Reducing the Impact of Global Warming on Wildlife: The Science, Management and Policy Challenges Ahead DEFENDERS OF WILDLIFE Defenders of Wildlife is a national, nonprofit membership organization dedicated to the protection of all native wild plants and animals in their natural communities. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This report is a synthesis of Innovations in Wildlife Conservation: Reducing the Impact of Global Warming on Wildlife, a national symposium hosted by Defenders of Wildlife in Washington, D.C., on September 27, 2007. Support for the symposium was provided by the Wilburforce Foundation and Dr. Benjamin C. Hammett. The complete proceedings of the symposium are available at www.defenders.org/symposium2007. Author: E. Jean Brennan, Ph.D.; Climate Change Scientist, Defenders of Wildlife Editor: Kate Davies Designer: Rick Callender Preferred citation: Brennan, E.J. (2008) Reducing the Impact of Global Warming on Wildlife: The Science, Management and Policy Challenges Ahead. Defenders of Wildlife. Washington, D.C. ©2008 Defenders of Wildlife 1130 17th Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20036-4604 202.682.9400 www.defenders.org Cover photos: polar bear and cub ©Martha Holmes/naturepl.com; coral reef with bleaching ©seapics.com; pika ©Company of Adventurers Cert no. XXX-XXX-000 S N K JA Table of Contents C 1. Introduction ..................................................................4 CARIBOU © NI 2. Scope of the Challenge ..............................................5 3. Serious Complications ...............................................8 4. Mitigation ...................................................................13 5. Managing Under Uncertainty .................................. 17 6. Adaptation ..................................................................19 7. Policy Response Challenges ....................................27 8. Vital Framework ........................................................31 9. Recommendations and Conclusion ........................33 Appendices A. Symposium Agenda ...................................................37 B. Symposium Panelist Biographies ...........................38 www.defenders.org 3 1. Introduction uman-induced global warming in greenhouse gases are dominated by To identify these steps, Defenders of is emerging as the greatest threat human activities.” Global warming Wildlife hosted Innovations in Wildlife Hfacing the planet today. Wildlife is is affecting every part of the globe Conservation: Reducing the Impact of especially vulnerable. Negative impacts and will continue to do so well into Global Warming on America’s Wildlife, a of climate change are already evident, this century and possibly beyond. To national symposium (Appendix A). The including loss of critical habitat in the address the threat of global warming September 2007 symposium brought polar and high mountain ecosystems; effectively, we must act now to reduce together three panels of experts from damage to oceans, coastlines and coral the primary cause of human-induced the scientific, wildlife management and reefs due to sea level rise and increased global warming: the greenhouse gases policy communities (Appendix B) to storm activity; and more frequent and emitted when we burn fossil fuels. identify what we can do to enhance intense periods of drought. However, even with immediate the ability of wildlife to survive this Although the science of climate action, it will still be too late to prevent century. change investigation began in the the extinction of some species, and Scientists presented the latest 1950s, the most recent work of the others will edge closer to extinction scientific findings and outlined the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate as the Earth continues to warm. challenges related to the impacts of Change (IPCC), the United Nations Until the greenhouse gases already global warming. Wildlife managers advisory body composed of scientists accumulated in the atmosphere break identified actions that can assist and climate change experts from down and the climate system achieves wildlife and ecosystems to better around the world, provided the a new equilibrium, global warming adapt to climate change. Policy scientific framework to systematically will continue to alter climate patterns analysts considered the existing review and evaluate the latest studies on policy framework and discussed what global warming. around the globe and threaten the might be necessary to implement Based on decades of investigation natural world for decades, if not adaptation strategies and to address involving direct Earth observations centuries. the impacts of global warming. This and measurements, climate modeling Fortunately, we can take many report is a synthesis of the symposium, and impact documentation, the now actions to help wildlife survive until we summarizing the panel presentations, broad scientific consensus is that make progress in reducing greenhouse discussions and key recommendations climate change due to global warming gas emissions. The timescale and that emerged. is occurring. Moreover, according order of magnitude for the loss of our to Susan Solomon, senior U.S. biological diversity depend on if—and ATZ K government scientist and co-author of when—we take these actions. By taking the most recent IPCC report, “there careful steps now, we can avoid the © MARTY can be no question that the increases most dramatic losses. “We hope that the results of this symposium will help all of us begin to understand the kind of new and more dynamic conservation strategies that are necessary if we are to help as many species as possible survive the climate changes that lie ahead.” —Rodger Schlickeisen, President and CEO, Defenders of Wildlife 4 Reducing the Impact of Global Warming on Wildlife 2. Scope of the Challenge he challenges associated with surface runoff from melting snow to their prey. For example, polar climate change due to global and ice has caused sea levels to rise bears rely on the ice platform to hunt Twarming are negatively affecting globally, although at different rates ringed and bearded seals (Phocidae). both the physical and biological geographically. The greatest rise is Seals frequent the thin edges and elements of nature. The impacts of on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of openings in the ice—breathing sea-level rise associated with climate North America. Rising sea levels and holes—where polar bears lie in wait. change alone present not only an increasing storm and wave intensity Now, however, due to the rise in ecological challenge, but also a are claiming coastal and salt marsh surface and sea temperatures, less ice social, economic and cultural threat habitats. Salt marsh habitats along is forming, making it more difficult exceeding anything mankind has ever shorelines in the temperate zone are for bears to hunt and requiring them faced. These physical changes and increasingly inundated. As a result, other observed impacts are discussed the ability of many areas to function to expend more energy to swim in this section. and sustain critical ecosystem services between widely separated ice packs in is compromised. search of prey. It is also increasingly “There is nothing more Other changes in the physical difficult for female polar bears to world not directly attributed to acquire food and to successfully sensitive to the impacts of global warming, but correlated with reproduce and rear their young. temperature increases and decreased Loss of sea ice also affects prey climate change than the precipitation, are the increased species. For seals, sea ice interacts natural world.” incidence and intensity of storms with oceanography to enhance and wildfires. In the western United prey production in cold marine —Tom Lovejoy, The Heinz Center States, for example, the incidence and environments. As sea ice declines, intensity of wildfires are increasing so do the numbers within fish following longer, hotter and drier populations that sustain these seal summers and earlier snowmelt. The PHYSICAL CHANGES populations. Seals either move farther frequency and intensity of hurricanes The Earth’s climate system is out to sea or decline in numbers. are also showing strong correlation extremely responsive to changes These impacts of global warming are in temperature. As a result, global to increased land and sea surface causing a cascading collapse of this warming is affecting climate patterns temperatures. Arctic system. and has already changed the physical world. For example, as a result of ARCTIC AND BOREAL ImpACTS “I wanted to bring Alaska rising temperatures, lakes are freezing Alaska clearly represents “ground later, spring ice is breaking up earlier, zero” for global warming in North prominently to the global glaciers are retreating and the Arctic America, according to Glenn ice cap is melting. Juday of the University of Alaska warming discussions to The polar region has seen the and Deborah Williams of Alaska greatest rise in temperature and is Conservation Solutions. Loss of sea help convince America. We already suffering the most extreme ice is particularly evident, threatening see it first. We see it most climate impacts. In recent years, the the polar bear (Ursus maritimus) Arctic has experienced a dramatic and other ice-dependent species. intensely. The crisis is now.” decline of sea ice, especially during Ice-dependent species lose both the —Deborah Williams summer. The increased flow of quality and quantity of physical sea- Alaska Conservation Solutions fresh water into the oceans via