Climate Change Implications for Ecological Restoration Planning
Climate change alters the biophysical and socioeconomic context for ecological restoration efforts in a multitude of ways, some of which are known, others anticipated, and still others unknown. These climatic variations will likely cause multiple and casc
- PDF / 178,730 Bytes
- 11 Pages / 504 x 720 pts Page_size
- 90 Downloads / 220 Views
Climate Change Implications for Ecological Restoration Planning Mark Buckley and Ernie Niemi
Climate change alters the biophysical and socioeconomic context for ecological restoration efforts in a multitude of ways, some of which are known, others anticipated, and still others unknown. These climatic variations will likely cause multiple and cascading effects to ecosystem structures, functions, and compositions, and bring into question how best to approach ecological restoration planning and implementation. For example, regional-scale coastal restoration efforts in places are more difficult due to these changes, although they will be more important than ever. In this chapter we discuss how planners, restorationists, and others will have to work together in an atmosphere of adaptive management in order to meet ecological and social demands in the face of climate change. We start with an example from the state of Washington, where collaborative efforts are under way to maintain and restore the natural capital and functional landscape of the Puget Sound basin.
Climate Change and Planning for Restoration in the Puget Sound Basin In 2007, the Washington State Legislature created the Puget Sound Partnership (PSP), a collaboration-minded state agency with the mission of restoring Puget Sound by 2020. The PSP coordinates actions across local, state, and federal agencies to restore ecosystem structures and functions, and has developed the Action Agenda to prioritize and implement the most cost-effective projects (PSP 2008). As defined by the PSP (2009a, 7), “The Puget Sound ecosystem spans the terrestrial, freshwater aquatic, and marine systems in the area from the crest of the Cascades and Olympic mountains, down through the Puget lowlands, and into the estuarine and marine inland waters of Washington state. The Puget Sound ecosystem is the southern portion of a larger system that extends into Canadian lands and waters: the Puget Sound–Georgia Basin ecosystem.” This large ecosystem is currently experiencing declines in ecological function, water quality, habitat availability, and wildlife populations (PSP 2009b). The PSP has three top priorities: • Protect intact ecosystem processes, structures, and functions that sustain Puget Sound D. Egan (eds.), Human Dimensions of Ecological Restoration: Integrating Science, Nature, and Culture, 177 The Science and Practice of Ecological Restoration, DOI 10.5822/978-1-61091-039-2_13, © Island Press 2011
178
p ow er : p o l i t i c s, g o v e r n a n c e , a nd p la nni ng
• Restore ecosystem processes, structures, and functions that sustain Puget Sound • Prevent water pollution at its source These strategies guide landscape-scale and local project selection and funding, and focus on protecting the large remaining riparian, estuarine, and nearshore areas; reducing water pollution sources, such as stormwater; and reducing shoreline armoring and impervious surfaces. Population growth, increasing urbanization, and transportation behaviors exacerbate these challenges. Indeed, this re
Data Loading...
