adapt to the impacts of climate change. There is still a lack of transfer from existing
scientific knowledge into conservation strategies and measures. Especially, the
social effects of climate change and their impact on conservation management
are not well addressed, even though they frame its decision context (Heller and
Zavaleta 2009).
Most of the available concepts and guidelines for the adaptation of conservation
management are lacking connection to local strategies and actions. There is an
urgent need for more science-practice partnerships to identify strategies that are
robust to uncertainty deriving from climate projections and their ecological consequences. In addition, easy applicable tools are needed that provide no-regret options
for adaptation, based on available scientific information.
The adaptation of conservation management is a huge task and has to overcome
multiple challenges on local level:
• The lack of resources: local conservation management is chronically scarce of
resources like budget and manpower. New challenges like climate change are
therefore hard to tackle.
• The lack of expertise in adaptation issues: on a local level there might be several
experts trained to identifying effects of climate change, but only few are trained
in adaptation issues.
• The lack of guidance to find suitable data and methods: in the last years an
overwhelming amount of data and information on climate change and its effects
has become available. A plethora of approaches and data has been published
making it hard to identify relevant information and useful methods.
• The lack of suitable monitoring methods: signals of local climate change and its
effects are hard to distinguish from the noise of natural dynamics. Robust
methods helping to disentangle the web of pressures like land use and climate
change are still rare.
• The lack of management methods: conservation experts in the field need simple,
applicable tools and guidance for decision support in everyday management of
conservation sites. They need methods to identify climate change related conflicts, to identify robust adaptation strategies, to choose suitable management
measures, and to prioritise action.
• The lack of tools for communication and awareness raising: effective adaptation
of conservation management needs to build public, as well as political, support
for local adaptation activities. Tools for communication and participation are
needed to foster environmental education, to illustrate effects of climate change,
to show the relevance of adaptation measures, to guide autonomous adaptation
of other land users, and to include stakeholders and the wider public in the
adaptation process.
Despite the existing gaps and challenges, local conservation management cannot
hesitate to take action and must proceed in the face of considerable uncertainty
(Conroy et al. 2011).
6
S. Rannow et al.
scientific knowledge into conservation strategies and measures. Especially, the
social effects of climate change and their impact on conservation management
are not well addressed, even though they frame its decision context (Heller and
Zavaleta 2009).
Most of the available concepts and guidelines for the adaptation of conservation
management are lacking connection to local strategies and actions. There is an
urgent need for more science-practice partnerships to identify strategies that are
robust to uncertainty deriving from climate projections and their ecological consequences. In addition, easy applicable tools are needed that provide no-regret options
for adaptation, based on available scientific information.
The adaptation of conservation management is a huge task and has to overcome
multiple challenges on local level:
• The lack of resources: local conservation management is chronically scarce of
resources like budget and manpower. New challenges like climate change are
therefore hard to tackle.
• The lack of expertise in adaptation issues: on a local level there might be several
experts trained to identifying effects of climate change, but only few are trained
in adaptation issues.
• The lack of guidance to find suitable data and methods: in the last years an
overwhelming amount of data and information on climate change and its effects
has become available. A plethora of approaches and data has been published
making it hard to identify relevant information and useful methods.
• The lack of suitable monitoring methods: signals of local climate change and its
effects are hard to distinguish from the noise of natural dynamics. Robust
methods helping to disentangle the web of pressures like land use and climate
change are still rare.
• The lack of management methods: conservation experts in the field need simple,
applicable tools and guidance for decision support in everyday management of
conservation sites. They need methods to identify climate change related conflicts, to identify robust adaptation strategies, to choose suitable management
measures, and to prioritise action.
• The lack of tools for communication and awareness raising: effective adaptation
of conservation management needs to build public, as well as political, support
for local adaptation activities. Tools for communication and participation are
needed to foster environmental education, to illustrate effects of climate change,
to show the relevance of adaptation measures, to guide autonomous adaptation
of other land users, and to include stakeholders and the wider public in the
adaptation process.
Despite the existing gaps and challenges, local conservation management cannot
hesitate to take action and must proceed in the face of considerable uncertainty
(Conroy et al. 2011).
6
S. Rannow et al.