Our objective is to produce a collective, national (not federal) Strategy that identifies and defines principles and methods to maintain key terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems and functions needed to sustain fish, wildlife and plant resources in the face of accelerating climate change.
Ultimately, the Strategy will be a blueprint for common action that outlines needed scientific support, policy and legal frameworks, best management practices, processes for integration and communication, and a framework for stepping down and implementing these approaches. It will enable national and international conservation communities to harness collective expertise, authority, and skills to define and prioritize a shared set of conservation goals and objectives.
Content and Organization
The Strategy will include:
- A clear statement of purpose and direction
- A compelling case for the need for action
- An overview of the primary climate change impacts and threats to major U.S. ecosystems
- Strategies to build capacity in science, decision making, adaptive management
- A framework to translate broad strategy to action on the ground
- Methods to facilitate inter-jurisdiction coordination and communication
- Methods to facilitate inter-sector integration
- Options to measure progress
- A framework for implementation of the Strategy
The content will focus on national-level strategies, and will also provide specific strategies and actions for the eight major ecosystems of the United States:
- Forests
- Shrublands
- Grasslands
- Deserts
- Tundra
- Inland Waters
- Coastal
- Marine
In addition, cross cutting issues such as water availability, sea level rise, invasive species, and others will be considered across all systems.
