News Archive

Blog postings are displayed below. Click the "Read More" link at the bottom of any post to read the entire post or to comment.

New Reports: Adaptation in Africa, Asia, the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean
By Anne Wallach Thomas on Friday, February 10, 201211:23PM

The Adaptation Partnership recently completed a comprehensive review of current and planned adaptation activities around the world. These reports are an inventory of planned and existing adaptation actions in Africa, Asia, the Pacific, Latin Ame...

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Reducing fire risks in Northern Australia, New Paper
By Anne Wallach Thomas on Friday, February 10, 201210:33PM

Northern Australia contains the largest intact savanna woodland in the world. It was managed over thousands of years by Aboriginal people, who used fire for ceremony and for hunting and resulted in the creation of patchy, complex and diverse habitat...

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Looking for the latest climate adaptation story? AlertNet provides extensive climate change news service
By Charles Chester on Friday, February 10, 201210:58AM

AlertNet Climate Change Thomson Reuters maintains an extensive database of news stories under the title "AlertNet," describe as "the world's humanitarian news site." Alertnet's daily-updated page on climate change "explores how climate change is imp...

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A talk by Frank Lowenstein, Climate Change: Global Update and Local Impact
By Anne Wallach Thomas on Wednesday, February 8, 20122:07AM

What does climate change mean for us? Why should we care about climate change? How does climate change translate into local impact? What are cascading climate impacts? How do land-use patterns contribute to local concerns? Why should we s...

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The Hudson River Sustainable Shorelines Project - webinar Feburary 6th
By Anne Wallach Thomas on Thursday, February 2, 201210:34PM

As part of an ongoing effort to provide communities with relevant information, access to expertise, and practical approaches for accommodating and adapting to coastal change, the Nature Conservancy brings you the Coastal Resilience Webinar Series...

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New Report: Resilient Sites for Terrestrial Conservation in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic Region
By Anne Wallach Thomas on Wednesday, February 1, 20121:06AM

The work that Mark and his team have done represents an innovative approach to transforming conservation planning and implementation so that it is more effective in a rapidly changing world. Report and links to recorded webex presentations found...

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USFWS seeks public input on Draft National Fish, Wildlife, and Plants Climate Adaptation Strategy
By Charles Chester on Tuesday, January 31, 20122:11PM

From the American Institute of Biological Science: The Obama Administration is working to develop a national strategy to respond to the impacts of climate change on our nation’s natural resources. The draft National Fish, Wildlife, and Plants Cli...

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Adaptation Literature Review: January 2012
By Anne Wallach Thomas on Monday, January 30, 201210:17PM

Provided below is a review of the latest literature on climate change and adaptation issues for January 2012. --- / --- In the realm of oceans and coasts several articles highlight the effects that increased carbon dioxide and ocean temperatures ...

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USDA's update on "Plant Hardiness Zone Map" is reported to reflect climate change
By Charles Chester on Friday, January 27, 20129:49PM

The Agriculture Research Service of the US Agriculture Department (USDA) has updated its Plant Hardiness Zone Map, and it has generated a great deal of coverage in regard to how it is reflecting climate change (links below). Although the map, update...

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Vulnerability of Natural Systems and Social Sectors in the Gunnison Basin, CO
By Anne Wallach Thomas on Thursday, January 19, 20121:57AM

The newly released report: Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment for the Gunnison Basin is a first attempt at identifying ecosystems and species of the Gunnison Basin, Colorado that are likely to be affected by climate change and why they are a...

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Florida Counties Band Together To Ready for Warming’s Effects
By Anne Wallach Thomas on Tuesday, January 17, 201211:16PM

While U.S. action on climate change remains stalled, four south Florida counties have joined forces to plan for how to deal with the impacts — some of which are already being felt — of rising seas, higher temperatures, and more torrential rain...

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Santa Cruz, CA, Approves Climate Adaptation Plan
By Anne Wallach Thomas on Tuesday, January 17, 20125:15PM

On December 13, 2011, the City of Santa Cruz, CA, approved a standalone climate adaptation plan, which identifies the City's most significant climate change risks and vulnerabilities, and defines actions to guide "current and future decision make...

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"North American Mammal Evolution Tracks with Climate Change"
By Charles Chester on Thursday, January 12, 20122:22PM

"Climate changes profoundly influenced the rise and fall of six distinct, successive waves of mammal species diversity in North America, over the last 65 million years, shows a novel statistical analysis led by Brown University evolutionary biologis...

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Reducing disastrous effects of catastrophic wildfire in the Southwest US
By Anne Wallach Thomas on Thursday, January 12, 201200:18AM

Wallow Fire Fuel Treatment Effectiveness On the Fort Apache Indian Reservation This recently released report shows the history and effectiveness of forest management strategies to reducing potentially devastating effects of catastrophic wildfire, ...

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Lessons from the islands: ecosystem based adaptation
By Anne Wallach Thomas on Wednesday, January 11, 201210:53PM

‘Working with nature’ as EbA proposes is an attractive and cost-effective measure to build the resilience of island environments in the face of climate change. Ecosystem-based Adaptation in a Changing Climate: From Practice to Policy? Lessons l...

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Summary of Recent Literature
By Anne Wallach Thomas on Thursday, January 5, 201211:09PM

In the last couple of months there have been several articles on climate change adaptation and ecosystem services: A piece by Richard Kerr in the Nov. 25, 2011 issue of Science highlights the need for a better connection between the science of cl...

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Open Position at The Nature Conservancy, Director of Climate Adaptation Policy
By Anne Wallach Thomas on Wednesday, January 4, 20121:55AM

Increasingly, governments, businesses and communities recognize that maintaining food security, water security, and biodiversity, and reducing disaster risk to people and communities—particularly along coasts and rivers-- will require reasoned,...

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Using floodplains and wetlands to reduce flood costs and restore salmon
By Anne Wallach Thomas on Friday, December 30, 20111:55AM

better for ducks, better for fish and better for farms …… The Yolo Bypass is an 80 year old flood control project that protects communities in California. An article in the San Francisco Chronicle describes current efforts to restore use of...

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New Paper: Conservation planning methods that anticipate future change
By Anne Wallach Thomas on Thursday, December 29, 20111:21AM

Authors: Carrie A. Schloss, Joshua J. Lawler, Eric R. Larson, Hilary L. Papendick, Michael J. Case, Daniel M. Evans, Jack H. DeLap, Jesse G. R. Langdon, Sonia A. Hall, Brad H. McRae Systematic Conservation Planning in the Face of Climate Change: Be...

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Sea Level Rise - Small increases generate big impacts to people and property
By Anne Wallach Thomas on Thursday, December 8, 20117:22PM

Results articulated in a new paper suggest that coastal agencies tasked with managing storm surge risk must consider the effects of sea level rise if they are to ensure safe and sustainable coastal communities in the future. A TNC paper, led ...

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Managing Forests to provide services and reduce increasing risks
By Anne Wallach Thomas on Wednesday, November 30, 20117:50PM

Firescape Monterey, Opportunity and Urgency: Although recent large fires in the northern Los Padres National Forest were tragedies for some residents and huge expenses for public agencies and taxpayers, they also represent an opportunity to ...

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Special Report: Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters
By Anne Wallach Thomas on Tuesday, November 29, 201100:23AM

From the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change: Qin Dahe, Co-chair of IPCC Working Group I, which together with Working Group II was responsible for the development and preparation of the report, said: “There is high confidence that both m...

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Coastal Resilience In Action - Connecticut Town Begins to Prepare
By Anne Wallach Thomas on Monday, November 28, 201110:23PM

New Haven Register By Susan Misur GUILFORD — The Board of Selectmen heard detailed plans this week on protecting the town’s vulnerable shoreline from impacts of coastal changes, such as sea level rise, erosion and extreme storms. The report fro...

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Citing climate change, appellate court puts Yellowstone's grizzly bears back on Endangered List
By Charles Chester on Sunday, November 27, 20115:45PM

From the Los Angeles Times: Court restores federal protections for Yellowstone grizzly bears A federal appeals court, citing the effect of climate change on the Yellowstone grizzly bears' white-bark food source, finds that the Fish and Wildlife Serv...

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Extreme Weather, Attribution, Measurement & Upcoming IPCC Report
By Anne Wallach Thomas on Wednesday, November 16, 20117:07PM

Later this week the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change will issue its report on ways to manage risks from extreme events in a changing climate. Listed below are a few articles and blogs anticipating the topic, and discussing relevant issu...

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Fires in Northeastern China
By Anne Wallach Thomas on Tuesday, November 8, 20115:43PM

From NASA.gov: A smoky haze hovers over hundreds of kilometers of land across northern China and eastern Russia in late October, 2011 as strong across the region winds fanned the flames. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) ab...

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The White House Council on Environmental Quality: Recent Reports
By Anne Wallach Thomas on Thursday, November 3, 201111:02PM

Last week the White House Council on Environmental Quality released two interagency reports on climate adaptation: Federal Actions for a Climate Resilient Nation, a progress report on the Federal Government’s work on climate adaptation during...

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New Report: Decision Making in a Changing Climate, UNDP, UNEP, the World Bank, and WRI.
By Anne Wallach Thomas on Thursday, November 3, 201110:00PM

Recent extreme weather events—such as floods, heat waves, and droughts—present a vivid image of the direction the world is heading. Such events, combined with longer-term changes, will have profound impacts on people, businesses, and ecosystems....

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Building resilience into reef management, workshop in Bali, TNC & NOAA
By Anne Wallach Thomas on Thursday, November 3, 20118:07PM

Reef Resilience and Responding to Climate Change: Workshop for Trainers in Southeast Asia Application Deadline: November 21, 2011 The Nature Conservancy, in partnership with NOAA, and with support from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Fou...

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Spending money to protect biodiversity from climate change: How to allocate funding?
By Charles Chester on Thursday, November 3, 20116:19PM

A recent article in Nature Climate Change addresses the difficult question on how to use scarce funding to protect biodiversity from the threat of climate change. Although the article focuses on the South African fynbos, the case study provides a he...

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Community and Regional Resilience Institute Releases Roadmap to Community Resilience
By Anne Wallach Thomas on Wednesday, November 2, 20111:09AM

The Community and Regional Resilience Institute released a roadmap that provides America’s communities with a set of tools and processes that will help them prepare for disasters and improve their resilience. The report, titled “Community Res...

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Africa: Vulnerability, Ecosystems & Lessons Learned - New Report & Analysis
By Anne Wallach Thomas on Wednesday, November 2, 201100:29AM

The Africa Biodiversity Collaborative Group’s recent report evaluates experiences in climate change adaptation in Africa. Lead authors: Anton Seimon (WCS), James Watson (WCS), Radhika Dave (CI), Elizabeth Gray (TNC) and Judy Oglethorpe (WWF-US)...

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Presidential Report Calls for Improved Accounting of Ecosystem Services and Greater Protection of Environmental Capital
By Anne Wallach Thomas on Tuesday, November 1, 201111:45PM

The President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, an independent council of the Nation's leading scientists and engineers, has released a report entitled Sustaining Environmental Capital: Protecting Society and the Economy. The rep...

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New BioScience article on species range dynamics in protected areas
By Charles Chester on Friday, October 14, 201112:44PM

The latest issue of Bioscience (61:10) contains the article: Climate Change and Species Range Dynamics in Protected Areas. Abstract: Protected areas are key conservation tools for biodiversity management, but they are failing to protect species fr...

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Marshes on the Move - A Managers Guide, Depicting Potential Impacts on Coastal Wetlands
By Anne Wallach Thomas on Tuesday, October 11, 20117:25PM

Produced by NOAA and the Nature Conservancy. Marshes on the Move A Manager’s Guide to Understanding and Using Model Results Depicting Potential Impacts of Sea Level Rise on Coastal Wetlands Link to document: Marshes on the Move This d...

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Species are moving faster than previously thought (Science Magazine)
By Charles Chester on Monday, October 10, 201112:45PM

Summary: In August, scientists reported findings that species are moving in response to climate change at a rate much faster than previously assessed. Citation: Chen, Ching, Jane K. Hill, Ralf Ohlemüller, David B. Roy, and Chris D. Thomas. 2011. Ra...

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New report on climate change in Greater Yellowstone
By Charles Chester on Friday, October 7, 20112:31PM

In September, the Rocky Mountain Climate Organization and the Greater Yellowstone Coalition released the report: Greater Yellowstone in Peril: The Threats of Climate Disruption. From RMCO's webpage on the report: Already, Greater Yellowstone is expe...

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Urban Water Systems and Agriculture in a Changing Climate – two reports
By Anne Wallach Thomas on Saturday, October 1, 20111:35AM

Adapting urban water systems to climate change ICLEI, UNESCO-IHE and IWA have authored, as part of the ‘SWITCH – Managing Water for the City of the Future’ project, a handbook on adapting urban water systems to climate change. The handbook ai...

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NEW "Guide to Climate Compatible Development Tools"
By Jeffrey Smith Deblieu on Tuesday, September 27, 20113:32PM

This is an online guide that evaluates and recommends the most useful climate compatible tools and methodologies for for development planners. The guide has considered over 30 tools for climate compatible development building and planning, from the ...

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National Wildlife Federation Partnership Wins Prestigious Department of Interior Conservation Award
By Anne Wallach Thomas on Friday, September 23, 20116:54PM

A National Wildlife Federation partnership was honored with the Department of Interior's Partners in Conservation Award for its guidebook, Scanning the Conservation Horizon: A Guide to Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment. The award is the high...

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Goose in Greenland: Study shows population increases due to warming, but longer term negative effects
By Charles Chester on Friday, September 23, 20113:29PM

Scientists in Greenland have documented significant increases in geese populations since the 1980s due to warming-induced habitat change, but warn that these increases could entail negative longer-term consequences. The study concludes that "between...

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Conference report on integrating climate change across entire ecosystems
By Charles Chester on Wednesday, September 21, 20111:27PM

The journal Biology Letters has published online the article: "Predicting ecosystem shifts requires new approaches that integrate the effects of climate change across entire systems." The seven authors hail from Australia, Canada, and the United Kin...

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New Report: The Costs of Delay
By Anne Wallach Thomas on Tuesday, September 20, 201100:25AM

The physics of Earth’s natural systems show that a delay—of even a decade—in reducing CO2 emissions will lock in large-scale, irreversible changes. If carbon dioxide emissions do not begin to trend down this decade, it will be nearly impossibl...

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Impacts & Natural Solutions: Water & the West
By Anne Wallach Thomas on Friday, September 16, 201111:39PM

Climate Change Impacts in Western Basins, U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation Document here: http://www.usbr.gov/climate/SECURE/docs/illustration.pdf Storing Water for a Dry Day Leads to Suits July 26, 2011, By FELICITY BARR...

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Maintaining sustainable communities in the wildland-urban interface - holistic conceptual model
By Anne Wallach Thomas on Friday, September 16, 20117:10PM

The WUI module of the California Fire Science Consortium invites you to a series of webinars on fire management in the wildland-urban interface (see attached flier for full schedule and more information). The initial 1-hour webinar will be at...

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Integration of climate change into development strategies at all levels - Papua New Guinea
By Anne Wallach Thomas on Thursday, September 15, 201110:08PM

Development Planning in Papua New Guinea Central to the PNG Vision 2050 is the integration of bottom-up planning approaches, and the integration of climate change into development strategies at all levels. During the week of 5th September 2011, a n...

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Climate change and the US Wildlife Refuge System
By Charles Chester on Wednesday, September 14, 20112:24PM

Current management philosophy for biodiversity protection in the US Wildlife Refuge System is inadequate in the face of climate change, argue a legal scholar and biologist writing in the Natural Resources Journal. The article, “Beyond Trust Specie...

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Reflections on Hurricane Irene
By Anne Wallach Thomas on Monday, September 12, 201111:37PM

Retreat To High Ground Hurricane Danger What if Irene had been a major hurricane? Hartford Courant, August 30, 2011 In boxing terms, Hurricane Irene was a welterweight, compared to a heavyweight such as the Great 1938 Hurricane. Indeed, Irene was a ...

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Social vulnerability and climate change: synthesis of literature
By Anne Wallach Thomas on Monday, September 12, 201111:07PM

The effects of climate change are expected to be more severe for some segments of society than others because of geographic location, the degree of association with climate-sensitive environments, and unique cultural, economic, or political charac t...

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Voices from the Field - Methods, Lessons and Reflections from Practitioners
By Anne Wallach Thomas on Thursday, September 8, 201100:47AM

TNC's Global Climate Adaptation Program and the Fire Learning Network have an ongoing collaborative webex series. We bring you presentations and discussion with practitioners across the country who are working on a wide variety of climate adaptati...

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