Title
Adapting Conservation Investments in High Latitudes and Elevations in the Face of a Changing Climate.
Author(s)
Cross, Molly
Published
2017
Abstract
Climate change is likely to affect conservation targets across the globe, but species at extreme latitudes and elevations face particular challenges. The rate and magnitude of warming is projected to be more extreme at high latitudes, and places closer to the poles and higher in elevation often tend to be covered in ice and snow, conditions that are especially vulnerable to warming. Confronted with rapid and large changes in climate, plants and animals in high latitudes and on mountaintops may not have options for finding nearby areas that are relatively cooler or more climatically suitable. These dramatic changes expected from climate change pose serious questions about whether and how we will be able to conserve plants, animals and human livelihoods in these landscapes–What do we need to do more of? What do we need to do differently? How do we think about our goals for nature conservation and human well-being in the face of these transformative changes? The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is tackling these questions through our on-the-ground conservation work in arctic and high montane ecoregions around the world; but we are also a conservation funder that directly invests in climate-informed conservation projects in the United States through the WCS Climate Adaptation Fund. In partnership with the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, WCS has awarded over US$12 Million to over 65 applied climate adaptation projects designed to benefit wildlife conservation across the US. I will share our experience grappling with how to invest in long-term conservation in the face of climate change, especially in systems that are highly dependent on ice and snow, and highlight a few examples of strategies that conservation practitioners are implementing in these regions. This presentation will help set up a discussion with panelists and the audience about how we can adapt our conservation approaches to address climate change impacts in extreme latitudes and elevations.
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PUB26765