Climate Adaptation

Climate adaptation seeks to reduce the vulnerability of biological and social systems to the impacts of climate change. Climate adaptation is a way of managing this change. In some cases, it will involve adjustments to management strategies in light of climate shifts. In other cases, it will require complete reassessments and modification of conservation goals along with new strategies to achieve those goals. As humans adapt to climate change, there are opportunities as well as risks for biodiversity conservation.

This theme brings together leading researchers to tackle some of the most pressing questions related to climate adaptation and biodiversity conservation. For more information on these topics, please contact ccsg.iucn@gmail.com.

Climate adaptation activities

Title	Description	Leads
Adaptation evidence and guidance	Reviewing evidence and guidance to inform adaptation	James Pearce-Higgins, Wendy Foden
Genetic rescue	Genetic rescue and climate change adaptability	Laura Thompson Ary Hoffmann
Historical knowledge for adaptation	Criteria for using historical knowledge to better inform the conservation management of future biodiversity under climate change	Damien Fordham
Innovative adaptation	Promoting innovation and creativity in the design of adaptation strategies	Bruce Stein Wendy Foden
Opportunities from human responses	Opportunities for biodiversity conservation arising from human climate change adaptation and mitigation	Lesley Hughes Stephen Garnett
Paleo perspectives	Using paleoecology to better understand species’ and ecosystems’ resilience and adaptive capacity in climate change	Steve Jackson Brian Huntley
Social Acceptability of Adaptation Measures	Guidelines for assessing social impacts of climate change adaptation	Shannon Hagerman Stephen Garnett
Species Conservation Planning	Incorporating climate change into Species Conservation Planning	Tara Martin H. Resit Akçakaya