Plan contains the policies that the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) uses to determine whether permit applications can be approved for projects within the Commission’s jurisdiction, which consists of the Bay, salt ponds, managed wetlands, certain waterways and land within 100 feet of the Bay.   On October 6, 2011, the BCDC unanimously approved an amendment to the Plan to update the 22-year-old sea level rise findings and policies and more broadly address climate change adaptation.

Resource Category: Law and Governance

 

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National Action Plan - Priorities for Managing Freshwater Resources in a Changing Climate

October 2011

In October 2010, the Interagency Climate Change Adaptation Task Force published a Progress Report to the President describing Federal agency actions needed to better prepare the Nation to respond to the impacts of a changing climate. The Progress Report directed the Task Force’s Water Resources and Climate Change Adaptation Workgroup to lead the development of a national action plan to identify steps that Federal agencies can take to improve management of freshwater resources in a changing climate.

Resource Category: Planning

 

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Atoll Island States and Climate Change: Sovereignty Implications

October 2011

This article, by two researchers of the United Nations University (UNU) Institute for Advanced Studies, summarizes a working paper in which they examine questions of long-term survival for Atoll Island States. These countries could become uninhabitable or submerged in the course of the next century due to sea-level rise and coastal erosion, exacerbated by stronger tropical cyclones. Prominent vulnerable island nations include Kiribati, Tuvalu, the Marshall Islands and the Maldives.

Authors or Affiliated Users: Lilian Yamamoto, Miguel Esteban

Resource Category: Assessments

 

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Massachusetts Climate Change Adaptation Report

2011

On September 27, 2011, Massachusetts Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) Secretary Richard K. Sullivan Jr. filed the Massachusetts Climate Change Adaptation Report with the state's Legislature. The report provides a comprehensive overview of observed and predicted changes to Massachusetts’ climate and the anticipated impacts of and potential adaptation strategies to prepare for climate change.

Resource Category: Planning

 

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Living With a Rising Bay: Vulnerability and Adaptation in San Francisco Bay and on its Shoreline

September 23, 2011

Living With a Rising Bay is a vulnerability assessment from the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) which focuses on the impacts of sea level rise on the San Francisco Bay area, and how local governments can respond. Specifically the report addresses the impacts of sea level rise on neighborhoods, job centers, transportation, water and waste water infrastructure, and vital ecosystem services. 

Resource Category: Planning

 

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Simulated Changes in Salinity in the York and Chickahominy Rivers from Projected Sea-Level Rise in Chesapeake Bay

2011

The U. S. Geological Survey, along with the City of Newport News, evaluated the potential impacts of sea-level rise on the presence and degree of saltwater migration in Virginia tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay under multiple sea-level rise scenarios. The study utilized a hydrodynamic simulation model to evaluate potential changes in salinity in the York River and Chickahominy/James River estuaries. Simulated results demonstrate the potential for considerable salinity increases upstream with even marginal sea-level rise.

Authors or Affiliated Users: Karen C. Rice, Mark R. Bennett, Jian Shen

Resource Category: Assessments

 

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Adapting to Climate Change: The Potential Role of State Common-Law Public Trust Doctrines

September 17, 2011

This article from the Vermont Law Review demonstrates that water law can provide a legal mechanism for climate change adaptation. Specifically, the article agues that within water law, state public trust doctrines can provide legal support for climate change adaptation regimes.

Author or Affiliated User: Robert Kundis Craig

Resource Category: Law and Governance

 

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Center for Climate Strategies Adaptation Guidebook

September 13, 2011

The Center for Climate Strategies (CCS) "Comprehensive Climate Action: An Adaptation Guidebook," provides a complete stepwise, fact based, sector-specific methodology on climate adaptation action planning and policy development. The Guidebook details a methodology for developing and implementing a climate adaptation strategy at the multi-state, state/province, regional, or local levels, and provides several resources, tools, and example frameworks. According to CCS, the process can be used by a diverse group of stakeholders and technical experts, working with agency officials and the public, to build consensus on adaptation plans and programs that are fully implementable in less than a year.

Authors or Affiliated Users: Thomas D. Peterson, Michelle Wyman, Gloria Flora, William Dougherty, Joel B. Smith, Stephen Saunders, Steve Chester, Tom Looby

Resource Category: Planning

 

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