www.macfound.org

Climate At a Glance • Climate change, more specifically changes in the duration or Change and characteristics of climate conditions that last a decade or longer1, is causing the warming of global surface temperatures, sea level Conservation rise, decreases in snowfall and ice extent, increases in extreme weather events, and measurable changes in precipitation.

• Climate change is unequivocal and will require the adoption of regionally appropriate mitigation and adaptation strategies to minimize and eventually halt the impacts of global climate destabilization.

• Since launching our climate change adaptation initiative in 2005, the MacArthur Foundation has invested over $5.8 million to assess how climate change will impact biodiversity, strengthen the scientific foundation of the field, develop new tools to conserve biodiversity in the face of predicted climate change, and build individual and institutional capacity to make informed decisions about future biodiversity management. By 2012, MacArthur expects to have invested an additional $25 million in climate-related work.

Our goals In tropical regions, where MacArthur to make better decisions about biodiversity focuses conservation efforts, investment conservation in the face of global climate The Foundation’s approach to addressing opportunities to lower greenhouse gas change. The foundation also supports climate change has two components: emissions are limited. Alternatively, and efforts to refine climate change science through existing grants, MacArthur aims necessary to craft biodiversity adaptation (1) Decreasing the production of to slow or halt deforestation, which is the policies and management interventions. greenhouse gases by slowing or stopping developing world’s primary contribution to Third, we will contribute towards the deforestation within conservation and the climate problem. Since 2000, MacArthur development of new tools and technologies 2 sustainable development’s focal areas has made 234 grants, investing over that assist in the implementation of and $66 million to protect standing forests. effective biodiversity adaptation measures. Finally, the foundation seeks to build (2) Adapting current biodiversity MacArthur’s climate adaptation grantmaking national and regional technical capacity to conservation efforts to climate change pursues four objectives. First, we will help integrate adaptation strategies into within these areas. build the fundamental knowledge needed biodiversity conservation initiatives.

1 This definition is provided in the 2007 synthesis report produced by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. 2 Focal areas are reviewed at 10 year intervals and currently include: Insular Caribbean, Northern and Southern Andes, Albertine Rift, Madagascar, Eastern Himalaya, Lower Mekong, and Melanesia. 2 The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation

Key Facts What we Fund climate change. Focusing primarily on coral reef resilience, IUCN has received • The Earth’s average temperature Grantmaking under this theme will take support to establish a technical Working experiences natural long-term fluctuations place primarily within CSD’s existing Group on Tropical Marine Ecosystems between glacial and interglacial periods, geographic areas, with an initial focus on which develops resilience-based coral but during the last two centuries, since assessing how climate change is likely to reef management strategies. Likewise, industrialization, the globe has warmed affect biodiversity. Under this initiative support for The Nature Conservancy rapidly between 0.7 and 1.4 degrees grants have been provided to World allows them to train managers to use Fahrenheit. Wildlife Fund, Conservation International, Marxan, a geospatial tool that identifies The Bishop Museum, International Center optimal protected areas, to develop a • Warming at the poles is occurring in for Integrated Mountain Development, network of resilient marine protected greater magnitude, but more deleterious Inter-American Institute for Global Change areas in Melanesia. consequences will occur in tropical Research and Caribbean Natural Resources regions, where most plants and animals Institute, among others, to carry out broad The first round of capacity building for currently live closer to their optimal brush assessments of the impact of climate climate change adaptation provided a temperature.3 change on both marine and terrestrial grant to the International System for systems in each of the Foundation’s eight Analysis, Research, and Training • Capacity to adapt to regional changes in focal areas. Secretariat (a part of the American climate is dependent on socio-economic Geophysical Union) to begin the process and environmental circumstances, as To improve climate science a grant was of building capacity around the climate well as the availability of information provided to International Union for the issue, focusing on the Albertine Rift. and technology. Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to look at the impacts of climate change on a An organization wishing to approach the • Much less information exists about significant number of endangered species. Foundation may submit a letter of inquiry adaptation strategies than mitigation This will promote greater understanding informing the Foundation of the proposed measures.4 of the additive impact of this threat. project. The format of these letters can be Additional support was provided to found in the “How to Apply” section of BirdLife International to understand MacArthur’s website, www.macfound. climate’s impact on bird species and org. Based on the letter of inquiry, the associated habitats in Africa. Foundation may invite proposals from prospective projects and organizations. Support will also be considered for new technologies, tools, and interventions to conserve biodiversity in the face of

These images were created through a tool produced by BirdLife International which models changes in distribution of important bird species as landscapes are modified by climate change. In this 3-D representation of the Albertine Rift white coloration demonstrates regions with suitable environmental conditions for Regal Sunbird, Nectarinia regia in a) the present; b) 2025; and c) 2085. The grey scale background is a digital elevation, with light grey representing higher altitudes.

A B C

3 Duetsch, Curtis A., Tewksbury Joshua J., et al. “Impacts of climate warming on terrestrial ecotherms across latitude.” Proceedings from the National Academy of Science 105.18 (2008): 6668-6672. 4 IPCC (2007). “Climate Change 2007: Synthesis Report. An Assessment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change” (Cambridge university Press, Cambridge, UK). The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation 3

Representative Grants International Union for Conservation Wildlife Conservation Society of Nature and Natural Resources New York City, New York American Geophysical Union (START) Gland, Switzerland $250,000 in support of an assessment of Washington, DC $350,000 in support of an assessment of the impacts of climate change on $300,000 in support of building capacity species vulnerability to climate change. biodiversity and ecosystem services in for conservation biodiversity in a changing the Albertine Rift region. climate in the Albertine Rift region. International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources Wildlife Conservation Society Bernice P. Bishop Museum Gland, Switzerland New York City, New York Honolulu, HI $186,000 to coordinate consultation for $300,000 in support of research on coral $290,000 to support an assessment of the design of a Global Climate Change reef vulnerability and resilience to climate climate change vulnerability of coastal Adaptation Program and network of change in order to guide the and marine ecosystems in Melanesia. Regional Adaptation Centers. establishment of marine protected areas in Madagascar. Birdlife International International Union for Conservation Cambridge, United Kingdom of Nature and Natural Resources – World Wildlife Fund $250,000 in support of assessing the United States Washington, DC impact of climate change and developing Washington, DC $250,000 in support of a climate change an adaptive management framework for $300,000 to facilitate the exchange of vulnerability assessment for coastal and conservation in the face of climate scientific ideas and generation of new marine conservation in Madagascar. change in the Albertine Rift and as a management tools effecting coral reef model for other parts of Africa. ecosystems that are under stress due to World Wildlife Fund the effects of global climate change. Washington, DC Caribbean Natural Resources Institute $250,000 in support of an assessment of Trinidad, West Indies International Union for Conservation climate change vulnerability and impact of $250,000 in support of assessing climate of Nature and Natural Resources – the freshwater and forest ecosystems in change impacts on biodiversity in the United States the Lower Mekong focal area. Caribbean. Washington, DC $250,000 to undertake a rapid World Wildlife Fund Conservation International assessment of bleaching resistance and Toronto, Ontario, Canada Washington, DC resilience of coral reefs in the Caribbean, $250,000 to develop a species-centered $200,000 in support of integrating climate East Africa and South Pacific. approach to understanding adaptation to change into the Durban Vision in climate change in the Insular Caribbean. Madagascar. Missouri Botanical Garden St. Louis, MO World Wildlife Fund Field Museum $300,000 to assess impacts and mitigate Toronto, Ontario, Canada Chicago, IL consequences of climate change upon $200,000 to bring MacArthur’s climate $325,000 in support of an assessment of Madagascar’s plants. change assessment grantees to the the impact of climate change on the World Conservation Congress in elevational distribution of Malagasy land Nature Conservancy Asia/ Barcelona, Spain, to discuss research vertebrates and building capacity in Pacific Region approaches with a broader conservation conservation biology. Arlington, VA community. $500,000 to develop practical methods Inter-American Institute for Global for applying resilience principles to coral Change Research reef conservation and sharing the science São José dos Campos, Brazil and methodology of coral resilience $450,000 to assess climate change through training programs in areas of high impacts on biodiversity in the Andes. coral reef importance around the world.

International Centre for Integrated University of California Berkeley Mountain Development Natural History Museums Kathmandu, Nepal Berkeley, California $150,000 to support an assessment of $390,000 in support of technological climate change vulnerability of mountain innovations for biodiversity conservation ecosystems in the Eastern Himalaya. in the face of climate change in Madagascar. 4 The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation

For More Information about the About the MacArthur Foundation The John D. and Catherine T. Foundation’s conservation and MacArthur Foundation sustainable development grantmaking The MacArthur Foundation supports Jonathan F. Fanton creative people and effective institutions President Steve Cornelius committed to building a more just, Acting Director verdant, and peaceful world. In addition 140 South Dearborn Street, Suite 1200 [email protected] Chicago, Illinois 60603-5285 to selecting the MacArthur Fellows, we Elizabeth Chadri work to defend human rights, advance Phone: (312) 726-8000 Program Officer global conservation and security, make Fax: (312) 920-6258 E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] cities better places, and understand TDD: (312) 920-6285 how technology is affecting children Christopher Holtz www.macfound.org Program Officer and society. More information is [email protected] available at www.macfound.org. MacArthur in India Phone: (91 11) 2464 4006 Kate Barnes [email protected] Program Associate [email protected] MacArthur in Mexico Phone: (52 55) 3004 1692 [email protected] MacArthur in Nigeria Phone: (234 9) 234 8053 [email protected]

October 2008