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responsibility to our community,” says Mikaela Engert, City Planner for Keene, NH. “It’s ultimately about building stron- ger communities.” Inspired to begin pre- paring for climate change after a 2005 storm caused severe flooding in the city, Keene is now recognized as one of the national leaders on climate adaptation planning, along with Miami-Dade Coun- ty, King County, WA, and others.
WHERE DO LOCAL GOVERNMENTS BEGIN?
Imagine the inefficiency if individual local governments began their own cli- mate adaptation efforts from scratch— developing their own tools and resourc-
es without sharing any ideas or best practices with one another. To avoid this, ICLEI is developing the Climate Resilient Communities Program, set for launch in late 2010. ICLEI’s Program will provide detailed planning guidance and training to help local governments proactively plan for a changing climate, increasing their resiliency and overall community sustainability. Through interactive, web-based
tools, the program will guide participat- ing cities, towns, and counties through ICLEI’s Five Milestones for Climate Adaptation process: Milestone One: Conduct a resiliency study Milestone Two: Set preparedness goals
SOBERING STATISTICS: CLIMATE CHANGE IN YOUR REGION
THE 2009 U.S. GLOBAL CHANGE RESEARCH PROGRAM (USGCRP) REPORT OUTLINED THE CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS THAT REGIONS OF THE UNITED STATES WILL FACE—AND ARE ALREADY FACING TODAY.
MIDWEST
Since the 1980s, large heat waves have been more frequent in the Midwest than anytime in the last century, other than the Dust Bowl years.
NORTHWEST
A shift in stream flow timing in the Northwest has already been observed over the past 50 years, with the peak of spring runoff shifting from a few days earlier in some places to as much as 25 to 30 days earlier in others.
SOUTHWEST
Record wildfires in the Southwest are being driven by rising temperatures and related reductions in spring snowpack and soil moisture.
GREAT PLAINS
Projected increases in temperature, evaporation, and drought frequency add to concerns in the Great Plains about the sustainability of the region’s water supply.
ALASKAN COASTLINES
Alaskan coastlines, many of which are low in elevation, are increasingly threatened by a combination of the loss of their protective sea ice buffer, increasing storm activity, and thawing coastal permafrost.
NORTHEAST
In the Northeast, annual average temperatures increased by 2o
F, with
winter temperatures rising twice as much, relative to 1970 levels.
SOUTHEAST
In the Southeast, the area of moderate to severe spring and summer drought has increased by 12 percent and 14 percent, respectively, since the mid-1970s.
Local Action Moves the World •
www.icleiusa.org
Milestone Three: Create a preparedness plan Milestone Four: Implement the preparedness plan Milestone Five: Monitor, evaluate, and reassess You don’t have to wait for the pro-
gram’s launch to begin your planning. ICLEI offers all local governments, not just its members, a range of free resourc- es and fact sheets, as well as links to re- sources from other organizations such as the U.S. EPA. We encourage all local government staff to learn more about the climate impacts in their region and to consider how they will adapt. The cost of inaction is just too high. PE
icleiusa.org/climateadaptation
PLANET EARTH \\ CLIMATE ADAPTION
SHUTTERSTOCK
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