World Wildlife Fund

Climate

Adaptation programs

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Click to download the WWF Climate Change Adaptation / Resilience Building Projects PDF

 

It is imperative that we take action to conserve ecosystems in their changed environment. These activities are referred to as 'resistance and resilience building' (adaptation). 

Resistance and resilience strategies can vary. Limiting non-climate stresses such as pollution, habitat loss and introduction of invasive species can help increase the natural resistance and resilience of ecosystems to the added stress of climate change. Other approaches involve using protected areas to help resist the effects of climate change. Altering reserve design strategies, adding robust corridors, linking reserves of different habitat types (such as marine and terrestrial), developing networks of reserves along climate gradients or changing allowed usage during periods of added stress can all contribute to improved performance.

WWF is developing and implementing resistance projects with local communities; national, regional and local government agencies; WWF national organizations; and other local conservation and research groups.

Marine projects | Terrestrial projects | Species projects

Marine Projects

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  American Samoa
  In American Samoa, WWF is evaluating the role of climate change on the health of coral reefs (particularly in terms of coral bleaching) and examining mechanisms for adapting environmental protection and improved management protection strategies. Our approach has two components: First, we monitor the condition of coral reefs - in both legally protected and unprotected areas - on a quarterly basis over two years. Second, we couple this with an examination of the composition (nutrients and colored-dissolved organic matter) of freshwater run-off, from intact and degraded terrestrial systems, as it travels through the watershed and out to the reefs. By overlaying the observed condition of corals (and how they respond to changing climatic conditions) in and around marine protected areas, with the results from the varying conditions of terrestrial systems, we are developing adaptation strategies to protect the area’s rich coral reefs.

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  Antarctic/Southern Ocean
  WWF is will assessing the effects of climate change in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean, with particular focus on krill and penguins. Like the polar bear in the Arctic, some penguin populations are also declining because of climate change. We are examining current and predicted changes in penguin populations and considering what this means for their conservation. While penguins are charismatic, krill are the key to the Antarctic food chain and are also vulnerable. This project is also working to develop a regional adaptation strategy focus on increased krill resilience, especially in terms of regional fisheries.

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  Barents Sea
  A vulnerability analysis was conducted for the Barents Sea ecoregion, which reported on the potential for interactions and intersections of anthropogenic and climate change stressors, influencing the overall vulnerability of the ecoregion to human-induced activities. The analysis principally analyzed the impacts of oil and gas transportation pressures to develop a preliminary framework for assessing the effects of multiple stressors on biodiversity. The cumulative effects of multiple stressors analyzed suggests that habitat protection and reduction of non-climate stressors to strengthen ecoregion resilience.
  

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  Bering Sea
  Arctic inhabitants, from polar bears to people, are struggling to respond to the impacts of climate change. WWF-Russia and WWF US have launched a joint project in the Bering Sea Ecoregion to create innovative management strategies for polar bears - including recommendations for the protection of denning sites, implementation of hunting regulations, and the creation of “Polar Bear Brigades” in coastal villages to reduce human-bear conflicts. WWF is also examining the potential impacts of climate change on the $2 billion per year Bering Sea fishery through advanced computer modeling. These studies will prescribe resilience and management recommendations for policymakers, resource managers, and the fishing industry. Lastly, WWF has multiple Climate Witness projects in the Bering Sea Ecoregion documenting local observations and assessing the impacts of climate change to the environment and communities. These efforts build climate change awareness within the Arctic and around the world. They can also be the first step toward community adaptation strategy development.

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  Coral Triangle
  Friends of the Reef is a collaborative project lead by WWF-Indonesia Climate Change Program and partnering WWF offices across the Asia-Pacific region. It focuses on building the resilience and resistance of coral reefs in the Asia-Pacific region so that reef biodiversity is maintained and the reef ecosystem continues to support livelihoods. Friends of the Reef engages local stakeholders and decision makers to develop, test and implement plans to increase coral reef resilience to major threats in the region, including climate change. This project also aims to increase awareness and advocacy activities by highlighting stories and showcasing previous, current, and future coral bleaching in major reef countries throughout the region. This information is also used to call for emission reduction in regional countries. Friends of the Reef also provide collaborative management mechanisms, enabling the governments of major reef countries to enhance the management and network of marine protected areas (MPAs).

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  Florida Keys
  Climate Change LEADS (Linking Environmental Analysis to Decision Support) brings marine and social scientists, natural resource managers, decision makers and an extensive network of other stakeholders together to design and implement an innovative meta-analysis of coral bleaching and water quality within the highly valuable - and highly vulnerable - coastal ecosystem of the Florida Keys. Built on the concept of resilience, this project specifically addresses how poor water quality, a significant stressor in the Florida Keys, affects coral reef resilience to climate change. Our approach involves convening a stakeholder working group of a full range of interested parties to design, implement, disseminate and evaluate the multidisciplinary research initiative; identifying and obtaining all relevant coral bleaching and water quality data from the region; and developing a GIS database to analyze trends in bleaching occurrence and recovery patterns with respect to water quality to advance effective coral reef resilience strategies.
  
  Read more on the impacts of climate change in Florida.

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  Mangroves and coral reefs
  Mangroves are the most degraded forest habitats in the world and climate change threatens to make this situation worse. Rising sea levels and increasing storm intensity/frequency make coastal systems extremely vulnerable. WWF is developing and testing an approach to build resilience in tropical mangroves and associated coral reefs. This project also aims to build the capacity of natural resource managers and communities to assess vulnerability to climate change and to develop management strategies to decrease vulnerability. Initial vulnerability assessments and adaptation planning point to the need for mangrove protection, reforestation with "climate smart species," integrated land-use and marine planning, as well as promoting technology to reduce over harvesting of mangroves. Coordinating the testing of adaptation methods in geographically diverse locations within a common habitat type will help to transfer project results to other conservation efforts around the globe.

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  Mesoamerican Reef
  We are developing regional adaptation strategies to address the detrimental effects climate change has on regional economies. This includes a case study outlining ways to adapt marine protected area (MPA) network planning elements to encompass facets of bleaching resistance and coral resiliency. The project will initially include consultations with experts to assess how resilience information can be applied to the region. Secondly, we will field test the conceptual model at selected sites, involving an initial assessment of environmental and physical parameters, a collection of baseline data at these sites for one ‘bleaching season', coral bleaching monitoring during the bleaching season (following the joint Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority/ReefBase/WWF Coral Bleaching Monitoring Protocol) and collection of supporting data from the NOAA Sea Surface Temperature Monitoring System.

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  North-East Atlantic Marine Ecoregion
  WWF conducted a vulnerability analysis that outlines and analyzes the major threats of climate change in the region. These threats include increased sea surface temperatures, sea level rise, release of methane hydrates, dissolved oxygen, changes to growing seasons (resulting in predator-prey mismatches), amplitude of air temperature range on littoral habitats, thermal stratification, near seabed deoxygenation, salinity, pollutant toxicities, abundance/occurrence/distribution of keystone species, life cycle stages, storm surges, nutrient inputs, ocean circulation and ocean acidification through dissolved carbon dioxide forming carbonic acid. The impacts were assessed using climate prediction models, which considered the rate of climate change, the ability to measure changes, the predictability of these changes, and their ecological relevance. The next steps include designing climate change

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Freshwater Projects

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  Amazon Freshwater
  Changes in freshwater quantity, quality and timing are beginning to dominate discussions as the most devastating effects of climate change. The Amazon will not be immune to this. How to maintain biodiversity and ecosystems services in the Amazon as climate change affects freshwater availability will be the key conservation question in the region and we are currently designing a project, starting with engaging communities, in the region through our Climate Witness program to identify vulnerability.

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  Himalayas
  Climate change is the main factor responsible for the accelerated glacier retreat in the Himalayas. As this continues, major changes in freshwater flows will have dramatic effects on biodiversity, people and their livelihoods. Glacial melting leads to an increase in water discharge, which is expected to increase the frequency of catastrophic flooding events such as glacier lake outburst floods (GLOF). These events can have devastating consequences to infrastructure like bridges, dams and power generation stations, and communities living at downstream. In the long-term, there will likely be a 'tipping point' as glacier runoff begins to decrease with ominous implications for freshwater availability in the region; perennial rivers could change into seasonal streams causing freshwater scarcity in the dry months. In response, this project aims to 1) validate existing scientific research on climate change and glaciers, 2) monitor glacial retreat and changes in the freshwater regime in the region, 3) develop a predictive model for glacial behavior under different climatic scenarios, 4) develop a Freshwater Vulnerability Assessment for selected key sector, communities and ecosystems, 5) develop community driven management response, and 6) communicate local climate impact stories through the WWF network to raise the urgency for taking action to stop climate change.

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  Northern Andes
  The páramo grasslands of the Northern Andes are fragile ecosystems vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Continued deterioration of these high-elevation wetlands will lead to significant environmental and socioeconomic impacts for downstream water users. This project will develop a pilot vulnerability assessment and adaptation strategy for the Chilí and Anaime páramos in the central Colombian Andes, where rice and coffee growers and 480,000 people inhabit the city of Ibagué and surrounding areas. These communities depend upon the water provided by these wetlands. Through the combined use of GIS and local ground-truthing, we are identifying current wetland boundaries and delineating likely changes in hydrology and vegetative cover. Adaptation strategies will be designed and implemented at pilot sites, enabling local communities to monitor the loss of páramo while also testing restoration approaches on degraded areas. These actions will enable communities to improve water conservation, cope with climate change, and maintain natural resource-based livelihoods.

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  Southeast Rivers and Streams
  Adaptation in the Southeastern United States is imperative as the region is vulnerable to increasing temperatures, longer drought periods, agriculture changes, and coastal deterioration due to sea-level rise and storms. WWF is currently coordinating efforts to increase awareness of the future impacts of climate change by conducting a vulnerability analysis for the region. Local high school students will participate in the development of the vulnerability assessment by conducting research projects to collect data in their area. This project also serves to benefit twenty-five high school students displaced by Hurricane Katrina, who will gain significant experience by participating with the scientists conducting the vulnerability assessment directly and facilitating the research. These students will also communicate the findings of the assessment locally to the community at home, and on Capitol Hill to their senators and representatives in Washington D.C. WWF will then use this information when working with local stakeholders and governments on integrating adaptation strategies in the region. Read more
  

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Terrestrial Projects

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  Madagascar
  Madagascar’s terrestrial biodiversity is legendary, and the waters surrounding this island nation boast some of the richest arrays of marine biodiversity in the Indian Ocean. Climate change threatens this wealth in myriad ways. On land, the climatic conditions that have bred such amazing biodiversity are changing, reducing or eliminating habitat for numerous species and bringing increasingly severe droughts and floods. The mangrove forests and seagrass beds that line the coasts are susceptible to sea level rise, the unique coral reef ecosystems are vulnerable to warming and changing water chemistry, and shifting seasonal patterns are impacting the migration routes of many wide-ranging species, including turtles and whales. Because ecosystems on land and sea are linked, WWF in collaboration with Conservation International, will jointly analyze the vulnerability of Madagascar's marine and terrestrial environments to climate change so these impacts can be addressed immediately and in a coordinated way. This project is being undertaken with the direct engagement of Malagasy communities, academics, and government agencies to raise awareness of climate change impacts in the region, learn about local observation and interpretation of climate information, and to build support for adaptation activities.

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  Northern Great Plains
  The Northern Great Plains is North America’s largest intact grassland and still contains a large area of land that has never been plowed. However, this biologically diverse region is under threat because current protected area networks may not be adequate to allow the geographic distributions of plants and animals to shift with future climate change. Understanding how species and habitats will respond across the landscape in response to climate change is crucial for designing robust conservation strategies. Therefore, we are quantifying how climate change will affect this grassland while considering current and proposed human land-use activities in order to guide future management and conservation.
  

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Species Projects

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  Caribbean sea-level rise - hawksbill turtles
  WWF´s Latin America and Caribbean program and the Climate Change program are implementing a research project to quantify the impacts that climate change will have on the global population of hawksbill turtles, provide a model for assessing future climate change impacts to other marine turtle species, and begin to shape how we develop conservation strategies to protect hawksbill turtles in the face of climate change. The first stage of this project targets the Caribbean region. This study will identify the location and susceptibility of known hawksbill nesting areas to climate change and will provide clear management prescriptions so that conservationists can reduce the vulnerability of hawksbill turtles and increase their resilience to climate change. Developing approaches to protect sea turtle nesting beaches, for example, will require identifying beaches with greater elevational range, identifying beaches with inland migration options and working with coastal development planning to keep options open as the land/seascape changes.

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  Loggerhead turtles – sea-level rise assessment
  The WWF Climate Change program and Species program are working together to assess the effects of sea level rise on Mediterranean marine turtle population in order to better plan for effective conservation. Because climate change threatens to compound all other threats to marine turtles, WWF has designed a study which examines marine turtle nesting sites in the Mediterranean, which will examine climate change impacts such as loss of nesting and feeding habitat; increased sand temperature, which can lead to changes in sex ratios; higher water temperatures, which cause coral to bleach and other damage to turtle feeding habitat; changes in ocean currents, which can impact migration paths; and extreme rainfall events, which can flood nests.

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  Sundarbans sea-level rise and tigers
  Sea-level rise is already affecting the low-lying islands of the Sundarbans of India and it is projected that by the year 2030, 12 islands will be under water. In response, WWF is conducting an analysis of the effects of sea level rise in the Sundarbans, concentrating on impacts to local livelihoods and tiger habitat. As sea level rises in this region, tigers and people have less space. The results of this project will help determine how protected areas will be affected by climate change in the region and will feed into tiger management plan development. Additionally, this project will highlight areas that are at high risk of increased human – animal conflicts. The goal is to determine which tiger populations and protected areas are most at risk, where the human settlements may overlap and use this information to better inform management plans and policy.

 

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