Significant changes in climate are likely even if large and immediate cuts in emissions occur, due to the lingering effect of most greenhouse gases.
Conserving biological diversity will require creating conditions that will allow organisms to adapt to these changes.
Two important steps:
- Vulnerability assessment: evaluates the relative vulnerability of terrestrial and aquatic bird habitats to climate change
- Identifies the species or systems that are most at risk from projected climate changes and the reasons underlying their vulnerability.
- Necessary both for developing appropriate responses to climate change and prioritizing their implementation.
- Adaptation strategy: identifies approaches most likely to maximize resilience and maintain ecosystem functions.
- Includes the results of a vulnerability assessment
- Outlines a broad framework for mitigating climate change, including:
- Identification of information needs and actions for addressing needs
- Actionable conservation steps
- Methods for measuring the success of the strategy.
- Strategy should be subject to continual refinement based on rigorous evaluations of their performance.
- Examples of general adaptation strategies:
- Developing a well-connected and secure network of conserved lands that allow species (mostly, plant species that birds rely on) to move in response to climate change.
- Promoting ecosystem resiliency to climate change by reducing the impact of non-climate stressors, such as habitat fragmentation or acid precipitation.
