Adapting to climate change: ecosystem-based approaches for people and nature

Abstract

Layout 1Ecosystem-Based Approaches for People and Nature Adapting to Climate ChangeThe impacts of climate change are no longer a future threat. Right now, climate change is affecting the very basis of life on Earth. It is affecting the resources and ecosystems upon which all of humanity relies—our food and water supplies, erosion and flood controls and the productivity of our oceans, forests, grasslands and agricultural landscapes. The most vulnerable people are those whose livelihoods directly depend on nature and on the ecosystem services that nature provides. Rising sea levels and more frequent and intense flooding threaten coastal communities and small islands. Extended droughts stress grasslands that provide food for people and their livestock. Longer and hotter dry seasons reduce the availability of freshwater for drinking and for agriculture. More frequent, catastrophic wildfires destroy forests and grasslands that people rely on for fuel and food. Warmer ocean temperatures increase incidents of cora