Adapting to climate change in nature conservation in Europe

Transcription

1 Adapting to climate change in nature conservation in Europe Aletta Bonn & Nicholas Macgregor Freie Universität Berlin, Institut für Biologie, Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB) Natural England

2 BfN/ENCA Conference Bonn 2011 ENCA Workshop - Edinburgh 2011 Climate impacts Setting adaptation objectives Adaptation actions Information and monitoring Barriers and opportunities

3 ENCA/ BfN Web - Survey 2013 Climate adaptation planning and conservation measures in European conservation projects 72 responses from conservation sites across Europe ( within 3 weeks) What are the impacts of climate change on your sites? Temporal relevance? How do you integrate climate adaptation into conservation goals? What are your management actions on your sites? What are your information sources and barriers to action?

4 Spatial distribution of contributing sites United Kingdom (25) Germany (26) * Several responses covered more than one site Austria (2) Belgium Bulgaria (2) Cyprus Czech Republic (2) Finland (3) Greece Ireland Italy (2) Latvia Poland Romania (2) Sweden Switzerland

5 Organisation & Size of sites Research Institute NGO - Foundation Business other Regional Authority Local Authority Size Median [ha] Min [ha] Max [ha] Conservation site ,000 Wider relevant network area 3, Mio Park-Reserve Authority National Authority

6 Habitat type composition - Sites comprised several habitats Grassland & Heath Forest & Woodland Freshwater Peatlands other Arable Coastal & Marine 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% proportion of sites

7 Conservation Goals Single / Multi species Communities/ Habitats Restoration/ Habitat creation Sustainable farming Regulating ecosystem services Cultural ecosystem services Recreation Public engagement, education Other 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Proportion of sites

8 Vulnerability assessment 13% 44% 43% Detailed vulnerability assessment Simple vulnerability assessment No vulnerability assessment

9 Now/next few yrs Next 10 yrs Next 20 yrs Next 50 yrs More than 50 yrs Never serious Perceived temporal dimension of climate impacts Changing species distributions Changing seasonal events Changes in food web Increased pests and invasives Habitat loss / extent of habitat decrease Fragmentation Drought + high temperatures Water quality Changes in stream flow Extreme precipitation and storm events River flooding Increased fire regime Sea level rise and coastal flooding Increased sea temperature Changes to human responses to CC Changes to human behaviour as result of CC other 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% proportion of sites

10 Climate change adaptation as part of site management major objective central objective > 10 years not at all considered not integrated 6-10 years 3-5 years minor objective < 1 year 1-2 years

11 Adaptation Goals Maintaining existing species Maintaining current ecosystem Resistance Increasing ecological connectivity Enabling ecosystem change (passiv/active) Resilience Enabling new species establishment in site Other goal Transformation 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% Proportion of sites 68% - contribution to enhancing wider ecological networks

12 Adaptation Management Managing/creating habitat patches * Maintaining /altering vegetation structure Species mgmt (control invasive sp.)** Species mgmt (feeding; re-introduction) species/ habitats Managing water levels/ supply Protect against /accommodate flooding processes Intervention: fires Intervention: flooding Intervention: drought^ intervention Reduce non-climate pressures Other 0% 20% 40% 60% Proportion of sites

13 Connectivity Management Coordination with other sites within site within regional-scale ecological network n/a (33) yes (19) across country / Europe 12 no (20) 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Proportion of sites

14 proportion of sites Influence of past experience on adaptation management 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% almost entirely a lot a bit not at all

15 Information sources Ecological knowledge / experience of site staff External scientific researchers Scientists in own organisation Other colleagues in own organisation Other conservation site managers in the region Other experts Climate projections / modelled impacts Reports published (government/ NGO) Articles in scientific journals Information from the internet Books Other journals or magazines Newspaper/radio/TV Other published information very important important Proportion of sites (%)

16 Barriers to action Uncertainty about climate impacts on site Lack of knowledge: appropriate adaptation action Lack of resources (money/staff) Lack of resources (land) Influencing other sectors / action outside site Public opinion / perception Government policies Current conservation practices / strategies Other 89% 65% 76% 58% 60% 60% 49% 44% 17% mean score of importance

17 Key Points Uncertainty of local impacts of changing climate (knowledge) Majority of sites: No or simple vulnerability assessment (capacity/awarenss?) Current adaptation management: mainly for resistance/resilience, less for facilitation of change/transformation Little coordination between sites People - main information source (site staff & scientist within/outside organisations) Barriers: Resources & institutional barriers

18 Developing a road map to climate adaptation in European nature conservation Putting principles into action What are the key challenges of a changing climate? How can adaptation principles be put into action? Which tools are most useful / needed? How can barriers to action be overcome? (knowledge / ressources / institutional barriers)

19 Thank You