# Presentation: 529556

## Regional Assessments

## Integration of Focus Areas & Regional Assessments

**Human Health**
- Weather-related morbidity
- Water & vector-borne disease
- Air pollutant health effects

**Water Quality**
- Pollutants & pathogens
- Biocriteria
- Drinking Water

**Ecosystems**
- Aquatic ecosystem watersheds
- Aquatic ecosystems coastal
- Invasive species
- Ecosystem services

**Mid-Atlantic**

**Air Quality**
- Prelim ambient air pollutants
- Ambient air pollutants

***Issue-Based***

***Regional***

**Integration of Focus Areas & Regional Assessments**

**Great Lakes**

**Gulf Coast**

## Why Regional Assessments?

- Recognition of the regional texture of climate change
- 1st US National Assessment (19 regions)
- EPA sponsored  Mid-Atlantic, Great Lakes, Gulf Coast
- EPA’s regional-scale program offices
- Need to engage local stakeholders
- Beyond assessment to decision support

## 1st US National Assessment (2001)

- Assessment of consequences
- Organized by sectors
- (e.g., health & geographic regions)
- EPA sponsored 3 regions
- Health sector

## Goals for Phase I

- Determine potential effects of climate change & variability in context of non-climate stressors
- Endpoints determined by expressed needs of stakeholders
- Federal partnerships with universities
- Parameters set  by USGCRP-OSTP
- Most USGCRP Agencies participated

- See Overview Poster

## Phase I Regional Assessments                                

- Phase I Regional Assessments

- Great Lakes
- University of Michigan

- Gulf Coast
- Southern University

- Mid-Atlantic
- Pennsylvania State
- University

## Phase II Assessments

- Committed to regional-scale assessments
- Regions
- Mid-Atlantic, Great Lakes, Gulf Coast
- Demonstrate iterative process with stakeholders
- Focus on decision support tools for adaptation
- Approach determined by stakeholders
- Primarily an extramural program
- Competitively awarded coop agreements
- university consortiums

## Gulf Coast Phase II

- Approach:  “Analysis of Decision Processes”
- Salience of climate change to stakeholders
- How they make decisions
- Role of scientific information

- See Poster on Gulf Coast

## Mid & Upper Atlantic Phase II

- Approach:  “Analysis of Tool Design”
- Tools driven by needs of decision-makers
- based on locations rather than sectors
- Web-based  climate service and socio-economic tools
- Case Studies
- Cape May, Cape Cod, Adirondack Pk, Hampton Rds

- See Poster on Mid-Atlantic

## Great Lakes Phase II

- Approach:  “Analysis of Tool Design”
- Two sectors: Agriculture & Tourism
- Tools to assist decision-makers
- Tart Cherry Production
- Winter recreation
- Incorporation of climate and socio-economic factors

- See Poster on Great Lakes

## Outputs from University Consortia 

|  | Great Lakes | Mid-Atlantic | Gulf Coast |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Pubs | 11 | 13 | 1 |
| Presentations | 38 | 42 | 3 |
| Tools | 7 | 4 | 6 |
| Grad Student | 10 | 20 | 16 |
| Courses | 2 | nr | 2 |
| Infrastructure | 1 | nr | 3 |
| Stakeholders | 24 | 60 | 10 |

## Outcomes

- Increased engagement of stakeholders
- Advanced the state-of-science in regional-scale assessments methods
- Emphasis on problem formulation
- Case study approach
- Use of decision-support tools
- Decisions Informed
- IJC water quality board recommendations
- Use of the Tart cherry production model
- University infrastructure for climate science

## Summary

- Regional scale assessments are an effective method of integration
- Consistent with CCSP plan and NAS recommendations
- Advancing the state-of-science
- Important outputs and outcomes
- Connects the research with the people

## The Future

- Phase II regional-scale work concluding
- Regional-scale work evolving
- Choice of locations informed by decision analysis study
- Questions of spatial and temporal scale
- Partnerships with other agencies

## Acknowledgements

- Janet Gamble
- Susan Julius
- John Furlow
- Jordan West
- Joel Scheraga