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Big Dogs and Baby Steps:
Local Jurisdictions and Adaptation
Experiences in Washington
Photo: NASA Visible Earth
Katrina Hoffman
Coastal Resources Specialist
Washington Sea Grant
10 November 2009
Definitions and Context
(They’re important!)
Comment submitted after an ADAPTATION training:
“I was surprised that carbon sequestration was not discussed
at all.”
Is sequestration an adaptation- or mitigationoriented approach?
Adaptation
• “The process whereby a population becomes better suited to its
habitat through the process of natural selection. This process takes
place over many generations, and is one of the basic phenomena of
biology.” (Univ. of California Museum of Paleontology; Wikipedia)
• “Adaptation to climate change is vital in order to reduce the
impacts of climate change that are happening now and increase
resilience to future impacts.” (UNFCCC)
• “Adjustment in natural or human systems in response to actual or
expected climatic changes or their impacts, so as to reduce harm or
exploit beneficial opportunities.” (USAID adaptation guidebook)
Mitigation (of global warming):
• Taking actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
and to enhance sinks aimed at reducing the extent of
global warming. (IPCC Glossary Working Group III)
•Can be achieved via social, technological or economic
methods and policies.
Mitigation and Adaptation
•Both are action oriented;
•Mitigation actions are aimed at SOURCES of warming
•Adaptation actions are aimed at IMPACTS of warming
Adaptive actions acknowledge that impacts are
already occurring, and/or will occur in the future
Vulnerability: The extent to which climate change
may damage or harm a system; it depends not only on
a system’s sensitivity, but also on its ability to adapt to
new climatic conditions. (IPCC 2nd assessment report)
Resilience:
(1)The degree to which a system
rebounds, recoups or recovers from a stimulus. (Climate
Change Knowledge Network)
(2) The ability of a social or ecological system to absorb
disturbances while retaining the same basic structure
and ways of functioning, the capacity for selforganization, and the capacity to adapt to stress and
change. (IPCC Working Group II)
Washington State Counties (pop.)
Graphic: WA State Department of Transportation
This map sheds light on the term “big dogs” in the lecture title…
Washington State Cities
Population
# of Cities
> 100,000
6
50,000 – 99,999
12
20,000 – 49,999
28
5,000 – 19,999
68
1,000 – 4,999
86
< 1,000
81
Data source: Washington State Office of Financial Management
• We are a state of small cities.
• The “big dogs” generally have more resources and capacity to plan
for things like climate adaptation (e.g. King County).
• Smaller jurisdictions may look to “big dogs” for guidance, but
often feel they have little in common.
National Climate Project
NOAA Coastal Services Center
National Estuarine Research Reserve Association
Cathy Angell, Coordinator,
Padilla Bay NERR
Mission: To offer practical, science-based training
to professionals who make decisions about coastal
management.
Project Goals
Develop a product to address a certain aspect of
climate change for coastal decision-makers
To be useful for Coastal Training Programs around
the country
Could also be used by Sea Grant Programs and other
agencies
Phone Survey
Customizable Training Workshop
How can decision-makers take
action?
• Identify areas of risk
• Establish planning priorities
• Create adaptation strategies
• Coordinate with other entities
“Planning for Climate
Change”
2 Pilot Trainings
85 shoreline planners and coastal managers
Partners
Cathy Angell
Katrina
Hoffman
Lara Whitely Binder
Elizabeth
Willmott
Needs Assessment Survey
Respondents:
n = 209
Planners
52.8%
Job Affiliation:
Local government
44.8%
Level of awareness about
climate issues
Medium
59.3%
High
35.7%
Low
5.0%
Needs Assessment Survey
Climate Impacts of Concern
17 items; Likert scale
Impacts to Management
16 items; Likert scale
Planning Issues
14 items; Likert scale
Likelihood of Attending
>90% (somewhat to very likely)
One-day preference
98%
Location preferences
3 clear locations
AGENDA TOPICS
Global and Pacific NW Climate Change
Lara Whitely Binder, Climate Impacts Group
Sea Level Rise and Coastal Impacts
Hugh Shipman, Coastal Geologist, WA Dept. of
Ecology
Fundamental Concepts in Planning for
Climate Change
Elizabeth Willmott, Karen Wolf, Laura Wharton – King County
Preparing for Climate Change
Suggested Steps
1. Initiate a climate planning effort
Listen to the science
Scope the impacts to your sectors
Build support – and build a team
Identify planning areas most affected by climate change
2.
3.
4.
5.
Conduct a climate resiliency study
Set goals and develop your plan
Implement your plan
Measure progress
Drawn from Preparing for Climate Change: A Guidebook for Local, Regional and State
Governments, by the Climate Impacts Group and King County, and published by ICLEI –
September 2007.
Simple Steps = Complex Reality
Chapter 5: “Build and Maintain Support”
• Identify a local preparedness champion
• Identify and understand your audience for outreach
• Develop a preparedness message
• Spread the message
Community Engagement and Addressing
Barriers to Adaptation
Lara Whitely Binder, Climate Impacts Group
• Top 10 list of common
barriers
•How to plan for an uncertain
future
•Low regrets & “win-win”
strategies
•Build capacity
•Reframe issues
•One-size does not fit all
•Difficult choices ahead
Technical Tools and Resources
•NOAA Climate Adaptation site
•EPA Climate Ready Estuaries
•Climate Impacts Group
•Science and data sources from “the guidebook”
•State agency sea level rise assessment
WACCIA Papers
Final draft released
February 11, 2009
Updated climate impacts
information for Washington
in 8 key sectors
Web content, fact sheets, and
other summary material will
be made available
More than 4 terabytes of
meteorological and
hydrologic data
CASES Database
(in development)
Searchable adaptation
case study database
Search criteria include:
Country, state, city
Population size
Impact areas of concern
Types of adaptation activities
User-driven content
To be released
King County
Asset Vulnerability Tool
•Goal: To share methodology with others through a GIS based
tool.
•Built generic as possible to provide transferability outside
King County
•Simple for those with limited access to quality climate data
•Extensive enough for those with complex asset and data
situations
Asset Vulnerability Tool
Worksheet Exercise: Identifying Vulnerability in
Your Community (participants)
Summary of Washington State’s Climate
Change Program and Major State Planning
Regulations
Spencer Reeder, Lead Policy Strategist on Climate
Change, Department of Ecology
A Brief World Tour of Climate Adaptation
Projects
Katrina Hoffman, Coastal Resources Specialist, WA Sea
Grant
All materials available at:
www.nerrs.noaa.gov
Menu: Training; Climate
Performance Indicators
Improved Understanding
Intent to Apply in Job
93%
93%
Satisfied to Extremely Satisfied:
Content and Materials
98%
Training Methods and Approaches 97%
Opportunities for Networking
92%
Training Usefulness
Global and Pacific NW Climate Change – 97%
Sea Level Rise and Coastal Impacts – 100%
Fundamental Concepts in Planning for Climate Change – 90%
Community Engagement and Addressing Barriers to Adaptation
– 85%
Technical Tools and Resources – 82%
Vulnerability Worksheet
Written Exercise – 69%
Small Group Discussion – 81%
Large Group Discussion – 68%
Brief World Tour of Climate Adaptation Projects – 92%
Written Comments - Trends
Very interested in the science and the specific impacts
to the Northwest
Would like to see more regional examples used to
illustrate planning and public engagement strategies esp. for small to medium jurisdictions
Found the written exercise valuable - especially the
small group sharing to hear other people’s issues and
perspectives
What did you learn?
“How to frame climate change as a risk management
issue and incorporate other agencies into the
planning process.”
“To think about the second half of the climate change
equation--how to adapt for the changes rather than
just trying to mitigate them.”
“We should be viewing everything through the lens of
climate change, as opposed to it being ‘just another
thing’ to have to plan for.”
Planners want…
• “Tools to work from are the gap I wanted to fill”
• More case study examples of planning concepts in action
• Regulatory language examples that other communities are
using
• Vulnerability spatial assessment tools (like the King County
one)
• Regulatory incentives/requirements to incorporate climate
change in planning
• To know how climate variability can be incorporated in codes
and planning processes.
Opportunities
• WA Dept. of Ecology—applied for Coastal
Management Fellow to develop sea level rise
guidance for shoreline master program updates
• Sea Grant agents—hone skills, better support
constituents
• Partnerships can strengthen all efforts