Coastal Marine

Page Updated: October 9, 2011

Marshes on the Move, A Manager’s Guide to Understanding and Using Model Results Depicting Potential Impacts of Sea Level Rise on Coastal Wetlands. October 2011. From The Nature Conservancy Global Marine Team & NOAA National Ocean Service Coastal Services Center.

Link to document: Marshes on the Move

Conserving Freshwater and Coastal Resources in a Changing Climate, A Report Prepared for The Nature Conservancy, 2009. Overview and recommendations for adapting to Climate Change in Freshwater and Coastal Ecosystems.

Link to document: Freshwater and Coastal Resources in a Changing Climate

Adapting to Climate Change, Solutions for Healthy Coastal Ecosystems and Communities. November 2009, by The Nature Conservancy. Overview of marine conservation work and strategies for ecosystem-based adaptation.

Link to document: Solutions for Healthy Coastal Ecosystems and Communities

Cheung, W. et al. 2010. Large-scale redistribution of maximum fisheries catch potential in the global ocean under climate change. Global Change Biology 16, no. 1: 24-35.

     A summary report published by the Pew Environment Group states: "William Cheung and his coauthors used models that linked ocean conditions with the geographic range of species to predict changes in potential catch under low and high greenhouse gas emissions scenarios. They found that globally, the maximum total catch potential in the year 2055 remained essentially unchanged from current levels under both scenarios. But catch potential changed within regions, and the magnitude of that change was greater under the high emissions scenario. In general, maximum possible catch increased at higher latitudes and decreased in the tropics, which tend to be the most socioeconomically vulnerable areas. The authors conclude that this change may have large implications for global food security."

Ecosystem-based Adaptation in Marine and Coastal Ecosystems , Lynne Zeitlin Hale, et al.; Renewable Resources Journal, Vol. 25-2009, No. 4

     We recommend this article, but cannot make it available publicly.

A PPT and link to a video which includes a presentation made by Mike Beck at the UNFCCC meeting in Barcelona last fall. 

• The webcast: http://unfccc2.meta-fusion.com/kongresse/091102_AWG_Barcelona/templ/ply_ondemand.php?id_kongresssession=2187&player_mode=isdn_real#
• The PPT slides: http://unfccc2.meta-fusion.com/kongresse/091102_AWG_Barcelona/downl/091103_Beck.pdf

Chapters 7 and 8 on Estuaries and Marine Protected Areas in the “Preliminary review of adaptation options for climate-sensitive ecosystems and resources” by the US Climate Change Science Program (TNC co-author on the MPA chapter):

• http://www.climatescience.gov/Library/sap/sap4-4/final-report/#finalreport

IUCN report “Environment as infrastructure – Resilience to climate change impacts on water through investments in nature”.   It has many coastal components.  

• http://cmsdata.iucn.org/downloads/iucn_environment_as_infrastructure_1.pdf

USAID/URI guidebook: “Adapting to Coastal Climate Change: A Guidebook for Development Planners.”

• http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/cross-cutting_programs/water/docs/coastal_adaptation/adapting_to_coastal_climate_change.pdf

EPA has a whole page with multiple links on coastal vulnerability tools within its climate ready estuaries page 

• http://www.epa.gov/cre/index.html

Sea level rise and coastal hazards mean that human communities along the coasts need their natural resources more than ever.

http://www.coastalresilience.org/index.html

Building resilience into coral reef conservation

• Reef Resilience Toolkit
• News & Events
• Case Studies
• Training

http://www.reefresilience.org/

Oyster reefs on the Georgia coast and beyond are in serious trouble, and the Conservancy is part of many projects to address this problem. The Oyster Reefs page contains links to materials that demonstrate the many ways we are trying to address oyster reef decline. Using these strategies helps people mitigate the impacts of climate change.