The Adaptation for Conservation Targets (ACT) framework: a tool for incorporating climate change into natural resource management.

Molly S Cross,Gary M Tabor,Lee Hannah,M Rebecca Shaw,Lisa J Graumlich,Carolyn A F Enquist,Dominique Bachelet,Sarah L Shafer,Erica Fleishman,Marjorie L Brooks,Jay Malcolm,Daniel Scott,Brian Petersen,Joshua J Lawler,Erika S Zavaleta,John R Nordgren ,Marni E Koopman ,Craig Groves ,Gregory D Hayward ,Erika Rowland ,Lara J Hansen

doi:10.1007/s00267-012-9893-7

Abstract

As natural resource management agencies and conservation organizations seek guidance on responding to climate change, myriad potential actions and strategies have been proposed for increasing the long-term viability of some attributes of natural systems. Managers need practical tools for selecting among these actions and strategies to develop a tailored management approach for specific targets at a given location. We developed and present one such tool, the participatory Adaptation for Conservation Targets (ACT) framework, which considers the effects of climate change in the development of management actions for particular species, ecosystems and ecological functions. Our framework is based on the premise that effective adaptation of management to climate change can rely on local knowledge of an ecosystem and does not necessarily require detailed projections of climate change or its effects. We illustrate the ACT framework by applying it to an ecological function in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho, USA)—water flows in the upper Yellowstone River. We suggest that the ACT framework is a practical tool for initiating adaptation planning, and for generating and communicating specific management interventions given an increasingly altered, yet uncertain, climate.

Highlights

Scientists, managers, and decision makers worldwide have advocated for the development of innovative approaches to minimize the effects of climate change on species, ecosystems, and ecological functions (e.g., Mitchell and others 2007; US-GAO 2007; Campbell 2008)
We developed and present one such tool, the participatory Adaptation for Conservation Targets (ACT) framework, which considers the effects of climate change in the development of management actions for particular species, ecosystems and ecological functions
Our framework is based on the premise that effective adaptation of management to climate change can rely on local knowledge of an ecosystem and does not necessarily require detailed projections of climate change or its effects

Summary

Introduction

Scientists, managers, and decision makers worldwide have advocated for the development of innovative approaches to minimize the effects of climate change on species, ecosystems, and ecological functions (e.g., Mitchell and others 2007; US-GAO 2007; Campbell 2008). The ACT framework emphasizes reliance on local ecological knowledge through the use of graphical conceptual models and expert opinion-based assessments of climate change effects and management options, supplemented by scientific literature This part of the planning process is nonlinear because the processes of identifying key drivers, developing plausible scenarios, and synthesizing information on potential ecological responses inform each other. We rendered the general adaptation principle of reducing non-climate stressors into specific actions to manage Yellowstone River flows such as decreasing intensity of cattle grazing in riparian areas and reducing the amount of water withdrawn for agricultural and residential uses Another goal of this step is to identify actions that are likely to be effective under most or all scenarios. To make decisions about actions that are recommended for only a subset of future scenarios, it may be necessary to incorporate other approaches, beyond scenario planning, into this prioritization step (see ‘‘Discussion’’ section)

Findings

Discussion

Conclusion