EPA Releases Report on Incorporating Climate Change into Land Protection Planning

EPA has released a report entitled, “An Assessment of Decision-Making Processes:  Evaluation of Where Land Protection Planning can Incorporate Climate Change Information.”  This report, prepared by the Global Change Research Program in the National Center for Environmental Assessment at EPA’s Office of Research and Development (ORD), is a review of decision-making processes of selected land protection programs.  The goal of this report is to assess the feasibility of incorporating climate change impacts into the evaluation of these programs.

The assessment revealed that there are several strategies that might be useful for incorporating climate change into decision making, including new decision-support tools for advisory committees, promulgation of different land protection models (e.g., purchase as opposed to transfer of development rights), and educational outreach on the potential use of land protection within a portfolio of adaptation and mitigation strategies. As jurisdictions learn more about possible climate change impacts, certain land protection strategies may become more desirable and feasible as part of a portfolio of adaptation strategies that ameliorate impacts on watersheds and wildlife.

To view the report, visit:  http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/global/recordisplay.cfm?deid=238091