Carbon Library: biodiversity

NFRC - The Implications of Climate Change for Conservation, Restoration, and Management of National Forest Lands

Strategies for conserving biological diversity will need to be modified to incorporate consideration of climate change, such as reconsidering which species may be of greatest concern, or size, number, and location of protected areas. However, most of what needs to be done soon is what we’ve known we need to do for a long time: reducing habitat fragmentation, increasing populations of at-risk species, and controlling invasive species. Conservation strategies need to recognize that species can be expected to move and adapt independently as climate changes, and that novel ecosystems will arise. Some of the greatest challenges in responding to the threats of climate change may arise from the disconnect between the nature and pace of those threats and the governmental and social institutions available to address them. Although human-caused changes in climate are remarkably fast by climatological standards, they are slow compared to budgeting, planning, and electoral cycles. The fragmented, “stove-piped” approaches typical of natural resource management will need to be overcome if the ecologically cross-cutting challenges of climate change are to be met. The term “adaptive management” is burdened with a history of failure, but the learning-by-doing principles it embraces will need to be put to work if we are to have any chance of successfully addressing climate change. Although the challenges appear daunting, key scientists and economists provide reasons to believe that they can be met, but only if interested citizens, managers, scientists, and elected officials unite with a sense of common purpose.