Overcoming climate uncertainty paralysis while working toward landscape adaptation

Two major challenges stand out among the many hurdles to successful climate adaptation in ecosystems: (1) overcoming uncertainty paralysis to move from concept to action, and (2) expanding from site-level focus to landscape application. The Climate Change Response Framework (www.forestadaptation.org) addresses these challenges demystifying scientific information on climate change and helping forest management organizations and professionals identify and implement practical solutions for enhancing forest adaptation to changing conditions. It does this through training seminars and workshops for land managers, model simulations tailored to forest management, wide-scale coordinated approaches to vulnerability assessment, publication of adaptation strategies and an adaption workbook, and establishment of real-world examples of adaptation planning and on-the-ground implementation. The Framework community includes over 100 science and management groups, dozens of whom have worked together to complete six ecoregional vulnerability assessments covering nearly 135 million acres. More than 75 forest and urban forest adaptation strategies are being linked through the Adaptation Workbook process to on-the-ground adaptation tactics being planned and employed in more than 50 real-world adaptation “demonstrations”. These diverse adaptation demonstrations range from tens to tens of thousands of acres. Common to all the demonstrations is a robust, structured approach to adaptation planning that carefully emphasizes solutions. Large landscape, coordinated, climate-informed management will most effectively emerge from a community of practitioners that has actively planned and implemented adaptation at smaller scales before applying those lessons and experience to working across boundaries at larger scales. The Framework is actively creating examples, fostering communication and trust, and working toward larger solutions.