Southwest Climate Change Initiative (SWCCI)
Project Dates:
2008–Status:
OngoingCLIMAS Investigators:
Collaborators:
Additional Funders:
Abstract:
CLIMAS is a partner The Nature Conservancy’s Southwest Climate Change Initiative (SWCCI). SWCCI was initiated in 2008 to engage conservation practitioners and land managers in local-scale climate change adaptation planning and implementation. This project specifically aims to: (1) further develop and expand impacts assessment activities in each of the Southwest’s Four Corners states (AZ, CO, NM and UT), (2) apply a vulnerability assessment tool being developed by the U.S. Forest Service, and (3) apply an adaptation planning framework developed by a Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) working group to a series of case-study sites in the four states. The case studies will provide opportunities to further test and refine each component of the overall framework, by building on new research, strengthening existing partnerships, and laying the foundation for future innovation, including on-the-ground application and testing of adaptation strategies. Other partners include the Wildlife Conservation Society, U.S. Forest Service, University of Washington, the National Center for Atmospheric Research, and the Western Water Assessment RISA.