Manomet Leads "Groundbreaking" Conference on Climate Change Adaptation

Leaders Gather to Discuss
Strategies and Future Efforts

"Virtually all scientists recognize that we are in an era of rapid climate change that will adversely affect ecological resources, and that innovative conservation strategies for wildlife, plants and habitat must be implemented to ensure a sustainable future. This Massachusetts-led conference on climate change adaptation is truly a groundbreaking opportunity and defining moment for developing science-based responses to a crisis that affects all life on earth."
– E.O. Wilson

Climate change is happening. Rising global temperatures, melting glaciers and ice sheets, and sea level rise leave little room for doubt that the planet is warming due to human emissions of greenhouse gasses. We do not need to look as far as the Arctic to see the impacts of climate change on wildlife. One of the most significant yet least discussed impacts of climate change in New England is the effects on fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats. Conserving these important resources will require us to think creatively about how we protect their habitats in an era of rapid change – this is the challenge of adaptation. That is why a group of eight non-profit and state organizations recently co-sponsored an important conference--Responding to Climate Change: Working Together to Conserve Land, Wildlife and Habitat. The conference, held November 15 at Bentley College, Waltham, MA, addressed climate change on New England wildlife and ecosystems and discussed strategies and opportunities for action. Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences took a lead role in organizing the conference.

Massachusetts, with its progressive, habitat-based State Wildlife Action Plan, is uniquely positioned to lead the way on the crucial issue of climate change adaptation. The first of its kind for the Commonwealth and nation, the conference brought together a diverse group of nearly 200 conservation leaders, including scientists, land stewards, hunters, anglers, government officials, advocates, foundation officers, policy-makers and others. The goal of the conference was for participants to consider applied conservation strategies, resources and approaches to manage these changes and begin building a network of practitioners to coordinate future conservation efforts with the focus being on adaptation. To view the conference program, click here.

"Over the last two decades, climate change and its potential ecological implications have transitioned from being regarded as distant possibilities into being recognized as major threats," said Dr. Hector Galbraith, Director of Manomet's Climate Change Initiative, and an expert in how climate change affects ecological systems. "In the 1980s, the scientific and public dialogue focused on questions about whether climate change was merely an academic hypothesis, or whether it might actually happen at some distant future date. Much has happened in 20 years: it is now well-established that global temperatures are increasing, precipitation patterns are changing, sea levels are rising, "permanent" ice fields are melting, and that climate change impacts are already being seen in the planet's ecological systems. Also, over the last decade a consensus has emerged among scientists that the measured climatic changes are driven by human actions, and are not natural cycles. A sea change has occurred in the world's understanding of climate change. And now a sea change is necessary in our response."

"The Department of Fish and Game recognizes that climate change will have profound impacts on Massachusetts habitats and wildlife species and we have begun to develop and implement new climate adaptation strategies to better protect, restore, and manage the Commonwealth's fisheries and wildlife resources," Department of Fish and Game Commissioner Mary Griffin said. "We are very pleased to co-sponsor this conference on responding to climate change as it is an important step in working together with our partners in the conservation community in this effort."

Numerous studies testify that the ecological responses hypothesized in the mid-1990s are actually now occurring. Among ecologists and natural resource managers, these realizations have begun to shift the focus away from what impacts are likely to occur in the natural world, to what we can do to minimize adverse impacts on valued natural resources. Impact and vulnerability assessments, while still having extremely important roles, are now being increasingly viewed as essential first steps toward the larger question of adaptation. Why is adaptation planning important in New England? The answer is that if we are to conserve valued ecological resources such as fish and wildlife populations against a changing climatic background, we need to begin planning now. We need to understand which of these resources may be more or less vulnerable, how they are likely to be impacted, how climate change will interact with other stressors, and, most importantly, what future conservation options might be most effective.

Conference co-sponsors included Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences, Massachusetts Department of Fish & Game, New England Wild Flower Society, Massachusetts Land Trust Coalition, The Nature Conservancy's Massachusetts Office, Mass Audubon, the Environmental League of Massachusetts, and the National Wildlife Federation.

Back to top