Services in the face of Climate Change” will focus on developing management strategies and policies for building resilient ecosystem services—those goods and services nature provides to people, such as clean water, food production, clean air, wood, flood control, space for recreation, and wildlife, many of which are essential to human survival and well-being.
Scientists know the climate will change and affect these services. The project will help landowners and communities learn how to adapt to impending changes by developing and implementing strategies that make the ecosystem services more resilient to climate change.
The project will work with four key sectors influencing rural landscapes in New England : forestry, agriculture, rural residential development, and conservation lands (such as state parks and wildlife refuges). The project will develop climate change adaptation strategies with individual landowners or managers and larger-scale watersheds and counties. Project sites will be located in southeastern Massachusetts and southern and mid-coast Maine
“This project is about getting climate change adaptation going now, on the ground, by working with people who live and work in rural landscapes,” said Manomet’s President Dr. John Hagan. “This is an opportunity to do something locally while participating in a larger national effort to learn how to confront climate change. The Copenhagen
“We need to do all we can to minimize climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but we also need to adapt to the changes we know will take place,” noted Dr. Hector Galbraith, Director of Manomet’s Climate Change and Energy Initiative. “In a best case scenario, New England’s climate by the end of the century could be like Virginia ’s climate today, with all kinds of implications for New England agriculture and forestry, rural communities, and wildlife species. We have to start thinking ahead, and thinking ahead will lead to more sustainable and resilient systems to all kinds of stressors, not just to climate change.”
The National Wildlife Federation will be working on the project with Manomet to identify local, state, and national policies that would help landowners and communities adapt to climate change.
Recently, the Kresge Foundation established a new program in climate change, energy
efficiency, and renewable energy. The investment in Manomet’s work reflects the Foundation’s commitment to work in partnership with like-minded organizations to protect the planet and promote its long-term sustainability for future generations. “Manomet is playing a leadership role in helping people tackle the practical challenges of climate change,” said John Nordgren, Kresge’s Senior Program Officer and leader of its Climate Change Adaptation Program. “Manomet has a long and well-established reputation for knowing how to work with land managers to get things done on the ground.”
As one of the nation's oldest non-profit environmental research organizations, Manomet is dedicated to conserving natural resources for both humans and wildlife. Through science and public engagement, Manomet works to integrate society’s social, economic, and environmental values to create sustainable systems for present and future generations. Manomet’s headquarters are in Plymouth , Massachusetts , but it also has offices in Maine , Vermont , Mexico , and Chile
The Kresge Foundation (www.kresge.org) is a $2.9 billion private, national foundation that seeks to influence the quality of life for future generations through its support of nonprofit organizations in six fields of interest: health, the environment, community development, arts and culture, education, and human services.
Contact:
Rob Kluin, Communications Director
rkluin@manomet.org
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