Climate Action Through Conservation

This talk will discuss the importance of conservation and the role of local governments and land use decisions in addressing climate change. To illustrate these points, the presentation will highlight an innovative project in Sonoma County, California, that is designed to be a model for county and regional-scale integration on land use, conservation and emissions reduction.  The Climate Action through Conservation is a partnership between The Nature Conservancy, California Chapter and the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District. It links science, technology and policy by providing data, tools and incentives to help counties address climate change through an integrated approach to conservation at the landscape scale. With Sonoma County (over 1.1 million acres) as the pilot, this initiative is developing the methods and tools needed to help counties and regions estimate and monitor the greenhouse gas  implications of different land use scenarios and activities, such as forest restoration, or avoiding the conversion of forest and grasslands to other uses such as development.  The initiative creates a nexus to climate policies and emerging economic incentives that will enable counties to more effectively reduce GHG emissions and sequester carbon through changes in land use.