Climate Change Adaptation: Information On Selected Federal 

Efforts To Adapt To A Changing Climate (GAO-10-114SP, 

October 7, 2009), an E-supplement to GAO-10-113 

Read the Full Report: Climate Change Adaptation: Strategic Federal Planning Could Help Government Officials Make 

More Informed Decisions (GAO-10-113) 

Background Information 

Instructions for Viewing and Printing This E-Supplement 

Background Information 

We obtained information from 13 selected federal departments and agencies on their current and planned climate 

change adaptation efforts as part of a broader review of climate change adaptation (see GAO-10-113). We present 

this information to provide a more complete picture of the activities that federal agencies consider to be related to 

climate change adaptation than has been available publicly. We obtained this information directly from the agencies 

participating in the U.S. Global Change Research Program.1 

Importantly, we did not modify the content of the agency submissions (except to remove references to named 

individuals) or assess its validity. In addition, because this information represents the efforts of a selected group of 

federal agencies, the agency activities compiled in this report should not be considered a comprehensive list of all 

recent and ongoing climate change adaptation efforts across the federal government. 

A more detailed discussion of our scope and methodology is contained in our report Climate Change Adaptation: 

Strategic Federal Planning Could Help Government Officials Make More Informed Decisions, GAO-10-113. We 

conducted this performance audit from September 2008 to October 2009 in accordance with generally accepted 

government auditing standards. 

 

1

The U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) coordinates and integrates federal research on changes in the global 

environment and their implications for society. We did not receive a submission from the Smithsonian Institution. In addition to the 

agencies that participate in USGCRP, we also obtained a summary of current and planned adaptation-related efforts from the 

Federal Emergency Management Agency, part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, because of prior GAO adaptationrelated work on its National Flood Insurance Program. 

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Page 2 
Climate Change Adaptation: Information on Selected Federal Efforts to Adapt 

to a Changing Climate (GAO-10-114SP, October 7, 2009), an E-supplement to 

GAO-10-113. 

We obtained information from 13 selected federal departments and agencies on their 

current and planned climate change adaptation efforts as part of a broader review of 

climate change adaptation (see GAO-10-113). We present this information to provide a 

more complete picture of the activities that federal agencies consider to be related to 

climate change adaptation than has been available publicly. We obtained this 

information directly from the agencies participating in the U.S. Global Change Research 

Program.1 

Importantly, we did not modify the content of the agency submissions (except to remove 

references to named individuals) or assess its validity. In addition, because this 

information represents the efforts of a selected group of federal agencies, the agency 

activities compiled in this report should not be considered a comprehensive list of all 

recent and ongoing climate change adaptation efforts across the federal government. 

Any questions about the information should be directed to the agencies themselves. 

The following page contains a list of the departments and agencies included in the 

compilation that follows. 

 

1

The U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) coordinates and integrates federal research on 

changes in the global environment and their implications for society. We did not receive a submission from 

the Smithsonian Institution. In addition to the agencies that participate in USGCRP, we also obtained a 

summary of current and planned adaptation-related efforts from the Federal Emergency Management 

Agency, part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, because of prior GAO adaptation-related work 

on its National Flood Insurance Program.

Page 1 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
Page 2 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation

List of Participating Departments and Agencies

U.S. Department of Agriculture

Agricultural Marketing Service 

Agricultural Research Service 

Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service 

Economic Research Service 

Farm Service Agency 

Forest Service 

Natural Resources Conservation Service 

U.S. Department of Commerce 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

U.S. Department of Defense 

Office of the Secretary of Defense 

Army 

Navy 

Air Force 

Marine Corps 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 

U.S. Department of Energy 

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 

National Institutes of Health 

U.S. Department of Homeland Security 

Federal Emergency Management Agency 

U.S. Department of the Interior 

U.S. Department of State and

U.S. Agency for International Development 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

Office of Transportation Policy 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 

National Aeronautics and Space Administration 

National Science Foundation 
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) submitted information on its 

adaptation-related efforts on June 17, 2009. USDA was given the opportunity to 

review its initial submission and sent updated information on September 8, 

2009. GAO did not assess the validity of these submissions. Any questions 

should be directed to USDA.

U.S. Department of Agriculture

“The patterns of land use, agriculture, forestry, and grazing land management in 

the United States and globally are shaped by climate. Human-induced climate 

change is occurring and these changes will continue. As the climate changes, 

those responsible for managing land and water resources will need new 

information to help with their decision-making. For example, producers will need 

information to guide them on what to plant, when to plant, and what management 

strategies to employ during the growing season. Foresters, farmers, and ranchers 

will need information for management of risks posed by pests and fire. Water 

resource managers will need information for allocation of water resources 

between the demands of urban and rural populations, industry, agriculture, and 

ecosystem services. USDA policymakers will need information to guide them in 

implementing or retooling programs impacting or impacted by climate change. At 

all levels, global food production data and projections will be necessary for 

anticipating large-scale socioeconomic feedbacks into U.S. production systems. 

USDA is unique among many federal departments in that its agencies cover a 

broad spectrum of missions including research, applications and technology 

transfer, public land management, technical assistance, and communications and 

delivery. Climate change has the potential to confound USDA efforts to meet 

these core obligations and responsibilities to the Nation. 

Adapting practices to respond to changing and more variable climate is necessary 

for addressing challenges to the stability of ecosystems and the essential goods 

and services they provide. Existing USDA programs attempt to introduce new 

technologies and practices for adaptation in the most efficient and least disruptive 

ways. While there may be new opportunities created by changes in local climates, 

adjustments will be challenging. 

Mechanisms for adaptation are critical for continued commodity (food, fiber, 

energy) production, conservation of natural resources, and food security. The 

goal of USDA’s climate change adaptation strategy is to create the knowledge and 

technologies to ameliorate the detrimental effects of climate change and to take 

advantage of elements of climate change that may be potentially beneficial to 

agriculture, forestry, and rangeland, and natural resources management. As 

summarized below, USDA’s adaptation efforts are aimed at identifying potential 

future measures and address the related environmental, economic, and social 

Page 3 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
challenges these changes present. These activities are performed by multiple 

agencies, acting in coordination through USDA’s Global Change Program Office. 

• Develop a suite of strategies that enable farmers, ranchers, and resource 

managers to cope with the challenges associated with drought, heat stress, 

excessive moisture, longer growing seasons, plant community changes, and 

changes of disease and pest prevalence; 

• Evaluate sustainable practices for agricultural production and alternative 

strategies for increasing ecosystem resilience that enable the utilization of 

potentially beneficial aspects of climate change; 

• Evaluate management actions that increase the resilience of forest and 

grassland processes, composition, and structure to better withstand the 

combined stresses of changing climate, pests, pollutants, and wildfire; 

• Analyze economic costs and benefits of producer and market responses to 

changing climatic regimes, taking into account producer incentives and 

trade-offs across alternative responses; 

• Evaluate management actions for maintenance and enhancement of 

ecosystem services such as water supply, wildlife, biodiversity, clean air, 

high quality soils, and recreation within the context of global change; 

• Develop metrics for evaluating and monitoring adaptive strategies; 

• Improve life-cycle analysis and management strategy assessments. 

What follows is an account of current activities by individual USDA agencies to 

address each of these points to best empower farmers, foresters, ranchers, land 

owners, resource managers, policy-makers, and Federal agencies with the 

science-based knowledge to adapt to the risks, challenges and opportunities of 

climate change. 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

The mission of the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is to facilitate 

the competitive and efficient marketing of agricultural products. 

AMS offers clients audit and accreditation services to facilitate the marketing of 

agricultural products. These verification services instill confidence throughout 

the global marketplace and provide solutions that ensure suppliers uniformly 

apply customer identified and accepted methodologies, Standards, or specified 

requirements within specific sectors of agriculture. 

Agricultural producers are constantly striving for new and innovative ways to 

market their products and meet customer demands. One emerging marketing 

method that relates to adaptation is to attach “green marketing claims” to 

agriculturally produced products. AMS is currently reviewing applications to 

verify “green marketing claims”. Products derived from livestock or crops grown 

in an environmentally responsible manner could be marketed as such. 

Page 4 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
AMS verification services have the potential to connect USDA conservation 

programs with AMS verification programs and offer clients another marketing 

option for their products. For example, if a producer participates in a Natural 

Resources Conservation Service Conservation Programs, a regional or national 

greenhouse gas registry program, or another type of recognized energy 

conservation program, s/he can combine these practices into an USDA/AMS 

verified quality management system and uniquely market their agricultural 

products, setting them aside from other products in the marketplace. 

AMS verification services offer producers of agricultural products the ability to 

package their products to a broadening niche market and maximize their 

marketing dollars while supporting climate change initiatives. 

Agricultural Research Service 

ARS Research to Enable Agriculture to Adapt to Climate Change is focused on 

five main problems: 

• Understand the responses of agricultural systems to anticipated climate 

change. 

• Understand the impact of anticipated climate change on endemic and 

exotic pests, weeds and diseases. 

• Evaluate germplasm and identify genetic variation that will respond 

positively to climate change. 

• Evaluate and adapt agronomic management to climate change. 

• Identify and develop scalable methodologies for assessing potential 

impacts and adaptation of agriculture to climate change. 

Understand the responses of agricultural systems to anticipated climate change. 

Understanding the impacts of interacting factors of global change on production 

quantity and quality of managed and natural ecosystems has emerged as a priority 

research need. Improved models are needed to more accurately predict how 

climate change will alter water availability, water use efficiency, nutrient 

requirements, and pools and fluxes of C, N, and other potentially limiting elements 

for plant productivity. The interactive effects of soil moisture, soil fertility, 

temperature, and O3 on C3 and C4 crop responses to elevated CO2 must be

understood. Improved knowledge of the spatial and temporal dynamics of soilplant-atmosphere interactions is needed. Knowledge is lacking on how shifts in 

rangeland plant species composition affect pools and fluxes of C and N to impact 

plant biomass productivity. It is also crucial to understand how landscape soil 

variation interacts with phenology and species change to mediate CO2/climate 

impacts on productivity. How grazing will interact with climate change to further 

influence species composition and productivity is largely unknown. 

Page 5 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
Anticipated Products 

• Understanding of how climate change affects crop and forage quality. 

• Understanding of the interacting impacts of elevated CO2, O3, precipitation, 

and temperature on agricultural systems including nitrogen requirements, 

yield and quality responses. 

• Data on impacts of elevated CO2 on plant stomatal responses to soil water 

deficits and air vapor pressure deficits. 

• Models of the mechanisms underlying improved water use efficiency at 

elevated CO2 and its effects on yield. 

• Management systems, including crop selection, to improve water use 

efficiency. 

• Improved methods to measure and model interactions in soil-plantatmosphere systems. 

Understand the impact of anticipated climate change on endemic and exotic 

pests, weeds and diseases. 

Assessment of trophic interaction changes under global change, including 

interactions of pests and pathogens, grazers and weeds, and measurement and 

modeling of the impact of these trophic interactions on agricultural production 

are needed. The ability to predict changes in the locations and severity of invasive 

agricultural pests, weeds, and diseases with current and projected changes in CO2, 

temperature, and water availability are needed. Quantification of the degree to 

which warming, changes of precipitation, and CO2 enrichment increase the 

susceptibility of agro-systems to invasion; understanding how invasions are 

exacerbated by interactions of the availability of natural enemies with CO2, 

temperature, and precipitation; understanding how CO2 enrichment and warming 

interact with disturbances to influence plant invasion and native ecosystem 

recovery; understanding how nutrient availability affects invasive species growth 

and native rangeland susceptibility. Other needed predictions include latitudinal 

range shifts and likely impacts of invasive species as a result of warming, changes 

in precipitation, and CO2 enrichment. Changes in management that will mitigate 

and control future infestations associated with expected range shifts, including 

herbicide management and impact of increased CO2 and temperature on plant 

resistance to invasive pests and diseases, need to be identified. 

Anticipated Products 

• Risk assessment tools for predicting the effects of anticipated global 

change on weeds, pests, and diseases in different agricultural systems. 

• Characterization of likely impacts of climate and CO2 on the establishment, 

success and spread of invasive weeds, pests, and diseases including 

anticipated production losses for U.S. agricultural systems. 

• Assessment of climate change and CO2 increases on current agricultural 

management techniques (chemical, biological and physical) for endemic 

and invasive weeds, pests, and diseases, and establishment of new IPM 

guidelines. 

Page 6 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
• New conceptual knowledge, databases, and parameters for input to 

mechanistic models of C and nutrient cycling, plant biomass productivity, 

species phenology, and species changes. 

• Guidelines on impacts of increasing atmospheric CO2 and climate change 

on plant biomass productivity and rates of C cycling and storage in 

rangeland systems. 

• Best management practices for sustainable rangeland production and 

maintenance of ancillary ecosystem services under future climate change. 

• Statistical and spatial models of future invasive species ranges. 

• State/transition models to predict invasions in rangelands under future CO2 

and climate scenarios. 

• Delineation of identity and attributes of likely future invasive species. 

• Guidelines for management practices to mitigate future invasions and 

control of existing invasive populations. 

Evaluate germplasm and identify genetic variation that will respond positively 

to climate change. 

A better understanding of the genomic and genetic basis for the variability of crop 

responses to climate change is required. Optimal germplasm for enhanced 

performance under elevated levels of atmospheric CO2 and O3, increased 

temperatures, and precipitation excesses and deficits need to be identified. There 

is a need to evaluate and utilize wild relatives and ancestral germplasm of crop 

species as unique sources of genes to adapt crops to all aspects of climate change. 

Anticipated Products 

• Germplasm that is adapted to factors of climate change including improved 

tolerance to O3, water use efficiency. 

• Crop cultivars that maximize productivity at elevated CO2 and/or elevated 

temperature. 

• Molecular markers for crop CO2 responsiveness, O3 tolerance, and 

temperature limitations. 

• Identify and characterize key genes regulating effects of temperature on 

phenology and reproductive growth factors. 

• Identification of crop ancestors exhibiting variation in response to O3 and 

CO2. 

Evaluate and adapt agronomic management to climate change. 

Climate change presents threats to agricultural production systems as well as 

opportunities to improve and expand production. Adjustments to production 

system inputs, tillage, crop species, crop rotations, and harvest strategies, as well 

as altered use and assessment of natural resources are anticipated responses to 

both threats and opportunities of climate change. ARS conducts research to 

increase the resilience of agronomic systems to climate change and to enable 

exploitation of opportunities that may arise. 

Page 7 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
Anticipated Products 

• Management practices that increase the resilience of cropping systems to 

temperature and precipitation extremes. 

• Information that quantifies the interactions among agronomic systems, 

management practices, and climate variation that can be used to assess 

future food security. 

• Improved plant growth and agronomic models that can be used to evaluate 

potential management scenarios across a wide range of cropping systems, 

soils, and climate. 

• Information on the capacity of cropping systems to sequester C in response 

to CO2 and knowledge of underlying mechanism for residue 

decomposition. 

• Suitable management strategies and methods to control invasive 

nderstanding of weed community shifts under climate change 

scenarios. 

r assessing potential impacts and 

daptation of agriculture to climate change. 

change 

te 

ructure research outcomes for 

se by decision makers at local to global scales. 

responses to climate change and evaluation protocols for 

s. 

s scales. 

e for characterization of crop or system responses to 

 for best management practices for adapting agriculture 

d case studies characterizing crop 

ring and mapping evapotranspiration 

and drought across spatial scales. 

agronomic weeds with climate change. 

• Improved u

Identify and develop scalable methodologies fo

a

A strengthened capacity is needed to predict potential impacts of climate 

on agricultural production and on natural resources, including water and 

nutrients. Better predictions are sought by growers, processors, agricultural 

industries, and local, state, and federal agencies. Improved prediction at different

geographic scales will allow stakeholders to more effectively assess how clima

change will impact agricultural production and the environment, and identify 

specific opportunities or vulnerabilities. ARS will conduct research to improve 

crop growth and ecophysiological models, develop technologies for merging data

from different spatial and temporal scales, and st

u

Anticipated Products 

• Models of crop 

those models. 

• Algorithm for moving information across spatial and temporal scale

• Methods to handle complex biophysical interactions acros

• Meta-analysis of major crop responses to climate change. 

• National databas

climate change. 

• Recommendations

to global change. 

• High resolution local database for detaile

or system responses to climate change. 

• Remote sensing methods for monito

Page 8 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service 

ES 

competitive grants; formula grants; and 

on-competitive grants and agreements. 

-

al 

in. 

ic 

d by the Center for Agriculture and Rural Development at Iowa 

tate University. 

ns 

sks 

t 

ater 

ural 

to adapt to 

hanges in environmental conditions driven by climate variables. 

CSREES is the USDA's major extramural research agency, funding individuals:

institutions: and public, private, and non-profit organizations. Through grants 

offered by CSREES, the USDA enables researchers throughout the United States 

to solve problems critical to our farmers, consumers, and communities. CSRE

supports research, education, and extension activities at partner institutions 

through three main funding mechanisms: 

n

CSREES has funded projects related to the adaption of natural resource 

management practices to changes in climate. One such project funded through a

competitive grant is on developing fundamental tools and an interactive human

environment system that links economics, climate change, and environment

models and uses the coupled modeling framework to increase fundamental 

understanding of the interactions and feedbacks between Land Cover/Land Use 

Change (LCLUC) and key drivers of LCLUC in the Upper Mississippi River Bas

The project will apply the integrated human-environment system to study the

impacts of LCLUC and how changes in the conservation policy driver affect 

LCLUC under current climate conditions. The project will also investigate the

LCLUC implications of the conservation policy driver, examine the potential 

feedback of LCLUC to the climate, and assess the environmental and econom

impacts of the LCLUC under the various scenarios for a range of behavioral 

adaptations to climate change in this region for the next 5 to 50 years. This project

is being conducte

S

Through a Federal Administration Research Grant managed by CSREES, a 

consortium of research and extension faculty from seven academic institutio

from Florida, Georgia, Alabama and North Carolina have been conducting a 

project on developing a decision support system for reducing agricultural ri

caused by climate variability. The goals of the project is to inform farmers, 

ranchers, foresters, water resource managers, industry and policy makers abou

climate risks and to indentify management practices that can reduce risks and 

increase benefits by using climate information. A web-based decision support 

system which includes climate forecasts, state and regional outlooks for climate 

related risks to agriculture and water resources, commodity-base information and

decision support for local users, watershed-based forecast applications to w

resources management, and feedback and evaluation of forecast tools and 

information product, has been developed and is undergoing expansion and 

improvements. This public web-based tool, called AgClimate, assists agricult

producers and natural resource managers in the Southeastern US 

c

Page 9 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
Hatch formula funds have been used by many land-grant institutions to conduct 

research on agricultural adaptation to climate change. One such project is being 

conducted by seventeen land-grant institutions from the North Central region of 

the US as a multisite project on the impact on climate and soils on crop selectio

and management. The research aims to improve yield forecasts for marke

n 

tability 

of crops, better decision making for irrigation, and efficient pest management 

techniques for agriculture production in each of the participating states. 

f climate 

ality, 

nd agricultural research needs to help stakeholders develop and compare 

s 

r to 

ational developments. Longer term 

urity for alternative climate change scenarios. Longer 

e 

sis to develop public and private research 

ing 

hic distribution of crop and livestock production, 

and will evaluate the impacts of risk management policies and 

conservation incentives. 

Economic Research Service 

The Economic Research Service (ERS) conducts research to inform public and 

private decision making on economic and policy issues involving food, farming, 

natural resources, and rural development. Current ERS research, analysis, data, 

and market outlook programs can address questions about the effects o

change and strategies to respond to changing conditions. The research provides 

information about food and commodity markets, resource availability, 

productivity (yields), global trade patterns, food security, environmental qu

a

adaptation strategies. Examples of ERS programs that can contribute are: 

• USDA Agricultural Projections (Baseline) currently provides projection

for the farm sector for the next 10 years, and ERS is a major contributo

the activity. These annual projections cover agricultural commodities, 

agricultural trade, and aggregate indicators of the sector, such as farm 

income and food prices. The projections are a conditional scenario based 

on specific assumptions regarding the macroeconomy, agricultural and

trade policies, the weather, and intern

projections will be needed to address the impacts of changing climate 

conditions beyond the next 10 years. 

• The ERS Market Outlook Program details current changes and events in 

world commodity markets in monthly reports. Domestic and international

models can be used to estimate production activities, agricultural trade, 

and global food sec

term analyses will be needed to address the impacts of alternative climat

change scenarios. 

• ERS research on agricultural R&D and productivity growth in crops and 

livestock provides a ba

investment strategies to address yield changes, environmental stresses, and 

resource constraints. 

• Farmers will adapt to changing climate conditions and to policies designed

to mitigate climate change by altering their farming practices. ERS 

research on agricultural practice adoption, costs of production, and farm 

profitability will help policymakers understand changes in farm

practices and the geograp

Page 10 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
 rule 

l crops planted, failed, or prevented from being planted, including 

to a local 

ng 

rmal harvest dates to reflect changes in the growing season or 

ke crop acreage reports 

ge 

age band 

on as a 

 of 

ck Indemnity Program; Livestock Forage Disaster 

ce in a 

cts 

llow the 

from 

used on irrigated cropland now enrolled in CREP. In three states, the 

Farm Service Agency 

• The Conservation Reserve Program enables agricultural producers to 

reduce nitrous oxide and fossil fuel emissions as land is converted from

crop production to permanent vegetative cover. In addition, the CRP

provides that contract holders may sell carbon sequestration or other

environmental credits associated with land enrolled in CRP, thereby 

providing a new income source from associated ecosystem services. 

• Facilitate crop reporting by agricultural producers to capture records of 

actua

crops or methods not previously considered usual and customary 

area 

• Local county FSA committees have the authority, with State FSA 

committee approval, to change crop reporting deadlines, final planti

dates, and no

to approve new double-cropping crop combinations with adequate 

justification 

• In the future, FSA is scheduled to be able to ta

using geographical information systems (GIS) and Common Land Units 

(CLUs), significantly reducing per unit costs 

• FSA is continually upgrading and improving how it collects imagery for 

compliance checking. We have moved almost entirely to the use of lar

format digital cameras that allow acquiring more simultaneous im

collection such as color, infrared, and natural color, as well as stereo 

collection. We also provide for higher resolution acquisiti

secondary contract product that can be purchased by our partners. The 

improvements allow more and better analysis of images. 

• FSA, which has historically been called upon to administer ad hoc disaster 

programs, is currently working on implementation of five permanent 

disaster programs authorized by the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act

2008: Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm Raised 

Fish Program; Livesto

Program; Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments Program; and Tree

Assistance Program. 

• Through CRP, FSA will provide leadership in preserving open spa

flexible and dynamic manner. Because the program utilizes contra

rather than permanent easements, CRP can, over time, a

configuration of open space to change as climate changes lead to 

vegetative and wildlife species population movements. 

• Since 2005, FSA has negotiated four Conservation Reserve Enhancement 

Program (CREP) agreements whose main objective is conserving 

agricultural irrigation water. Agreement provisions include incentives 

State and local water use authorities to retire irrigation water previously 

Page 11 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
water would be retired for the duration of the CREP contract and, in t

other state, permanently. It is likely that more CREP partnerships to 

he 

onserve agricultural irrigation water will be developed in the future.

Forest Service 

ll as 

s 

summarized 

ere. A more comprehensive project list is given in Appendix A. 

rch, 

ge adaptation into direct management of the land, fall 

to five broad categories. 

limate change working groups 

ge 

 a 

with 

mate 

ragency climate change working groups are being 

rmed or being created. 

limate change resource centers, decision support materials 

le, 

urce by 

c

The US Forest Service (FS) conducts scientific research aimed at sustainable 

management of 191 million acres of national forests and grasslands, as we

providing support for state and private forestry. Management is aimed at 

continuous provision of the suite of ecosystems products and services which 

forests and grasslands provide. Hence, activities that lead to adapting ecosystem

to changing climate and climatic variability are part of almost all Forest Service

actions. The list of current climate change adaptation activities is 

h

In addition to about $27 million devoted specifically to global change resea

about a third of which is adaptation research, much of the FS support for 

implementing climate chan

in

C

In many places, FS (management) regions have partnered with FS research 

stations, and with other land management groups to form working groups and 

task forces that provide advice, information, and common approaches to adapting 

ecosystems to climate change. Region 8 (southern US) created a “Climate Chan

Working Group” to monitor effects of disturbances related to climate change. 

Region 6 (Pacific Northwest) partnered with the Pacific Northwest Research 

Station to form a “Climate Change Strategy Group” to manage forests to better 

adapt to climate change. Region 9 (Northern Midwest and Northeast) formed

“Climate Change Catapult Team” to implement adaptation actions related to 

climate change, including creation of a “Climate Change Action Plan” which 

includes adaptation among its four themes. The Pacific Northwest Research 

Station (PNW) participates in “Climate Change Coordination (C3)” group 

EPA, US F&WS, NPS, BIA, BLM, NRCS, USGS, NFS, NMFS, US ACE and 

Bonneville Power Administration in an interagency coordination group on cli

change. Several other inte

fo

C

Much effort in climate change adaptation is being applied to create climate 

change resource centers and to develop decision support materials. For examp

three western research stations have partnered to create the “Climate Change 

Resource Center (CCRC),” a website widely used as an information reso

Page 12 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
forest managers. Decision support materials are many, and include the 

development of downscaled future climate data, regionalized with ecosystem

feedback for the southern US, and based on regional global change models

(RegCM) provided by the National Center for Atmospheric Research. The 

Southern Research Station (SRS) is developing a forest plan template aimed a

integrating climate change adaptation into the National Forest Plan Revision 

(NFPR) process. PNW scientists are producing web based decision support tools 

to guide forest managers in selecting appropriate genetic stock for healthy gro

under future climate conditions. With scientists from other western research

stations, they are producing

t 

wth 

 a toolkit for adapting to climate change on the 

estern National Forests. 

ducational courses and workshops 

a wide 

tal 

 of 

ops 

d 

f Forests” at the NPS workshop on climate change at the crown 

f the continent. 

daptation assessments 

f 

ent 

sis 

he 

gens 

w

E

FS scientists have partnered with forest management regions to produce 

variety of educational courses and workshops aimed at natural resource 

managers. For example, FS scientists and the Western Wildlands Environmen

Threat Assessment Center (WWETAC) organized a “Comprehensive Climate

Change Educational (C3E) Program: Adapting to Climate Change on Public 

Wildlands in the Western US.” In collaboration with Region 6 and the University

Washington, PNW scientists have produced a “Climate Change 101” course for 

forest managers and resource specialists. Climate change adaptation worksh

for federal, state and private land managers have been held in New Mexico, 

Wyoming and elsewhere, including “Climate Change Science Days” at Kootenai 

National Forest, Idaho Panhandle National Forest, Dakota Prairie Grasslands, an

Custer National Forest. Specialized courses have been presented on “Bull Trout 

and Climate Change,” “Vegetation Models and Climate Change for Practitioners,” 

and “Adaptation o

o

A

Forest Service assessments have been aimed specifically at providing syntheses o

literature and understanding needed to select the most appropriate managem

approaches to adapting forests and grasslands. PNW scientists are modeling 

effects of climate change on wildlife habitats and species in Alaska as the ba

for a synthesis to identify adaptation options. WWETAC with Oregon State 

University is assessing the genetic and silvicultural options for adaptation in the 

Pacific Northwest. WWETAC with other FS researchers is synthesizing existing 

information to develop “climate smart” pest models. Working with the Canadian 

Forest Service, FS scientists are adapting risk assessment protocols to assess t

effects of climate change on future dynamics of the gypsy moth in the Pacific 

Northwest. Similar groups are assessing interactions between future climate and 

bark beetle outbreaks in the western US, and between climate and tree patho

in the western US. These groups are also developing west-wide threats/risk 

mapping tools (NETAM) to map the future risks to forests and grasslands from

multiple stresses, including maps of future climate change, wildfire, invasive 

Page 13 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
species, pest outbreaks and land use change. In addition, FS scientists led writing

teams on the USGCRP Synthesis and Assessment Products that included effects 

of climate change on land resources (SAP 4.3), and adaptation options on federal 

nds (SAP 4.4). 

ase studies, pilot projects, model forests 

 in 

is 

 the 

del 

l Wisconsin, and aimed at demonstrating climate 

daptation approaches. 

atural Resources Conservation Service 

ners 

gram, 

t, 

. 

ion 

s 

ctively adapt their operations to 

limate change. These advances may include: 

ystems 

la

C

FS is deeply involved in using case studies and pilot projects to test the utility of 

various adaptation strategies. For example, Region 1 (Northern Rocky Mountains)

and RMRS are working on four climate change case studies on national forests

North Dakota, Montana and Idaho. Nine test sites are being established in the 

Pacific Northwest to examine effects of climate on different seed sources. PNW 

also developing replicate case studies of adaptation management options in

Olympic and Okanogan-Wenatchee-Colville National Forests and Olympic 

National Park. SRS is establishing a “Climate Change Pilot Forest” to better 

understand climate change options in forest planning. The Northern Research 

Station (NRS) has partnered with Region 9 to create a “Climate Change Mo

Forest” located in centra

a

N

NRCS provides incentives and supports voluntary actions by private landow

to manage GHG emissions and carbon sequestration through a portfolio of 

conservation programs including the Environmental Quality Incentives Pro

Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program, Conservation Stewardship Program, 

Grassland Reserve Program, and Wetlands Reserve Program. Mechanisms for 

adaptation to climate change are critical for conservation of natural resources, 

continued production, and food security. NRCS works with partners to develop

new technologies and tools to enable producers to make appropriate adaptive 

management decisions and to prepare for environmental stresses such as drough

changes in disease or pest prevalence and floods. NRCS plans to focus with its 

partners on developing the knowledge and tools needed to enable adaptation to 

climate change and to improve the resilience of natural and managed ecosystems

Conservation systems will need to be designed to deal with expected changes in 

climate and enhancements to existing systems targeted for change. As these new 

methods, tools, and assessments for evaluating the effectiveness of conservat

systems come on line and the knowledge to protect and enhance our natural 

resources in the face of a changing climate increases, we plan to assist our client

in identifying systems and options that will effe

c

• Identifying and prioritizing geographic areas and land management s

most vulnerable to climate change, including soils, landscapes, and 

ecosystems as mediated or affected by management and land use systems. 

Page 14 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
• Evaluating sustainable agricultural activities and alternative strategies for 

increasing ecosystem resilience. 

• Developing a Soil Change (Dynamic Soil Properties) Inventory to evaluate

s for assessments. 

 necessary climate databases to accurately 

nd optimizing expansion of SNOTEL and SCAN sites to 

improve farming and ranching production under changing climate 

scenarios. 

. 

 National 

orests (slated for spring ‘09). The case studies will include a “science day” of 

n Forest Environmental 

hreat Assessment Center will be used to determine the cause of disturbances 

ters 

apting future 

rests to climate change. Specific attention will be paid to including the best 

e 

land use and management effects on soil quality and to estimate soil 

resilience, soil resistance and soil changes in various ecological systems. 

• Improving life-cycle analyses and management strategie

• Designing conservation technology and systems that can assist producers

with adapting to actual and expected climate change. 

• Identifying and/or developing

reflect expected climate changes for use in NRCS natural resource 

predictive tools and models. 

• Improving a

Appendix A 

Comprehensive list of Forest Service climate change adaptation activities 

Region 1 is working with Rocky Mountain Research Station on four climate 

change case studies. These are occurring on the Kootenai/Idaho Panhandle 

National Forests (completed), Dakota Prairie National Grassland (began in Dec

2008), and eastern Custer National Forest and the Helena/Lewis & Clark

F

presentations on climate change and an adaptation options workshop. 

Region 1 has also committed to fund acquisition of regional climate trend and

projection information for the Northern Rockies and Northern Great Plains. 

Region 8 created a Climate Change Working Group to monitor the effects of 

disturbances potentially related to a changing climate. Forest Inventory and 

Analysis data will be used to monitor regionwide changes in forest composition, 

density, seral stages, and tree health; permanent plots will also be reinventoried

after disturbances to track changes. Data from the Easter

T

and track any increases in weather-related disturbances. 

Northern Research Station is working with Region 9 to help the Region’s fores

understand and cope with potential climate change effects and develop 

adaptation strategies. The goal is to increase employee awareness of climate 

change and expected future impacts and to identify options for ad

fo

available climate change science in the forest planning process. 

The Southern Research Institute’s Southern Institute of Forest Genetics and

Ecosystems Biology is developing innovative approaches to answer climat

Page 15 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
change questions, including how forests will change in response to clim

conditions and how forest manag

ate 

ement can play a role in adapting forest 

cosystems to climate change. Scientists are using study sites across the South, 

ed 

iated 

s 

e 

mber of 

tion. 

eport 

framework, results and implications; datasets in digital and image 

ormats of regional climate change in the South for further use by other research 

nt the 

, 

 stakeholders to specific resource information 

ertaining to that area or forest. Current efforts are focused on multiple forests 

udy. 

e. A seedling 

enecology study, a greenhouse study to look at the effect of different winter 

e

experimenting with methods that range from electronics to genetics. 

http://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/sifg/ 

Regionalized Climate Change Scenarios with Ecosystem Feedback for the 

Southern US: The Center for Forest Disturbance Science is building an integrat

regional climate modeling framework, that includes the co-variant risk assoc

with climate change disturbance regimes and demographic change and provide

high-resolution climate change scenarios in the southern US, and to assess the 

ability of ecosystem/climate feedbacks to mitigate or intensify GC impacts. 

Initially the NCAR regional climate model (RegCM) will be used to downscal

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) projections from a nu

Global Circulation Models (GCMs) to a southern domain with 10 km resolu

In subsequent years with continued or increased funding, they will conduct 

similar simulations for past land use / land cover change (LULCC) due to 

agriculture-forest conversion and urbanization, future demographic shifts 

projected by the SRS Southern Forest Futures Project, and alternative future 

urbanization and ecosystem management strategies. Deliverables include a r

describing the 

f

groups; along with detailed description of results on the unit website and in 

manuscripts. 

The Southern Research Station is establishing a “Climate Change Pilot Forest” to

better understand climate change in forest planning. The project seeks to 

introduce forest managers to processes, knowledge, and tools that help them 

easily assemble and analyze information to reveal bioclimatic relationships and

elucidate the consequences of alternative management choices. EFETAC 

researchers are collaborating with Region 8 forest planners, universities, and no

government organizations (NGO’s) to understand how forest resources will be 

impacted by global warming and climate change during the next 20 years. 

Together, they will develop a template that the National Forests can use within 

the National Forest Plan Revision (NFPR) process. This template will presen

natural resource issues likely to impact particular forests in coming decades, 

provide standard peer-reviewed scientific text that can be inserted into the NFPR

and direct forest planners and

p

within the Southern Region (Region 8); future efforts will include forests of the 

Eastern Region (Region 9). 

Pacific Northwest Research Station is conducting a Seed Source Movement St

Nine test sites are being established using Douglas-fir native stands in order to 

make broad inferences and understand adaptation to climate chang

g

Page 16 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
chilling hours on budburst, and a study to examine the association of adapti

traits and DNA sequence variation are linked to the nine test sites. 

Pacific Southwest Research Station’s Sierra N

research team addressing issues ranging from basic research o

ve 

evada Research Center has a 

n ecological 

esponse to climate and landscape change to applications in national forest 

ates of Micronesia, and 

ch 

ther and their environment during ecosystem development, as well as on specific 

l 

arks, and the U.S. Geological Survey to develop a multi-agency adaptive research 

 to 

imate 

nt tools. The group held a Climate Change 

hort Course in May 2008 to familiarize employees with current climate change 

 A 

o 

. Region 9 is currently developing a 

limate Change Action Plan., which focuses on four themes: adaptation, 

plasm 

e 

tion and services related to adapting ecosystems to both 

limate change and invasive species. With funding from State and Private 

r

management, conservation, and restoration. 

http://www.fs.fed.us/psw/programs/snrc/climate_landscape/ 

The Pacific Southwest Research Station (PSW) is working on Restoration of 

Ecosystem Processes. PSW’s Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry aims to provide

a scientifically sound basis for the reconstruction and functioning of damaged 

ecosystems that are self-supporting and, at least to some degree, resilient to 

subsequent change. Research in Hawaii, the Federated St

Costa Rica is providing information on how different species interact with ea

o

requirements of tree species used in restoration efforts. 

http://www.fs.fed.us/psw/topics/ecosystem_processes/tropical/restoration/ 

The Sequoia National Forest and the Giant Sequoia National Monument have 

partnered with the PSW Research Station, the Sequoia-Kings Canyon Nationa

P

program that crosses boundaries between the forest, monument, and parks and

establish a joint Research Learning Center. http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/climate/ 

Region 6 partnered with Pacific Northwest Research Station to form a Cl

Change Strategy Group to develop ways to reduce the agency’s carbon footprint 

and manage forests to better adapt to climate change. Task teams work on 

awareness and education, NEPA, adaptation and mitigation, sustainable 

operations, and synthesis and assessme

S

information and concepts. Two hundred employees attended the short course. 

DVD of the Short Course is available. 

In Region 9, a Climate Change Catapult Team was formed by Regional staff t

implement actions related to climate change

C

mitigation, sustainable operations, and communications/outreach. Working 

groups will be established for each theme. 

“Reforestation, Nurseries, and Genetics Resources” (RNGR) is a collaborative 

effort between State and Private Forestry and Research and Development to 

develop genetically resistant planting stock and collect and preserve germ

from existing natural populations to conserve at-risk species. RNGR addresses th

need for seed informa

c

Page 17 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
Forestry, the program provides nurseries with the latest technical information. 

http://www.rngr.net/ 

Adaptation of Urban Forest Resources to Climate Change: the synergistic effect o

rapid land use change caused by urbanization and the projected climate 

will create a unique combination of environmental consequences that will 

significantly affect not only natural ecosystems but also people. To address this 

complex issue, Southern Research Station (SRS-4952) will implement a 

multifaceted research program that examines not only the social and biophysica

components in urban and urbanizing landscapes but also the best mechanisms for 

science delivery. The types of questions being asked include: How do the carbon

and nitrogen cycles change with urbanization and what are the implicatio

these changes on ecosystem structure, function, and services? What recreational 

indices and measurements are needed to forecast changes in recreational usages 

because of climate change and how can these indices be applied to RPA 

forecasting? Because climate change will affect minority populations th

what are the needs of minority populations to minimize climate effects a

can the urban 

f 

change 

l 

ns of 

e greatest, 

nd how 

forest be used to lessen these effects? Finally, what are the best 

ethods for science delivery on the effect of climate change on natural 

 structure 

ts 

te 

 These include both changes in land use and changes in timber 

anagement activities due to altered productivity and increased demands for 

rgy 

 in 

forests. One of the primary outputs is woody biomass for energy 

roduction. An additional assessment of soil impacts will be conducted on the 

 is 

 profile 

aintained by the National 

m

ecosystems and people for different audiences in urban and urbanizing 

landscapes? 

Southern Research Station is conducting an Economic Analysis of Climate 

Change in the Southern U.S. to forecast the effects of climate change on forest 

condition and use. In conjunction with natural resource projection modeling 

being conducted for the RPA and for the Southern Forest Futures Project, SRS 

will continue to work on forecasting the effects of climate change on the

of forests. These forecasts address not only the direct biophysical determinan

of change, but also the indirect changes caused by human responses to clima

changes.

m

both carbon stored in forests and the harvest of trees to generate bio-based 

energy.

The Southern Research Station is studying soil impacts associated with bioene

harvesting. The Southern Research Station’s Silvicultural Assessment on the 

Daniel Boone NF in Kentucky is examining alternative silvicultural treatments

oak-hickory 

p

completed harvesting units to characterize residues and carbon effects of the 

treatments. 

The Southern Research Station is conducting a life cycle analysis for biomass 

Harvesting Operations in the Southern US. The Southern Research Station

making a new effort to collect information about the life cycle emissions

for various types of biomass harvesting operations around the country. The data 

will be included in the National LCA Database m

Page 18 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
Renewable Energy Lab. This component of the effort will quantify fuel 

g 

ndervalued species and fuels loading 

nderstory material as chemical feedstocks in gasification systems. This project 

at addresses the following two questions: 

? 

o would like to obtain income from carbon-oriented 

anagement; how are these opportunities perceived by them; and what are 

se 

nd 

matology, vegetation, and land cover response, and the implications 

r wildlife species and habitats in North Slope, Brooks Range, and Yukon Flats 

-specific tree listased decision-support tool for selecting forest management action priorities in 

g fire 

lobal Climate Change and Policy Analyses: Decision Support Concerning 

etween wood and nonwood products (reflected in overall growth in wood 

consumption and emissions associated with whole-tree mixed product harvestin

as well as biomass thinning in the southern US. 

The Southern Research Station is studying the effect of various woody biomass 

feedstocks on the Production of Synthesis Gas. A project that began on the 

Kisatchie National Forest to find end uses for negative value woody debris 

removed for their red-cockaded woodpecker habitat improvement program, this 

project evaluates the potential of various u

u

connects the developing cellulosic ethanol industry and the wood supply through 

existing wood quality and FIA databases. 

Pacific Northwest Research Station scientists have prepared a synthesis that will 

be published shortly th

• What forest and range management practices are best for optimizing 

carbon uptake and preventing carbon release from forests and rangelands

and 

• What are the current opportunities (market mechanisms, certification/ecolabeling schemes, government subsidies or incentives) for forest owners 

and ranchers wh

m

the barriers and constraints landowners face in taking advantage of the

opportunities? 

Pacific Northwest Research Station scientists are modeling effects of climate 

change on wildlife habitats and species in Alaska. They are synthesizing data a

models of cli

fo

regions of northern and central Alaska. The synthesis will identify options for 

adaptation. 

Decision Support for Management Identification of Best Forest Treatments for 

Lifecycle Carbon Offsets, Fire Reduction, and Avoiding Future Costs: PNW 

scientists have demonstrated application of a site- and landscape

b

the Western United States that best mitigate carbon emissions while reducin

risk and future costs (adapting management to climate change). 

G

Impacts, Mitigation Strategies, and Adaptation for the Forest and Agricultural 

Sectors 

An analysis of land market adjustments, interregional migration of production 

(e.g., northerly migration of production capacity), substitution in consumption 

b

Page 19 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
products use) and between sawtimber and pulpwood, and alteration of forest 

stand management provides input for the development of adaptation strategies. 

PNW scientists are developing decision support tools for determining appropriate 

provenances for future climates. They are creating a web-based decision support 

tool to help managers select appropriate genetic stock for adapting to future 

climates will be available in the summer of 2009. This tool will allow a much wider 

issemination of current knowledge concerning appropriate genetic stock than is 

stern 

aterials 

 multiple formats, conducting replicate case studies on the Olympic and 

 to 

ilvicultural methods of artificial regeneration and active management are being 

NW, RMRS, PSW, and the Western Wildland Threat Assessment Center, have 

ite 

ty of Washington. With those 

artners, PNW presented an introductory 2 day course to about 200 managers and 

ge Strategy working groups to develop 

trategies for adaptation, mitigation, education, sustainable operations, planning, 

oE 

t questions regarding adaptation and mitigation from each 

d

currently possible through individual consultations and traditional technology 

transfer activities. 

Forest Service researchers are producing a toolkit for adapting to climate change

on Western National Forests (“Incorporating Climate into Resource Management 

and Planning”). PNW scientists, along with colleagues from PSW and RMRS

developed and evaluated a set of decision-support tools and reference materials 

that incorporate climate-change considerations into decision-making on we

national forests. These tools are broadly relevant to other managers, policymakers, and scientists. We developed adaptation management resource m

in

Okanogan-Wenatchee-Colville National Forests and Olympic National Park

develop and evaluate decision support for adaptation to climate change. 

PNW scientists are studying the decline of Yellow-Cedar in order to better 

understand management of a tree sensitive to climate in Southeast Alaska.

S

developed to adapt yellow-cedar management to changing climate that has 

reduced snowpack and compromised root systems through spring freezing. 

P

collaborated to create the Climate Change Resource Center (CCRC), a web s

that is widely used as an information resource by forest managers. 

Pacific Northwest Research Station created a Climate Change 101 course in 

collaboration with Region 6 and the Universi

p

resource specialists. The course covered the basics of climate change as well as 

strategies and opportunities for adaptation. 

Region 6 and PNW convened Climate Chan

s

and policy. The workgroups are actively providing advice to units as they develop

options for adaptation to climate change. 

Climate Change Coordination (C3

): PNW participates with EPA, US F&WS, NPS, 

BIA, BLM, NRCS, USGS, NFS, NMFS, Bonneville Power Authority, and Army C

in an interagency coordination group on climate change. Currently the group is 

prioritizing managemen

Page 20 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
of the agencies. We will then identify likely sources of information or science 

al 

rovide science support regarding adaptation and mitigation to federal, tribal, 

 

he Effects of Climate Change on Western Ecosystems. This proposal outlines a 

th the 

s ecosystem 

erability and the interaction of climate change with other stressors and land 

tinues the development of probabilistic 

isk models for forest disturbances like wildfire and forest insect outbreaks. The 

ral 

daptability, productivity, and value of PNW 

rests under a range of climate change scenarios. The overall goal is to provide 

in 

T, 

est resource issues. The goal of the workshop is to develop a 

onceptual model for moving forward with the integration of climate change into 

resources available to address the questions, or document the need for addition

research or synthesis. 

PNW scientists are actively engaged with a variety of partners in the region to 

p

state, and local governments, and to private organizations and the public. This 

support takes the form of workshops, seminars, presentations, and consultations:

In November 2006, climate change scientists from the three western research

stations developed a west-wide assessment proposal: Assessing and Adapting to 

t

climate change R&D effort that will provide state-of-science information on 

climate change and the physical, ecological, and socioeconomic consequences. 

The Western Wildland Environmental Threat Assessment Center works wi

three western research stations (PNW, RMRS, and PSW) to addres

vuln

management under various climate change scenarios. Work is focused on 

coordination of three case study assessments in the western U.S. 

 

The Western Wildland Environmental Threat Assessment Center is working with 

PSW and UC Berkeley to conduct a Historic Analysis of Wildfire, Insects, and 

Climate Interactions. This project con

r

project is mining existing historical data with novel nonparametric, spatially and 

temporally explicit statistical models. 

The Western Wildland Environmental Threat Assessment Center is working with 

Oregon State University on a study of forest management under climate change; 

they are doing a synthesis of genetic and silvicultural options for the Pacific 

Northwest. The cooperators are evaluating how climate change will affect forest

trees in the Pacific Northwest (PNW), and then assessing genetic and silvicultu

options aimed at maintaining the a

fo

practical information to guide forest management and policy decisions with

land management organizations. 

The Western Wildland Environmental Threat Assessment Center hosted a 

workshop in June 2007 with PNW MAPPS team, RMRS, PSW, ESSA, and FHTE

to synthesize existing knowledge and develop “climate-smart” pest models. For 

this workshop, focus was on major native insects and diseases, potential climate 

change, and for

c

existing pest and vegetation models. Results from this workshop are feeding into 

new projects. 

Page 21 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
The Western Wildland Environmental Threat Assessment Center is working wit

Utah State University, FHP R4&6, and the Canadian Forest Service to adapt an

existing risk assessment protocol to assess the effect of climate change in the 

Pacific Northwest on the future dynamics of the gypsy moth. Gypsy moth is a 

potentially threatening exotic insect to Pacific Northwest forest ecosystems. 

Logan et al. (in press, Ecological Application) developed a spatially explicit risk

assessment protocol for assessing the impacts

h 

 of gypsy moth introduction and 

pread under two General Circulation Models (CGCM1 and HADCM2SUL) for the 

 data and expert opinion based assessment of the interactions 

etween climate change and the future population dynamics of bark beetles in the 

nge and 

, 

, 

rios 

perts in various organisms 

ill be identified and canvassed, and a literature search conducted to identify 

AC. 

r exacerbating stresses, 

cluding climate change, fire, invasive species, disease, pest outbreaks, and landip 

s

state of Utah. They are working to do a similar risk assessment for gypsy moth 

and climate change in the Pacific Northwest. 

The Western Wildland Environmental Threat Assessment Center is conducting a 

rapid threat assessment of the potential interactions between climate change and 

bark beetle population dynamics in the western U.S. with the following partners: 

FHTET, FHP, Western FS Regions, Western Stations Bark Beetle Research Group. 

We are developing a

b

western U.S. that can be completed rapidly so that information can be transferred

to relevant clients. 

The Western Wildland Environmental Threat Assessment Center is conducting a 

rapid threat assessment of the potential interactions between climate cha

tree pathogen dynamics in the western U.S. with the following partners: FHTET

FHP, Western FS Regional Pathologists, Western Stations Research Pathologist. 

This project is compiling literature and synthesizing known information 

concerning climate, climate change, and forest diseases in the Western United 

States. For the Western States, the document will summarize what is known about 

climate’s influence (temperature and moisture primarily) on forest fungi, bacteria

nematodes, other microbes, and abiotic damage agents. In a latter phase of the 

project, the changes in these relationships under various climate change scena

(i.e. hotter and wetter, hotter and drier, colder and wetter, colder and drier) will 

be described to identify threats and predict changes. Ex

w

climate relationships. The information will be compiled and then synthesized so it

is accessible and applicable for various professionals. 

The Western Wildland Environmental Threat Assessment Center is creating westwide threats/risk mapping tools (NETAM) with partners FHTET, FHP, and RS

The goal of this cooperative work with RSAC is to create a system in which forest 

and rangeland policy makers and managers can access maps of the relative risks

to forests and rangelands from multiple competing o

in

use change. This system will be used to generate overlapping maps of risk from 

each of these major threats to western US forests. 

The Western Wildland Environmental Threat Assessment Center, in partnersh

with the Westwide Climate Change Initiative is conducting a Westside Climate 

Page 22 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
Change Initiative Workshop. The workshop will be part of the western region 

case study assessment process. This workshop will bring together scientists, 

managers, and other stakeholder’s involved in the three case study areas. This 

itial workshop would include parties from all interested case study areas. The 

cture, 

 are to 

f 

 posed by the planning 

ommunity and will be better able to plan for the improvement of their models to 

elop a 

e 

to 

he 

of 

, in 

Change Initiative, will work to design 

ourseware that uses this new and efficient means of real-time, on-demand 

he Northern Research Station (NRS) made significant contributions to the 

ge, 

in

workshop will guide the direction of the case studies, provide a general stru

and foster collaboration and interaction. 

With the Washington Office and the Rocky Mountain Research Station, the 

Western Wildland Environmental Threat Assessment Center will conduct a 

workshop on Exploring Quantitative Approaches for Vegetation Management and

Forest planning under a Changing Climate. Workshop goals and objectives

(1) evaluate and document the purposes, limitations, strengths and weaknesses o

the different classes of models that can be used to project future vegetation with 

climate change, and (2) provide a forum for discussion between modelers, 

planners and managers on ways to increase the use and effectiveness of various

vegetation management models in a changing climate. The desired outcomes of 

the workshop are (1) managers and planners will have an improved understanding 

of the strengths, weaknesses and limitations of the various models, including a 

clearer knowledge of the questions that each model can and cannot answer, and 

(2) modelers will have a better sense of the questions being

c

accommodate these needs. Results from this workshop will be used to dev

short-course training module for managers and planners. 

Comprehensive Climate Change Educational (C3E) Program: Adapting to 

climate change on public wildlands in the Western U.S. Partners: (CAP 

program), Westwide climate change initiative, (RMRS). Climate chang

research has become a priority issue and WWETAC, PNW, and the FS need 

respond broadly and quickly. Effective knowledge management is critical. T

training/education needs for public land managers is large and urgent. 

WWETAC has a central role and can coordinate a comprehensive series 

resources and events to achieve effective education of the FS workforce in 

climate change. A workshop on Exploring Quantitative Approaches for 

Vegetation Management and Forest Planning under a Changing Climate 

(described above) is planned that forms an excellent module for the larger 

program. However, this component needs to be built into a framework that 

includes all relevant topics and a variety of training modalities. WWETAC

coordination with the Westwide Climate 

c

training and collaboration. Products will include multiple media training 

material (web, video, live courses, etc.). 

T

national bioenergy “growth platform” and conducted the first R9 climate chan

mitigation and adaptation workshop at the Ottawa National Forest workshop. 

Page 23 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
NRS received a grant from the national global change research program and 

onducted a workshop titled “Silvicultural Strategies for an Uncertain Climate 

RS silviculture units and R9 land managers. 

ing that 

cused on assessment of protected areas under climate change 

oducts Lab provided exceptional leadership in organizing 

artnership to develop technologies for converting biomass to biofuel. 

inceton University Climate Change 

artnership. 

hange Resource Center,” a web site to 

omplement the Western web site. 

 the 

ge Workshop” held November 20, 

008 provided foresters and other natural resource professionals up-to-date 

shop.html. 

ate 

esources Climate Change Workshop 

2/26/2008, talks available on the web), Region 2 Climate Awareness Day 

ies, and opportunities for mapping the future” at 

he Western Division American Fisheries Society meeting (5/2008), providing an 

ience 

. 

ble on the web. 

c

Future” that involved 

N

Region 9 hosted a Forest Service/Nature Conservancy partnership meet

fo

The Forest Pr

p

NRS established a Forest Service/Pr

P

NRS established an Eastern “Climate C

c

Rocky Mountain Research Station (RMRS) scientists collaborated to develop

RMRS Climate Change Strategic Plan. 

The “New Mexico Forestry and Climate Chan

2

information on climate change and forests in New Mexico, including on-going

research at RMRS; presentations available at 

www.forestguild.org/nmfccwork

Working with NFS and State Agencies in Wyoming, RMRS organized the first

climate change workshop on natural resource management in Wyoming: 6/16/08. 

Talks are available on the web. 

RMRS scientists gave talks at National Forest Service meetings on topics of

climate change, adaptation and mitigation: Region 1 Discussion Group on Clim

Change (3/7/2008), Region 2 Renewable R

(

(5/20/2008), family meetings on the Pike San Isabel NF and the Pikes Peak 

District, Region 3 Business Managers (3/1-2/2008), the national meeting of the 

USFS Public Affairs Officers (3/4/2008). 

Working with USFWS, RMRS scientists organized the symposium “Bull trout and 

climate change: risks, uncertaint

t

overview from leading experts across the Pacific Northwest of the current sc

pertaining to climate, potential impacts to stream habitats, and bull trout biology

Talks are availa

Page 24 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
RMRS and the Western Wildlands Environmental Threat Assessment Center 

organized a 2 day workshop entitled Vegetation Models and Climate Chang

practitioners. 

th 

e for 

ns, 8th National 

7/2008. 

rogram: 

riven Forest Vegetation Simulator 

Change Toolkit for Western Forest Service Managers and 

Management; (PSW, PNW, and RMRS). 

akers. 

y Mountain Research Station scientists organized a special symposium 

ntitled "Potential impacts of climate change on diseases in natural ecosystems: 

ip 

ent 

 natural resource management. 

ns for the Science Day. 

yee and 

stakeholders – 120 attendees, 

on, 

g 2009. 

 2 

At the 8 National Conference on Science, Policy and the Environment, RMRS and

PSW scientists led a breakout session on Forest Management and Climate 

Change, as part of the Climate Change: Science and Solutio

Conference on Science, Policy, and the Environment. Washington, DC. 1/1

RMRS received 5 grants from the FS National Global Change Research P

• Development and Delivery of a Climate-D

• Designing wildlife corridors for a changing climate 

• ClimateDecision-Makers; Incorporating Climate into Everyday Resource 

• Tools to Assess and Assist Vulnerable Species At Risk From Climate 

Change 

• Forests and Carbon Storage – A Synthesis of the Science for Policym

Rock

e

Using history to predict the future" and gave talks at the Centennial annual 

meeting of the American Phytopathological Society, 26-30 July 2008, Minneapolis, 

MN 

The Rocky Mountain Research Station and Region 1 Climate Change Partnersh

has the objectives of building on and expanding the on-going public, stakeholder,

and employee collaboration to address climate change in resource managem

and planning, and providing technology transfer and help understanding and 

sorting through the scientific literature. Towards that end a series of Climate 

Change Science Days have been and are planned in FY2009. These science days

bring together experts in climate change and

Before each Science Day, a sample of employees was interviewed in advance to

determine topics of discussion and depth of presentatio

• Kootenai National Forest, October 14, attendees included 40 employees, 

and an evening session with public; 

• Idaho Panhandle National Forest, October 15 – combined emplo

• Dakota Prairie Grasslands, December 5 – 50 employees – no public sessi

• Custer National Forest, December 12 – 20 employees and one reporter, 5) 

Lewis and Clark and Helena National Forests, late sprin

Rocky Mountain Research Station scientists have synthesized key information 

from SAP 4.4 Report “Adaptation Options for Climate-Sensitive Ecosystems” in a

page format designed to be accessible to resource managers. 

Page 25 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
Working with National Park Service and USGS staff, Rocky Mountain Research 

ies, 

, 

FS staff, tribal groups, state agency staffs and NGOS. 

ocky Mountain Research Station hosted a "Climate Change: Consequences for 

ological 

ociety, April 18, 2009 (http://www.birdmeetings.org/cos2009/symposia.htm). 

erence in Sweden 

cusing on the challenge of adapting forest ecosystems and dependent 

ational Programs’ country-specific 

rojects involves working in the Middle East and North Africa to establish climate 

d 

rt 

 yield 

n management practices. 

ss for certain crops. The 

rop insurance program may also be impacted through changes in the expected 

losses that necessitate modifications to the program. Using information 

contained in the report and other information, the Risk 

Management Agency will evaluate how it can adapt the crop insurance program to 

accommodate potential climate change scenarios.” 

Station organized a 1⁄2 day session on Adaptation in the NPS Workshop ‘Climate 

Change in the Crown of the continent: Identifying multi-jurisdictional Strateg

December 1-3, 2008. Attendees to the workshop included National Park Service

N

R

Birds" Symposium at the 2009 annual meeting of the Cooper Ornith

S

FS International Programs 

In collaboration with the International Union of Forest Research 

Organizations and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, the Forest Service 

International Programs office helped sponsor a large conf

fo

communities to climate change. One of Intern

p

change adaptation strategies and identify incentives to improve land use practices

and policies in semiarid zones at risk of desertification.” 

Additional Update as of September 8, 2009 

The Risk Management Agency has contracted with a research group to provide a 

technical report on Climate Change Impacts on Federal Crop Insurance an

develop a program impact model. The contractor has submitted preliminary 

results and the final contractor report is due by December of this year. The repo

focuses primarily on changes in climate and the resulting changes in crop

distributions, shifts in production regions, and changes i

With increasing variability of climate, there may be a need to incorporate 

catastrophic modeling to maintain actuarial soundne

c

Page 26 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) submitted 

information on its adaptation-related efforts on May 11, 2009. NOAA was 

given the opportunity to review its initial submission and did not send us any 

changes or updates for this e-supplement. GAO did not assess the validity of 

this submission. Any questions should be directed to NOAA.

U.S. Department of Commerce 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

“NOAA provides scientific data and information for adaptation to others. NOAA’s 

climate information services build on a long history of providing authoritative 

climate science, based upon extensive observations, data stewardship, 

monitoring, research, modeling and assessment. NOAA’s climate services include: 

developing and delivering operational climate information, products and services; 

supporting informal and formal education and training; supporting research on 

the impacts of climate variability and change; supporting the development of 

assessments and adaptation strategies from international to local levels; and 

collaborating with stakeholders to enhance their capacity to use climate 

information and related resources. Climate information such as drought 

forecasts, long-term precipitation trends, fire forecasts, and frequency and 

intensity of coastal storms, are all examples of information developed by NOAA 

that can inform the development of adaptation plans and strategies. We are 

collaborating with federal, state, local, tribal, academic, and private sector 

partners on adaptation activities within specific geographic regions and on issues 

such as water, coastal and marine resources, agriculture, energy, health, and 

infrastructure. 

As many climate-related changes are being observed in the United States and 

abroad, NOAA is witnessing a corresponding increase in demand for our products 

and services. As the influences of climate change further grow over time, we 

expect to see an increased need for the tools and services needed to transition 

science into sound decisions. These tools include assessments of climate impacts 

at the appropriate scales, baseline data and predictions, sustained support for 

regional institutions, information products with quantifiable details, user-friendly 

maps and visualizations to communicate risk, and training and capacity building, 

to name a few. NOAA will likely need to increase its own capacity in these areas 

to serve the increased needs of the Nation while helping to improve public 

awareness and increasing coordination and integration of information services 

conducted with our federal, academic and private partners. 

Page 27 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
What specific actions and policies has your agency put in place – or is 

planning to put in place, or is exploring putting in place – to ameliorate or 

otherwise deal with the influences and impacts of climate change in the 

domains where your agency has jurisdiction? How does NOAA assess the 

effectiveness of climate change adaptation? 

NOAA’s adaptation planning efforts cover marine fisheries, coastal and ocean 

habitat and ecosystems, and supports and informs coastal planning and 

development efforts, maritime transportation, water resource management, and 

other government and private sector adaptation issues like insurance, energy and 

agriculture. Additionally, NOAA directly and indirectly supports significant 

adaptation planning activities done by other public and private efforts by 

providing climate information and services capabilities. For the last several years, 

NOAA has been working toward a strong climate science foundation that 

connects research, service providers, and users. This work has drawn from the 

agency’s extensive experience in working with stakeholders and from our worldrenowned expertise in climate monitoring, modeling and research. 

NOAA is now in the process of defining goals and principles for use in guiding the 

development a NOAA National Climate Service. The overarching goal of a 

National Climate Service is to provide the essential climate change information 

needed for effective decision-making. NOAA, both a producer and user of 

weather and climate information, is working to integrate its observations and 

predictions, improve delivery of integrated climate information to ocean and 

coastal decision makers, and provide tools to effectively use this information to 

assess risks and implement effective management strategies. Improving the 

development and delivery of climate services offers untold economic, public 

health and safety, and national security benefits. 

NOAA is developing an integrated process for mainstreaming adaptation into our 

resource management activities and transferring climate science to society to 

allow for informed decisions at the Federal, state and local levels. Our current 

adaptation activities can be grouped into the following areas: science and 

monitoring in support of adaptation services, partnerships and applied 

information services in support of adaptation with applications for water 

resources, living marine resources and habitats, and coastal communities, as well 

as related international activities. (For more details, an illustrative list of 

adaptation-related activities in the areas listed here is included below as 

Appendix 1.) 

Since climate change influences events across timescales from months to 

centuries, we must learn to adapt to a moving target, which makes the issue of 

evaluation an especially important and difficult topic. Any monitoring and 

evaluation efforts need to be conducted in a dynamic way to accommodate 

uncertain and/or shifting information. Climate adaptation assessment is a 

relatively new area for NOAA, and to begin to address it, NOAA is examining 

Page 28 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
existing methodologies and building its capacity to reach out to stakeholders. For 

example, through NOAA’s Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments 

Program (RISA), our researchers work directly with people who have an 

investment in activities, resources, or property that may be vulnerable to climatic 

impacts. These stakeholders hold the key to understanding what kinds of 

information can aid the public and how best to provide that information. 

Effective assessments of adaptation efforts would likely need to build on data and 

partnerships of this type. NOAA welcomes information from its partners regarding 

this issue as we seek to develop assessment strategies. 

NOAA has begun to interact with other agencies in a broader effort to organize 

climate information across agencies and to maintain the resilience of the Nation’s 

ecosystem services. NOAA sees opportunities to work more closely with the 

Departments of Interior and Agriculture, for example, to initiate consultations 

with land and water resource managers. This would enable an ongoing process 

for synthesizing information and begin to improve the relevance of the 

information provided. Out of such efforts, NOAA hopes to identify best practices 

to be shared across agencies. Through its existing capabilities, partners and 

networks, NOAA has begun to provide climate and information services to 

address society’s needs while we work to evolve our services to meet the 

increased pace and nature of these demands. 

Appendix 1

Science and Monitoring in Support of Adaptation Services: 

NOAA is the Nation’s provider of weather and climate data, science and 

information. NOAA’s climate information services are based upon extensive 

observations, data stewardship, monitoring, research, modeling, predictions, 

projections, and assessments. Climate information such as drought forecasts, 

long-term precipitation trends, fire forecasts, and frequency and intensity of 

coastal storms, are all examples of information developed by NOAA that can 

inform the development of adaptation plans and strategies by decision makers 

and resources managers. 

• NOAA plays a lead role in the scientific assessments of climate change 

impacts and science 

• NOAA maintains key observing systems for monitoring coastal, ocean, 

atmosphere, and ecosystem data and observations including biological and 

physical ocean conditions 

• NOAA is steward of climate-related data and information and maintains 

the world's largest active archive of weather and climate data 

• NOAA provides critical weather and climate predictions and projections, 

as well as key climate model simulations for national and international 

climate assessments such as IPCC 

• NOAA develops regional and coastal climatologies 

Page 29 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
Partnerships and Applied Information Services in Support of Adaptation – 

Applications to Water Resources 

Climate variability and change affect the function and operation of existing water 

infrastructure — including hydropower, structural flood defenses, drainage, and 

irrigation systems — as well as water management practices. NOAA’s climate 

programs provide the Nation with services and information to improve 

management of climate sensitive sectors such as water resources through 

observations, analyses and predictions, decision support tools, and sustained user 

interaction. 

• NOAA has significant experience in understanding user information 

needs and developing and delivering products and services that respond to 

those needs 

Partnerships and Applied Information Services in Support of Adaptation – 

Applications to Living Marine Resources and Habitats 

Climate change information is being incorporated into coastal and ocean living 

marine resource and coastal ecosystem management decisions within NOAA 

through an increasing emphasis on an ecosystem approach to management and 

other efforts. NOAA works to help coastal communities acquire, protect, 

conserve, and restore coastal habitats, not only for the aesthetic and natural 

habitat benefits, but also because they provide important services to reduce the 

impacts of storms, flooding, and other coastal hazards. 

• NOAA participates in and leads many state of knowledge assessments for 

specific user-focused issues (e.g., water resource management, marine and 

coastal resources, disaster management) 

Partnerships and Applied Information Services in Support of Adaptation – 

Applications to Coastal Communities 

Through a federal-state partnership under its Coastal Zone Management Program, 

NOAA provides national leadership, technical assistance and funding to state and 

territory coastal management programs to plan for and adapt to climate change. 

Climate change related projects include creating sea level rise inundation models, 

developing plans for adapting to climate change, understanding changing 

ecosystem function and services, changes in ecosystem health and marine animal 

disease under existing and predicted climate change impacts, and establishing 

new guidelines for dealing with sea level rise. 

• NOAA has a growing number of collaborative efforts with other federal 

agencies to produce more effective decision support tools 

Page 30 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
NOAA’s International Activities in Support of Adaptation 

NOAA recognizes that climate is an issue of global concern. NOAA sustains global 

partnerships to complement its observations, analysis, and data stewardship 

activities, providing input and feedback that enhances our understanding of the 

global climate system. NOAA’s climate programs regularly interact and 

collaborate with a range of international climate organizations and supports work 

that results in substantial contributions to adaptation efforts worldwide. For 

example, NOAA-sponsored projects in Asia, Latin America and Africa are setting 

the standard for using a science-based approach to enhance society's ability to 

understand, anticipate and manage climate risk in order to improve human 

welfare in the developing world. The above examples are only a small subset of 

NOAA’s work in climate adaptation activities. Beginning in 2008, NOAA has 

undertaken an effort to begin to develop an integrated climate service within 

NOAA to develop and deliver a broader range of operational climate information 

products and services; support research on the impacts of climate variability and 

change on human and natural environments; support and preserve the climate 

data record; support the development of assessments and adaptation strategies 

from international to local levels; and collaborate with stakeholders on enhancing 

their capacity to use climate information and related decision-support resources.” 

Page 31 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) submitted information on its 

adaptation-related efforts on June 23, 2009. DOD was given the opportunity to 

review its initial submission and sent updated information on September 3, 

2009. The information submitted pertained to the Office of the Secretary of 

Defense, Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps. Separately, the U.S. Army 

Corps of Engineers (USACE) submitted information on its adaptation-related 

efforts on March 20, 2009 and sent updated information on September 11, 

2009. GAO did not assess the validity of these submissions. Any questions 

should be directed to DOD or USACE. 

U.S. Department of Defense

• “The Department of Defense (DoD) is proactively taking a variety of steps to 

adapt to climate change while also working with the White House Office of 

Energy and Climate Change to develop an Administration approach to climate 

change challenges. 

• In responding to the GAO engagement, DoD is using the Intergovernmental 

Panel on Climate Change definition of adaptive capacity and adaptation: 

“Adaptive capacity is the ability of a system to adjust to climate change 

(including climate variability and extremes) to moderate potential damages, to 

take advantage of opportunities, or to cope with the consequences.” 

Adaptation is “the adjustment in human or natural systems in response to 

actual or expected climatic stimuli or their effects, which moderates harm or 

exploits beneficial opportunities.” In general, climate change adaptation 

efforts are complicated by lack of clearly defined and scaled regional-level 

climate change impact assessments and lack of knowledge regarding how the 

climate may respond in the long term to mitigation efforts, but initial efforts to 

grapple with climate change issues are underway. Some examples are 

provided in this memo. 

• It is appropriate to express a certain degree of caution at affirmatively defining 

all these activities as “climate change adaptation activities” due to the lack of a 

comprehensive national climate change adaptation strategy and action plan. 

Also, many of these activities, while they may help adapt to the impacts of 

climate change, serve other national defense purposes as well. Finally, since 

the mid-1990s the Office of Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for 

Installations and Environment and the Services have incorporated into their 

approach to land and water management the principles of ecosystem-based 

management including one of its key tenets, adaptive management. These 

approaches not only have led to sustainable use of natural resources to 

support mission needs and meet stewardship requirements, but also may 

contribute to ecosystem resilience in the face of climate change. Maintaining 

ecosystem resilience is a key adaptation strategy given the uncertainty of 

potential impacts. 

Page 32 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
• The ongoing Quadrennial Defense Review is examining the capabilities of the 

armed forces to respond to the consequences of climate change, in particular, 

preparedness for natural disasters from extreme weather events and other 

missions the armed forces may be asked to support inside the United States 

and overseas, as tasked by Section 951 of the 2008 National Defense 

Authorization Act. All of the Services and numerous DoD agencies are 

participating in this effort. 

• Representative examples of the types of DoD activities that will contribute to 

climate change adaptation are briefly described below. 

Office of the Secretary of Defense 

• DoD Legacy Resource Management Program (Legacy). The Legacy program 

has begun to invest in national and regional efforts that will assist the 

Department in defining an adaptation strategy that will support the long-term 

sustainability of its natural and cultural resources. Current initiatives include: 

• A partnership with the National Wildlife Federation, the Association of Fish 

and Wildlife Agencies, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other federal 

agencies to develop a guidance manual that will summarize currently 

available natural resource-focused vulnerability assessment tools. A followup workshop to present key assessment tools to DoD natural resource 

managers is planned for March 2010. 

• A Pacific Regional workshop in February 2010 that will identify and 

prioritize potential management strategies for listed and at-risk species 

expected to be adversely affected by climate change. 

• A project to assess sea level rise scenarios on seven North Carolina 

military installations in order to aid decision-making regarding 

management of their natural resources and infrastructure. 

• Sustaining Military Readiness (SMR) Conference 2009. The SMR 

Conference, held August 9-14 in Phoenix, AZ, included plenary sessions and 

workshops highlighting the need to assess and address current and potential 

impacts of energy and climate change on military readiness. 

• DoD’s Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program 

(SERDP) and Environmental Security Technology Certification Program 

(ESTCP) have within the last couple of years initiated research and 

demonstration activities related to climate change in terms of impact 

assessment, adaptation, and mitigation: 

• During FY09 SERDP initiated four research projects focused on developing 

the methods, tools, and models necessary for DoD coastal installations to 

Page 33 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
Page 34 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation

assess the potential impacts of sea level rise and associated storm surge 

phenomena on installation infrastructure. The four projects purposely 

address different geophysical settings, physical forcing mechanisms, and 

different degrees of vulnerability assessment to reflect that climate change 

impacts, and the information needed to assess those impacts, will differ 

greatly by geographic region. Knowledge gained by these projects and 

application of the resultant products will assist DoD installations first in 

assessing potential impacts and then in using that information to develop 

adaptation strategies. 

• Also during FY09, SERDP has initiated natural resource-related research 

projects associated with southeastern ecosystems that focus on potential 

climate change impacts to shoreline bird populations, test adaptation 

strategies for coastal marsh plant communities, and incorporate climate 

change into setting recovery objectives for southeastern ecological 

systems. 

• SERDP has been funding since 2006 an ecosystem-based research program, 

the Defense Coastal/Estuarine Research Program (DCERP), at Marine 

Corps Base Camp Lejeune. The ongoing research projects under DCERP 

include studies of potential coastal marsh response to sea level rise and 

management strategies that facilitate an adaptive marsh response and 

geomorphological studies of barrier islands and their response to storms. 

As a planned long-term research program, DCERP has the potential to 

incorporate additional climate-change related research, including specific 

adaptation studies. 

• SERDP has selected for FY10 funding three research proposals that 

address the interaction of invasive species, fire, and climate change on 

training and testing lands in the Southwest. In addition, four additional 

FY10 research proposals selected for funding will address the ecology and 

management of southwestern ephemeral and intermittent stream systems 

on Department of Defense lands under climate change.

• ESTCP demonstration projects include renewable energy projects and energy 

efficiency projects, in particular projects associated with improving building 

energy efficiency. Both SERDP and ESTCP are funding projects associated 

with microgrid technologies that not only will enable DoD installations to 

incorporate renewable generation into their energy mix, but also will be 

adaptive in that microgrid technology will enable installations to safely island 

themselves from the main grid in times of emergency. 
Army 

• Army Sustainability Program. Installation Sustainability Plans broadly 

address the physical components of installations (facilities, infrastructure, 

ranges and ecosystems) and their interactions and interrelations to create a 

sustainable environment while maintaining an adaptive ability to support 

current and future missions. This is an example of the kind of DoD activities 

that can help adapt to the impacts of climate change while serving other 

national defense purposes. Army sustainability planning focused on life-cycle 

cost effective investments over a 25-year period and includes: greater energy 

efficiency and surety (engaging in back-up/supplementary electricity 

generations and smart grids), more efficient use of fuels, green acquisition and 

purchasing, and ecosystem-based natural resources management. Many of 

these activities can also be considered as steps to mitigate or adapt to climate 

change. 

• Army Water Sustainability Study: Climate change predictions in the 

southeast and southwest United States indicate a potential for more severe 

and extended drought conditions in those areas. This ongoing study will 

evaluate the vulnerability of Army installations to potential water shortages 

over the next 30 years. The study will evaluate current and predicted water use 

patterns on and near Army installations in the U.S., and compare them to 

sources and predicted availability of water around these installations. 

Currently ongoing at Ft Bragg, NC, and Ft Bliss, TX, the sustainable water 

assessment methodology is planned to be tested at an additional 10 U.S. 

installations and selected Army installations overseas. 

Navy 

• Task Force Climate Change. The Navy established Task Force Climate change 

(TFCC) in May 2009. TFCC is chartered to develop a Roadmap for Navy action 

regarding the Arctic specifically, and climate change in general. This 

organization consists of representatives from the Chief of Naval Operations’ 

staff, Fleet Forces Command, Navy Program Offices, academia, interagency 

partners, and research and development activities. It will make 

recommendations to senior Navy officers regarding investments in climate 

change adaptation, as well as associated changes in policy, strategy, mission, 

and plans. 

• Naval Studies Board FY09 Study. Navy recently sponsored a Naval Studies 

Board study on the National Security Implications of Climate Change on U.S. 

Naval forces (Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard), to be completed late 

2010. This study will help the Navy develop future robust climate change 

adaptation strategies. 

Page 35 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
• Navy Strategy. The Navy incorporated the opening of the Arctic caused by 

climate change in the Naval Services’ “Cooperative Strategy for 21st Century 

Sea Power,” published in 2007, thereby ensuring that the Naval Services’ 

strategic framework would allow for future climate change adaptation 

activities. 

• Education and Training. Navy reviewed the curriculum of the U.S. Naval 

Academy’s Oceanography Department and recommended addition of a course 

on climate, thereby ensuring that our future Officers will be better prepared to 

develop and refine climate change adaptation activities when they are in 

positions to do so. 

Air Force 

• Education and Leadership Awareness 

The Air Command and Staff College (ACSC) is the Air Force's intermediate 

professional military education (PME) school. It prepares field grade officers 

of all services (primarily majors and major selects), international officers, and 

U.S. civilians to assume positions of higher responsibility within the military 

and other government arenas, shaping and molding tomorrow’s leaders and 

commanders. The curriculum of the in-residence program at the ACSC 

includes a lesson plan on Environmental Security that is structured to include 

climate change and energy security as emerging issues of national and 

international importance. The ACSC Distance Learning (DL) Master’s Degree 

Program also incorporates discussions of environmental security and energy 

security. The Center for Naval Analysis publication National Security and the 

Threat of Climate Change and the Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars 

Environmental Change and Security Project Report Environmental Security 

Heats Up serve as the core of the lesson plans. 

• Development of a Planning Framework for Climate Change 

To better understand both the projected threats posed to Air Force operations 

by climate change and the type of information that will be needed to inform 

climate change-related policy decisions, Air Force personnel have been 

monitoring public, private sector, and non-governmental organizations for 

climate change and related national security studies. Such organizations 

include the National Intelligence Council, the U.S. Climate Change Research 

Program, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the 

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on 

Climate Change (IPCC), the Center for Naval Analysis (CNA), the Center for a 

New American Security (CNAS), the Center for Strategic and International 

Studies (CSIS), the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the Pew Center. 

Information gleaned from available studies and analyses will be considered in 

the development of an Air Force planning framework for climate change and 

will inform future policy decisions regarding appropriate management and 

adaptation strategies. 

Page 36 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
The Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force, Energy, 

Environment, Safety and Occupational Health (SAF/IEE) has established an 

Energy and Climate Change Issues Team with broad representation from 

Headquarters Air Force offices responsible for developing policies, plans and 

programs, establishing requirements and providing resources for the entire Air 

Force enterprise. The team will assist the Air Force in developing plans and 

policies for adapting to the challenges posed by climate change by ensuring 

mission and operational impacts are considered across the Air Force. 

• Whole-of-Government Considerations 

To maintain a whole-of-government perspective of issues related to climate 

change mitigation and adaptation, SAF/IEE personnel have attended and 

participated in briefings and professional forums sponsored by and targeting 

federal and national scientific organizations. Focusing on climate change 

impacts to infrastructure, natural resources, and water resources, and the 

adaptation challenges facing planners, resource managers and decision 

makers they have included: 

• Bi-monthly meetings of the Interagency Forum on Climate Change Impacts 

and Adaptations 

• The March 2009 National Academy of Sciences Summit on America’s 

Climate Choices (which included special panels on Adapting to the Impacts 

of Climate Change and Informing Effective Decisions and Actions Related 

to Climate Change) 

• The October 2008 Colloquium on National Security Implications of Climate 

Change sponsored by the U.S. Joint Forces Command 

• Department of Energy national laboratory climate modeler briefings on 

Climate and Conflict Challenges Affecting Department of Defense and Air 

Force Installations and Operations. 

Page 37 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
Marine Corps 

• General Planning Approach. The U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) is constantly 

assessing, planning and implementing projects and activities that support our 

ability to meet the mission of the USMC. Some of these activities, although not 

primarily directed to support climate change adaptation efforts, nonetheless 

may assist in these efforts and provide mutual benefits. The effects of climate 

change are characterized by a degree of variability and uncertainty for a range 

of forecasting and modeling scenarios. Although specific climate change 

effects and outcomes cannot be predicted with accuracy and certainty, there 

are general attributes and trends in climate change that are reasonably 

expected to occur and can be considered in planning and conducting USMC 

activities. Some examples of USMC activities at installations which, indirectly 

or otherwise, support climate change adaptation efforts include: 1) wildfire 

preparation management; 2) water conservation; 3) hurricane preparedness; 

and 4) natural resources management. 

• Adaptation to Increased Risk of Wildfires. Several climate change predictive 

modeling scenarios include an increase in the frequency and severity of 

wildfires in some geographic regions affected by climate change. In Southern 

California for example, after increased frequency and severity of wildfires over 

the past few years, the USMC has initiated replacement of all aboveground 

communications and utilities lines to underground as much as economically 

feasible, so that they are clear of any fire damage should they occur. 

• Adaptation to Increased Risk of Drought. Under a changing climate, water 

resources in some areas will be less abundant and face increasing pressures 

for demand. We are specifically seeing the early stages of this event in 

Southern California, where frequent drought conditions coupled with ever 

increasing population growth has severely taxed clean water supplies. 

Consequently, the USMC is expanding our use of recycled water at our 

installations, primarily for irrigation and other non-potable water use 

requirements. 

• Adaptation to Increased Risk of Severe Storms. The majority of USMC 

installations are located in coastal areas where amphibious landing and other 

mission critical training and operational exercises are conducted to directly 

support the USMC mission and our Naval mission. The forecasted increase in 

frequency and severity of hurricanes and tropical storms on the Eastern 

seaboard of the United States could directly impact this mission. 

Consequently, the USMC continues to consider hurricane damage vulnerability 

and base evacuation requirements in all facilities and operational planning. 

• Adaptation to Changing Ecosystems. Characteristics of climate change 

include changing temperatures and precipitation patterns. These changes 

would undoubtedly alter wildlife and habitat patterns and distributions. 

Associated changes in ecosystems and land use decisions will also result to 

Page 38 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
varying degrees in some geographic regions. The USMC monitors ecosystem 

conditions and trends and has adopted an adaptive management strategy for 

implementing Integrated Natural Resource Management Plans (INRMP) for 

our installations. The USMC also actively participates in numerous broader, 

regional partnerships to better integrate conservation strategies throughout a 

given region of ecosystem. 

• Awareness of Existing Laws, Policies or Regulations That Hinder 

Adaptation Efforts. The Services are unaware of existing laws, policies or 

regulations that hinder climate change adaptation efforts. 

• Awareness of Existing Laws, Policies or Regulations That Assist Adaptation 

Efforts. The Services are unaware of existing laws, policies or regulations that 

assist climate change adaptation efforts.” 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 

“Managing hydrologic extremes due to climate variability is an essential mission 

of water management agencies. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has 

missions to help reduce risks from floods and to mitigate the impacts of drought. 

USACE must ensure that its systems and projects will remain adaptable and 

sustainable over time even if the frequency and severity of extreme hydrologic 

events may change. 

Several climate change adaptation activities are planned as part of the USACE 

Actions for Change effort. The Actions for Change were developed from analyses 

of the performance of the Southeast Louisiana Hurricane Protection System 

during Hurricane Katrina and the decisions leading up to the disaster. The goal of 

Actions for Change (now known as the IPET/HPDC Lessons Learned and 

incorporated in the USACE Campaign Plan) is to effect fundamental change in the 

US Army Corps of Engineers by developing and implementing an integrated, 

comprehensive, systems-based, and risk-informed approach in the execution of all 

mission areas. The changes will incorporate anticipatory and adaptive 

management so that systems remain adaptable and sustainable over time. The 

changes will ensure that USACE can incorporate new information and knowledge 

throughout a system’s life cycle to ensure satisfactory safety and performance. 

The USACE climate change strategy involves working closely with other Federal 

agencies to develop consistent approaches with regard to policies related to 

climate change. USACE is also trying to coordinate climate change activities with 

state governments and others so approaches can be integrated. 

Water Resources Management 

USACE formed an interagency workgroup on climate change and water resources 

to evaluate how climate change considerations can be incorporated into activities 

Page 39 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
related to the Nation's water resources. This interagency team represented the 

two major water resources operating agencies – USACE and the Bureau of 

Reclamation – and the two major science agencies supporting water resources 

management – U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA, National Weather Service and Office of 

Atmospheric Research). The result was a February 2009 report on “Climate 

Change and Water Resources Management: A Federal Perspective” published as a 

USGS Circular (Available online at: http://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/1331/). It presents 

the best available science to help water managers prepare for and adapt to the 

effects of climate change on the nation’s water resources. 

USACE has formed a team of water managers to develop strategies for how water 

management can better adapt to a changing climate. This group and others from 

USACE are working with an interagency team, Climate Change and Water 

Working Group to prepare an assessment of required capabilities, current 

capabilities and gaps associated with incorporating climate change information 

into longer-term water resources planning. At workshops in California in spring 

2007, water managers from Federal (USGS, Reclamation, NOAA), state, local and 

private agencies and organizations recommended more flexible reservoir 

operations, better use of forecasts, and more monitoring of real-time conditions in 

the watersheds. The USACE water managers are working on better implementing 

integrated water resources management, which the Intergovernmental Panel on 

Climate Change (IPCC) says should be the framework for climate change 

adaptation. They are considering ways to make water management more flexible 

and adaptable to changing conditions. Research and development activities in the 

USACE have included improvements to numerical models for reservoir 

simulation, studies of climate impacts to western USACE projects and systems, 

and development of a primer to guide use of downscaled climate models. 

Coastal Management 

The USACE has recently revised guidance on how to incorporate future sea-level 

change projections into planning and engineering design. The guidance was 

written with the active participation of USGS and NOAA’s National Ocean Service 

(NOS). USACE has actually had a policy on sea level change since the late 1980s 

that was based on a 1987 National Research Council (NRC) study. The revised 

guidance uses a scenario approach to account for the uncertainty of future sea 

level change. USACE is currently working with USGS and NOS on a companion 

project assessing the vulnerability of existing USACE coastal projects to sea level 

change and other coastal processes such as erosion. USACE has formed an 

interagency team to write more detailed planning guidance for coastal 

management with a changing climate, while another team is dealing with 

engineering design for coastal structures. Future studies are being planned to 

evaluate climate change impacts, including sea level change, in Florida and 

California. 

 

Page 40 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
Great Lakes Studies 

Climate change is being considered in two studies in the Great Lakes that the U.S. 

Army Corps of Engineers are supporting for the International Joint Commission 

(IJC). The objectives of the studies are to improve the management of Great 

Lakes water levels and outflows. The International Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence 

River Study studied how to regulate outflows from Lake Ontario. Numerous plan 

alternatives were developed that considered the multiple objectives that include 

hydropower, navigation, flood damage reduction, recreation, and the 

environment. To test the robustness of the options, various supply scenarios were 

used including historic (1900-2001), stochastic (generation of 50,000 years of 

supply sequences) and climate change. The climate change scenarios were based 

on four general circulation models from the IPCC Third Assessment Report that 

were considered “warm and wet”, “not so warm and wet” (UK Hadley), “warm and 

dry” and “not so warm and dry” (Canadian Climate Centre) cases. 

The International Upper Great Lakes Study (IUGLS) began in March 2007 to 

investigate the factors affecting the recent declining Great Lakes levels. The first 

phase of the Study is investigating whether historic changes in the St. Clair River 

which flows from Lake Michigan-Huron to Erie, such as dredging, are responsible 

for the declining levels or are a result of seasonal or short- or long-term climate 

variability. The second phase will consider Lake Superior outflow management 

improvements considering an array of supply scenarios including climate change. 

Climate scenarios will be considered based on the IPCC Fourth Assessment 

Report which refines previous scenarios. 

Additional Update as of September 11, 2009 

In July 2009, USACE released updated guidance on incorporation of sea-level 

change to its Civil Works projects. The guidance requires that all projects, 

whether in planning or engineering phases, or already constructed, be evaluated 

for sensitivity to sea-level change. Adaptation alternatives must be evaluated for 

projects that are sensitive to sea-level changes.” 

Page 41 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) submitted information on its 

adaptation-related efforts on July 16, 2009. DOE was given the opportunity to 

review its initial submission and sent updated information on September 2, 

2009. GAO did not assess the validity of these submissions. Any questions 

should be directed to DOE. 

U.S. Department of Energy 

“DOE recognizes that energy production and use in the United States today, and 

over the next 100 years, will be significantly affected by actual and expected 

climate change impacts and vulnerabilities. DOE is expanding its climate change 

activities to achieve a balanced approach and address both mitigation and 

adaptation. This will ensure a comprehensive and effective strategy to address 

climate change and energy security. 

The focus of this strategy is: (1) to ensure the expansion of the Nation’s energy 

supply and protection of the energy infrastructure and operations from climate 

change; (2) to harness its technical expertise, assets and resources to assist and 

provide guidance/information to federal, state, regional and local decision-makers 

and effected parties in addressing climate change impacts and vulnerabilities; and 

(3) to protect DOE’s infrastructure (e.g., National Laboratories, Strategic 

Petroleum Reserves, etc.,) and operations from climate change impacts. 

Climate-related changes have already been observed globally and in the United 

States, and will have direct and indirect impacts on this nation’s ability to 

produce, deliver and store energy as well as how energy is used. DOE is in the 

process of assessing these impacts and identifying adaptation strategies. For 

example, warming will increase demand for cooling energy in the US resulting in 

increases in electricity use and peak demand in most regions. Energy production 

will be constrained by rising temperatures and limited water supplies. Proposed 

energy technology mitigation solutions will increase water demand (e.g. coal fired 

power plants with CCS, biomass, hydro and nuclear energy). Energy production 

and delivery systems will be exposed to sea-level rise and extreme weather events 

(e.g., oil and gas operations, and Strategic Petroleum Reserve). Increased 

variability of wind patterns and cloud cover will impact wind and solar technology 

performance. Concerns about impacts could influence perceptions and valuations 

of energy technology alternatives and shape energy production and consumption 

in the US. 

Many of the challenges of adaptation have been identified but little in-depth 

analysis or research has been conducted by DOE or the Federal government on 

the scope, scale, and timing of these impacts. This has significant bearing on U.S. 

energy security as well as the near term ability to make informed policy and 

program design decisions. DOE believes that a proactive approach by the Federal 

Government can enhance resilience and reduce severity and cost of climate 

change impacts regardless of the nature of these impacts (i.e. energy or human 

Page 42 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
health, natural resources, agriculture, forestry, etc). DOE recognizes that many of 

the impacts (i.e. water scarcity) are crosscutting and will require a coordinated 

approach across the Federal government. In addition, DOE's assets (National 

Labs, super-computers, etc.) can serve as the nation's leading service providers to 

the impacted and vulnerable communities. 

DOE is focusing its expertise and resources in several areas related to climate 

change adaptation, including research: (1) to improve the capability to forecast 

climate change on a regional/local scale and to conduct vulnerability assessments; 

(2) to understand the risks and impacts of climate change on existing energy 

sector infrastructure, and potential low carbon-clean energy technologies; and (3) 

to identify options and develop technologies and practices for reducing and 

recovering from climate change impacts including reducing water requirements, 

increasing efficiency of energy use, saving cooling energy and reducing electrical 

peak load. 

DOE implementation of specific climate change adaptation projects is expanding. 

In addition, many of the current Departmental activities address aspects of 

climate change adaptation, but were not implemented with adaptation in mind. 

Illustrative examples of DOE activities and initiatives relevant to climate change 

adaptation include: 

(1) Ensure the expansion of the Nation’s energy supply and protection of the 

energy infrastructure and operations from climate change. 

• DOE has played a leadership role in the U.S. Climate Change Technology 

Program to strengthen the Federal research portfolio on climate change 

technology development and to coordinate and prioritize related investments. 

CCTP’s mission is to accelerate the development and deployment of advanced 

technologies that reduce, avoid, capture or sequester greenhouse gas 

emissions. 

• DOE has been proactive in strengthening the connection between the U.S. 

Climate Change Technology Program and supporting basic research, both inhouse and between the U.S. Climate Change Technology Program and the U.S. 

Climate Change Science Program (now referred to as the US Global Change 

Research Program (USGCRP). DOE has played a key role in coordinating and 

integrating climate research, observations, decision support, and 

communication. Results from these efforts have provided the scientific basis 

for the current international and domestic understanding of climate change 

mitigation and adaptation. 

• Under the auspices of the USGCRP, DOE led the effort to analyze and 

report on the “Effects of Climate Change on Energy Production and Use in 

the United States” (Synthesis and Assessment Product 4.5). This report 

enhances the understanding of the effects of climate change on energy 

Page 43 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
systems in the United States and the need for developing effective 

adaptation strategies. 

• DOE also supported the development of the USGCRP report: Global 

Change Scenarios – Their Development and Use. The report outlines the 

state of the art in scenario use, research needs, and emphasizes the 

connection between scenario development and both mitigation and 

adaptation planning. 

• DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy/National Renewable 

Research Laboratory is enhancing state-of-the-art capabilities for geostatistical 

analysis of the impacts of weather on renewable energy generation and energy 

demand and developing enhanced resource forecasting techniques. 

• DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy is pursuing energy 

efficiency programs and improvements to reduce the consumption of water, 

fuels and energy in homes, buildings, industry and transportation: all of which 

will have an impact on water usage and reducing the impact of climate change. 

• DOE’s Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability is working to 

ensure that the Nation’s energy delivery system is secure, resilient and reliable. 

This includes efforts: to modernize the electric grid; enhance security and 

reliability of energy infrastructure including potential impacts of extreme 

weather events on energy infrastructure; and facilitate recovery from 

disruptions to energy supply. 

• DOE is addressing a variety of water scarcity-related issues related to climate 

change adaptation and energy production and use, including: 

• The Office of Fossil Energy/National Energy Technology Laboratory 

(FE/NETL) has assessed the water requirements for existing and emerging 

thermoelectric plant technologies including carbon capture and storage. A 

key objective of the FE/NETL research and development program is to 

minimize the impact of mitigation technologies on water resources. This is 

being addressed under two key inter-related components of the R&D 

program – (1) the development of advanced CO2 capture technologies that 

require less cooling and (2) the development of advanced water 

management technologies that reduce water usage throughout the power 

plant. 

• Sandia National Laboratory has assessed major water issues related to 

electrical generation and fuels production, and identified approaches that 

could reduce freshwater use in the energy sector, and opportunities for 

further research and development to address questions that decisionmakers will need to resolve to effectively manage the energy/water issues. 

Page 44 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
• DOE Fossil Energy has conducted over 100 projects on various aspects of 

water management related to oil and natural gas development. For 

example, projects have examined the use of produced water from oil and 

natural gas production as a potential water resource for agriculture and 

other beneficial uses, rather than a waste, as the availability of useable 

water becomes more scarce in certain regions with climate change. 

• The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s (EERE) Biomass 

Program has funded several National Laboratories to assess water 

consumption and water quality impacts for biofuels production. In addition 

EERE analyzed water use by concentrated solar photovoltaic (CSP) plants 

and approaches for reducing water consumption. 

(2) Harness DOE’s technical expertise, assets and resources to assist and provide 

guidance/information to federal, state, regional and local decision-makers and 

effected parties in addressing climate change impacts and vulnerabilities. 

• The Office of Science’s Integrated Assessment Research Program (IARP) 

supports research on models and tools for integrated analysis of both the 

drivers and consequences of climate change. Past work has focused on 

drivers, specifically sources of greenhouse gas emissions within a common, 

most often economic, modeling framework. Resources are now being devoted 

to modeling the interactive effects of impacts and adaptation, and go beyond a 

national focus to better inform regional integrated planning. Efforts will 

include broad-based vulnerability analyses spanning multiple, interactive 

stressors; analysis of the role of science and technology in both mitigation and 

adaptation; analyses of the combined economic effects of different response 

strategies and policies; and explore key intersecting systems and their 

interdependencies, such as found at the energy, water, and land nexus. Efforts 

also include: 

• Development underway of impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability data base. 

Establishment of a climate change impact and adaptation component, led 

by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory to develop a comprehensive data 

base on climate change impact research and science, scoping and to 

develop a comprehensive data base on climate change adaptation 

processes and management practices. 

Page 45 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
• Workshop Report illuminates research needs and 

challenges in impacts and adaptations for 

Integrated Assessments. The Integrated 

Assessment (IA) Research Program recently 

completed a major report that identifies the 

research needs in impacts, adaptation, and 

vulnerability (IAV) modeling as a grand challenge 

for integrated assessment research. The report, 

found at: 

http://www.sc.doe.gov/ober/IA%20Workshop_06-

25-09.pdf , represents the discussions and findings of a major workshop to 

identify the future research needs in the field of climate change integrated 

assessment (IA) and represents the synthesis of supporting focused 

workshops; meetings; white papers; and other venues for critical thinking. 

• Targeted university solicitations on the modeling of climate change 

impacts and adaptations. DOE recently funded several university grants 

that would improve the fundamental knowledge and methodologies for 

analysis of climate change impacts and adaptations within integrated 

assessment frameworks, including innovative general approaches to 

modeling impacts and adaptation, development of different measures of 

impacts, techniques for accommodating thresholds and tipping points, 

concepts and approaches for addressing probabilities and uncertainties, 

and methods for addressing data limitations. Funded grants spanned the 

range from core modeling in water resource impacts for energy systems, to 

energy system vulnerabilities from extreme weather events, and ultimately 

to long-term offshore wind energy resources. 

• DOE main sponsor for annual international workshop on integrated 

assessment. DOE’s Office of Science is sponsoring workshops on 

adaptation to build understanding and research collaborations, including a 

three-day workshop session on Urban Impacts, Adaptation, and 

Vulnerabilities in July 2009 with technical experts from the public and 

private sector and academia. The workshop explores sectoral, crosscutting, and interaction issues (e.g., simultaneous mitigation and 

adaptation, interacting stressors and multiple adaptations) within common 

analytic frameworks, such as Integrated Assessment Models. 

• New computation equipment for dedicated Integrated Assessment 

Research responds to the needs of impacts and adaptation analysis. DOE 

supports core research in Integrated Assessment and provides support for 

two (MIT and the Joint Global Change Research Institute) of the three 

main U.S. modeling teams that model, at high detail and complexity, the 

human – natural systems interactions surrounding climate change. In 

addition, DOE will use funds from the America Recovery and Reinvestment 

Act to acquire a supercomputer for Pacific Northwest National Laboratory 

for research and development of Integrated Assessment models for climate 

change impacts and adaptation that require finer scale modeling and 

demand greater computational horsepower. 

Page 46 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
• DOE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is using its technology, 

expertise, and capability to provide world class computational resources 

needed to tackle climate challenges. ORNL’s super-computing resources 

offer a Massive Peta-Scale computational tool for running climate models 

and forecasting climate change on a regional/local scale. ORNL’s climate 

modeling tools use satellite data, regional inputs, land and water use data, 

policy standards, or any other variety of informational points, giving 

modelers the potential to extract a wide range of potential scenarios. For 

example, ORNL has the modeling ability to assess financial impact of 

temperature change, anticipate extreme events, and predict risk from 

climate change effects (e.g., water availability) on a regional/local basis. 

• DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy/National 

Renewable Research Laboratory has three ongoing activities that are 

relevant to the analysis of climate change impacts and adaptation 

strategies. These include: (1) a study to assess the status of knowledge 

about the potential role of renewable energy and energy efficiency to 

support climate change adaptation and vulnerability reduction and clarify 

relationships to related issues, such as energy reliability, energy security, 

emergency response, infrastructure development, and economic 

development. (2) Launching with NREL and MIT a comprehensive multiclient analysis of the environmental, economic, and technical issues 

associated with large-scale deployment of renewable energy. Included 

within this study, is an assessment of the potential impacts of climate 

change on renewable energy generation. (3) NREL is also enhancing stateof-the-art capabilities at the lab for geostatistical analysis of the impacts of 

weather on renewable energy generation and energy demand and 

developing enhanced resource forecasting techniques. 

(3) Protect DOE’s infrastructure (e.g., National Laboratories, Strategic Petroleum 

Reserves, etc.,) and operations from climate change impacts. 

• DOE’s Office of Fossil Energy is assessing the impact of climate change, 

including sea level rise, subsidence and increased frequency and severity of 

hurricanes on oil storage and delivery infrastructure and operations, including 

current and future response capabilities of the Nation’s Strategic Petroleum 

Reserve along the Gulf Coast. 

• DOE’s National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Program is developing 

guidance on consideration of climate change in the NEPA process. Integrating 

climate change considerations into DOE's planning process under NEPA 

would provide decision makers and the public with information about 

potential environmental impacts of DOE proposed actions and alternatives 

resulting from greenhouse gas emissions, and may also inform about how 

climate change may affect proposed DOE actions.” 

Page 47 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) submitted 

information on its adaptation-related efforts on March 19, 2009. HHS was 

given the opportunity to review its initial submission and sent updated 

information on September 11, 2009. GAO did not assess the validity of these 

submissions. Any questions should be directed to HHS. 

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 

“Evaluating Models of Heat Vulnerability & Heat Island Impact in NYC – 

Collaboration between CDC and Columbia University 

The study looks at the relationships between social and physical vulnerability 

measures to heat waves in New York City from 1997 to 2006. The data will 

provide an understanding of how vulnerability to such events changed over 

time and how it varied among New York City's neighborhoods and 

demographic groups 

Developing a Modular Web-based Preparedness Modeling Tool for Heat Waves - 

Collaboration between CDC and Arizona State University 

The project develops a new research methodology that provides local and 

regional governments with a new set of skills and tools in prevention and 

emergency response planning for acute and chronic urban climate impacts, 

including heat waves. 

Urban Heat Island (UHI) and Human Mortality during Heat Waves: The Role of 

Remote Sensing - Collaboration between CDC and Indiana University 

This study determines the association between urban thermal characteristics 

and deaths associated with extreme heat events through remote sensing 

instruments. The research will provide detail on the association between the 

UHI and morbidity related to heat wave events and the creation of heat 

related risk maps in high risk urban areas. 

Urban Sprawl and Excessive Heat Events in Large US Cities: 1956-2005 – 

Collaboration between CDC and Georgia Tech 

The research studies the effect of urban sprawl on the incidence of extreme 

heat events. The study reviews extreme heat events over the last fifty years 

in association with indices of urban sprawl for a host of cities in the US, 

including Atlanta, and explores the components of urban form that drive the 

observed associations. 

Page 48 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
Extreme Heat Media Toolkit 

The project creates a comprehensive communications campaign, which 

includes developing a toolkit of materials that can be easily downloaded, 

customized, to be used by cities across the US which have or are developing 

coordinated public health responses to extreme heat events. 

Web-based training module for secondary school educators on “The 

Identification and Prevention of Heat-related Illness among Athletes” 

This project will develop an accredited, web-based course and instructional 

materials to train coaches, athletic trainers, and other associated with 

athletic events at secondary schools, in the identification and prevention of 

exertion-related heat illness in student athletes 

Local climate change and health indicators work- Austin Climate Protection 

Program. 

 

The project will integrate environmental public health indicators associated 

with climate change into local climate mitigation plans to assess and support 

local policy decisions on climate change. 

Expanding climate change research 

CDC has funded intramural research awards, including research on topics such as 

vector-borne and zoonotic disease spread, analysis of climate change impacts on 

heat wave mortality, and evaluation of potential climate change adaptation 

strategies. Additionally, extramural research grants have been awarded to fund 

studies on a wide variety of health impacts of climate change. 

Enhancing adaptive capacity at local health departments 

Formalized partnerships have been developed with the National Association of 

County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) and the Association of State and 

Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO). Pilot programs have been initiated in five 

states and six local jurisdictions to conduct needs assessments and develop 

strategic plans to address weaknesses and bolster climate change capacity. The 

selected states are California, Minnesota, Florida, New Hampshire, and 

Massachusetts, and the selected local jurisdictions are Travis Co, Tx; Mercer Co, 

IL; Orange Co, FL; Thurston Co, WA; Hennepin Co, MN; and Imperial Co, CA. 

Promoting workforce development 

Postdoctoral and PhD dissertation awards in climate change and health 

adaptation research will help to fund projects while improving development of a 

Page 49 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
well-educated and experienced climate change workforce. They will also foster 

collaboration between CDC and academic institutions.” 

National Institutes of Health 

“The NIH is currently supporting and conducting numerous and diverse research 

and training projects on climate and weather effects on health, including actual 

and potential impacts on infectious diseases, mental health, cardiovascular 

disease, toxic exposures, trauma, cancer, nutrition and substance abuse, among 

others. Projects include development of predictive models for disease impacts of 

weather and climate, new disaster management tools, individual and population 

responses to relevant medical and public health interventions, health workforce 

needs in the U.S. and abroad, and focused studies on populations that may be 

particularly vulnerable to climate-influenced health concerns. Currently, a 

relatively small subset of these projects is focused directly on the impacts of long 

term climate change using the rapidly advancing predictive tools of climate 

change science. More focused efforts are being contemplated and in development. 

As with current NIH projects, future research and training activities on climate 

change and health will be developed in partnership with U.S. universities, other 

federal agencies and expert private organizations through rigorously peerreviewed science. 

Trans-NIH Working Group on Climate Change and Health 

A planning group has been convened at the NIH to assess the research questions 

in health and medicine that climate change presents. Sixteen NIH Institutes and 

Centers actively participate in the Trans-NIH Working Group on Climate Change 

and Health, with coordination from the Fogarty International Center (FIC) and 

including with the active participation of the National Institute of Environmental 

Health Sciences (NIEHS). The goals of the Working Group are to identify and 

describe relevant research and training activities currently supported by the NIH, 

engage the biomedical research community in discussions of the health effects of 

climate change, and identify research needs and priorities for an NIH research 

agenda for climate change and health, including the development and evaluation 

of clinical and public health strategies for climate change adaptation. 

NIH Challenge Grants in Health and Science Research 

The NIH has recently taken steps to increase support for research on the health 

effects of climate change. As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment 

Act of 2009, NIH has developed a new initiative called the NIH Challenge Grants in 

Health and Science Research. Included in the range of Challenge Topics that the 

NIH plans to support is research that focuses on the development of models to 

predict the health effects of climate change. Quantitative and predictive models 

of effects of climate change on disease burden and health outcomes are needed to 

facilitate public health planning and inform adaptation strategies. Of particular 

Page 50 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
interest are studies that quantify the current impacts of climate on a diversity of 

communicable or non-communicable diseases, or studies project the impacts of 

different climate and socio-economic scenarios on health. Awards will be 

announced in October and November of 2009. 

NIEHS-Wellcome Project 

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), NIH, is 

supporting a project to quantify the population health consequences (both 

positive and negative) of key policy choices aimed at climate change adaptationmitigation in each of four sectors: energy, housing/built environment, transport, 

and food/agriculture. This aim is being accomplished by an international 

consortium of expert scientists convened by the London School of Hygiene & 

Tropical Medicine. The Consortium will: define the critical policy choices for 

mitigation arising in each of the four sectors in both high- and low-income 

countries, and the parameters within which those choices are constrained; 

delineate the critical pathways by which such choices have effects on population 

health, encompassing both direct and indirect mechanisms; and develop 

quantitative models of these health effects, and illustrate them by application to 

hypothetical populations representative of high- and low-income country 

settings.” 

Page 51 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) submitted information on 

its adaptation-related efforts on June 18, 2009. FEMA was given the 

opportunity to review its initial submission and sent updated information on 

August 25, 2009. GAO did not assess the validity of these submissions. Any 

questions should be directed to FEMA.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Federal Emergency Management Agency 

“As noted in the responses below, FEMA is currently conducting a study on the 

impact of climate change on the NFIP. The study was recommended by the GAO 

in a Spring, 2007 report (GAO-07-285, "Climate Change: Financial Risks to Federal 

and Private Insurers in Coming Decades are Potentially Significant"). We began 

the study in September, 2008 and it will be completed in March, 2010. 

Approximately one million dollars was allocated for this and a related study that 

investigates methods to improve coastal floodplain mapping through the NFIP. 

(1) Question: What actions, if any, are federal, state, local, and international 

authorities taking to adapt to a changing climate? 

Answer: FEMA's Mitigation Directorate (and predecessor Directorates) has a long 

history of investigating and planning for certain aspects of climate change with 

respect of the NFIP; specifically long-term coastal erosion, and to a lesser extent 

sea level rise. 

For example, in 1991 FEMA completed a congressionally mandated study on the 

impact of sea level rise on the NFIP. The study concluded that the NFIP would 

not encounter problems adapting to various scenarios of future sea level rise. For 

example, the study notes that the NFIP would not be significantly impacted by a 

one-foot rise in sea level over the next hundred years, and that under a three-foot 

sea level rise scenario, the program would have ample opportunity to adapt and 

implement changes to the NFIP. This could be done by considering alternative 

approaches to NFIP loss control and insurance mechanisms. 

The current GAO-recommended study, however, uses more current information 

and data than was available for the 1991 study; this includes reports prepared by 

the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and the Climate Change Science 

Program. Moreover, the current study also considers aspects of climate change 

beyond just sea level rise. For example the study considers climate-induced 

changes in frequency and intensity of coastal storms, and climate-induced 

changes in precipitation patterns (as such, the study considers impacts of climate 

change on both riverine and coastal areas). As part of this study effort, FEMA is 

involving representatives from other federal agencies (such as NOAA and the 

USGS), State agencies (such as Delaware and North Carolina), the private sector, 

Page 52 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
and academia. The results of this study will provide FEMA with recommendations 

and policy options on how to deal with the affects of climate change on the NFIP. 

Mitigation's efforts to deal with long-term coastal erosion (which is a specific 

consequence of sea level rise) follow a long convoluted history, a discussion of 

which may provide insight into the current consideration of climate change 

impacts on the NFIP. This discussion is also relevant to my answer to Question 

number 3. 

In the late 1980's there was recognition by various interest groups and other 

entities that long-term coastal erosion was an issue that needed to be studied and 

addressed under the NFIP. This resulted in a FEMA-commissioned National 

Research Council (NRC) report (titled "Managing Coastal Erosion"). The report 

was released in 1990 and recommended that long-term erosion mapping and landuse management requirements should be incorporated into the NFIP. The NRC 

report stimulated congressional interest on this issue, and in 1990 several bills 

were introduced that would have required FEMA to consider long-term coastal 

erosion through the NFIP (note that short-term, or event driven erosion, has long 

been considered by the NFIP). Opposition to these bills by various interest 

groups led Congress to abandon the proposed bills, but ultimately a compromise 

bill was formulated that directed FEMA to study the long-term erosion issue, 

rather than mandate immediate change to the NFIP. The compromise bill was 

inserted as Section 577 of the National Flood Insurance Reform Act of 1994, and it 

required that the Director of FEMA submit a report to Congress that evaluated the 

economic impact of erosion and erosion mapping on coastal communities and on 

the NFIP. Ultimately, the erosion study was conducted for FEMA by the H. John 

Heinz Center, and a report was released in 2000. The "Heinz Center" report made 

two recommendations. The first was that Congress should instruct FEMA to map 

coastal erosion hazard areas. The second was that Congress should require 

FEMA to include the cost of expected losses when setting flood insurance rates 

along the coast. After the release of the Heinz Center report, FEMA formed an 

internal workgroup to determine what actions could be taken to implement the 

recommendations contained in the report under the laws and regulations 

governing the NFIP. The workgroup concluded that, because of the politically 

sensitive nature of the erosion issue, the implementation of either of the Heinz 

Center recommendations would require direct authorization from Congress. To 

this date, Congress has not acted on these recommendations. However, under 

existing regulatory and statutory authority, FEMA has increased insurance rates 

for policies in V Zones close to 10 percent (the maximum allowed by current 

statutory law) most years between 2001 and 2008. A primary reason for this 

increase was in recognition of the results obtained by the Heinz Center study. In 

summary, FEMA has not mapped erosion hazard areas and has not used this 

information for rate setting because of its long-term politically sensitive nature, 

and because of Congressional indecision on this matter. Note that during the time 

(late 1980's though early 2000's) that long-term coastal erosion was being debated 

in Congress, FEMA funded several research studies and published numerous 

Page 53 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
papers in peer-reviewed scientific journals that investigated various aspects of the 

long-term coastal erosion problem. 

Other actions taken by FEMA to adapt to climate change include actions related 

to FEMA's Coastal Construction Manual, and to the NFIP's Community Rating 

System. These actions are explained below. 

FEMA publishes a Coastal Construction Manual (FEMA 55) that documents stateof-the-art and best practices in coastal construction in accordance with 

information and recommendations contained in several pertinent publications. 

These publications include: the International Residential Code, the International 

Building Code, NFIP regulations and technical bulletins, and other relevant 

publications. The last major update to the Coastal Construction Manual was 

published in 2000. This version (as with previous versions) contained limited 

information regarding the direct effects of sea level rise on coastal construction 

design and siting. However, the update did include substantive information 

regarding the hazards of long-term coastal erosion (again, a specific consequence 

of sea level rise), and provided recommendations concerning coastal construction 

siting and design standards that reflect this long-term hazard. Currently FEMA's 

Mitigation Directorate is in the preliminary stages of substantially revising the 

Coastal Construction Manual. This revision will include a new section (or 

subsection) that addresses climate change. It is anticipated that this 

section/subsection will summarize what is currently known about the effects of 

climate change on our coastal regions, and will make recommendations 

concerning coastal construction siting and design within the context of potential 

climate change impacts. 

FEMA has a program component of the NFIP, called the Community Rating 

System (CRS), which provides financial incentives for implementing practices 

beyond the minimum NFIP floodplain management standards. In this program, 

the CRS provides discounts on flood insurance premiums that range from 5% up 

to 45%, with the size of the discount determined by tallying credit points that are 

assigned to various community floodplain management activities. Currently, there 

are no CRS credits specifically described as "climate-change activities." There are, 

however, flood-protection activities, such as requiring additional freeboard, or 

requiring long-term coastal erosion-based setbacks that, while not described as 

specific to climate change, do mitigate aspects of sea level rise and concomitant 

long-term coastal erosion. 

Nevertheless, it is likely that the next revision of the CRS manual (which will 

probably be issued in 2011) will contain new climate change-specific language 

describing certain CRS activity credits. 

Finally, it should be noted that FEMA is providing a $5 million congressionally 

earmarked grant to the State of North Carolina to conduct a "Sea Level Rise Risk 

Management Study." The study will assess the long-term fiscal implications of 

Page 54 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
climate change as it affects the frequency and impacts of natural disasters. 

Although the study focuses only on the State of North Carolina, the results of this 

study will provide FEMA with additional findings and conclusions that should 

assist the Agency in formulating climate change adaptation strategies. 

(2) Question: What challenges, if any, do federal, state, and local officials face in 

their efforts to adapt? 

Answer: It is not yet clear as to the challenges facing the NFIP with respect to 

climate change adaptation. As an example, if the influences and impacts of 

climate change occur gradually, then the NFIP would be able to readily adapt by 

using procedures and methods currently used to administer the program. Thus, 

the NFIP would continue to: (1) annually adjust insurance rates based on the most 

recent data; (2) revise or remap Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) under 

current mapping cycles, albeit expedite remapping where significant changes 

(climate-related or otherwise) in flooding or topography have been identified; and 

(3) recommend changes to building codes to better reflect current flood risks. If 

the influences and impacts of climate change occur more rapidly, then the NFIP 

might have to make fundamental changes to the NFIP in order to adapt. 

Nevertheless, we understand that there is scientific consensus that global 

warming is occurring and as such FEMA needs to be proactive in preparing for 

potential changes that could affect coastal and riverine flooding. Results from the 

forthcoming completion of the FEMA Climate Change study should provide 

relevant information regarding adaptation challenges. 

 

(3) Question: What actions could the Congress and federal agencies take to help 

address these challenges? 

Answer: As noted above, FEMA is currently conducting a study that will provide 

policy options and recommendations regarding the affects of climate change on 

the NFIP. Nonetheless, based on past history and experience with the erosion 

issue (as expounded upon, above), in the short-term, FEMA should continue to 

investigate and perhaps take actions that can be implemented under existing 

statutory and regulatory authorities. In the longer-term, Congress needs to 

provide legislative guidance or mandates where such statutory and regulatory 

authorities do not currently exist, or where identified actions are controversial or 

politically sensitive. In short, we believe that the degree of effectiveness of any 

actions is strongly dependent on Congressional willingness to mandate changes to 

the NFIP.” 

Page 55 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) submitted information on its 

adaptation-related efforts on May 22, 2009. DOI was given the opportunity to 

review its initial submission and sent updated information on September 18, 

2009. GAO did not assess the validity of these submissions. Any questions 

should be directed to DOI. 

U.S. Department of the Interior 

“The vision for moving the economy from recession to recovery and ultimately to 

prosperity involves investments in clean energy and combating global warming. 

DOI is a primary leader in the federal government’s adaptation response to 

climate change via its expertise in climate change and adaptation science, 

adaptive management of our natural landscapes and resources, fish and wildlife, 

and ecosystem services, and biological carbon sequestration. 

DOI initiatives will help mitigate climate change, adapt to a warming planet, and 

create green jobs, all of which will help give shape to the low-carbon US economy. 

In response to the need for fully integrated information to achieve these 

objectives, the Department of the Interior issued a new Secretarial Order (no. 

3285) on March 11, 2009 that made the production and transmission of renewable 

energy on public lands a priority and also created new DOI Energy and Climate 

Change Task Force co-chaired by the Deputy Secretary and Counselor to the 

Secretary. Building upon this effort the Department of the Interior issued 

Secretarial Order 3289 on September 14, 2009 that established a Department-wide 

approach for applying scientific tools to increase understanding of climate change 

and to coordinate an effective response to its impacts on tribes and on the land, 

water, ocean, fish and wildlife, and culturally heritage resources that the 

Department manages. 

To fulfill the vision for a clean energy economy, Interior is now managing 

America’s public lands and oceans not just for balanced oil, natural gas, and coal 

development, but also-for the first time ever-to promote environmentally 

responsible renewable energy development. Sun, wind, biomass, and geothermal 

energy from our public lands is creating new jobs and will soon power millions of 

American homes. 

The Department of the Interior is also on the front lines of protecting our 

country’s water, land, marine, fish and wildlife, and cultural heritage resources 

from the dramatic effects of climate change we are witnessing-from the Arctic to 

the Everglades. The realities of climate change will require the Department to 

change how we manage the land, water, marine, fish and wildlife resources that 

we oversee. By way of example: . 

• New water management imperatives associated with climate change may 

require the restoration of natural system and the building of new 

infrastructure to reduce new flood risks and/or to capture early run-off. 

Page 56 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
Page 57 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation

• Strategies to address sea level rise may require the acquisition of upland 

habitat, the creation of wetlands and other natural filters and barriers to 

protect against sea level rise and storm surges. 

• Shifting wildlife and habitat populations may require investments in new 

wildlife corridors. 

• New invasions of exotic species and new wildland fire threats due to 

longer fire seasons and more severe droughts will need to be fought. 

• Certain iconic and culturally historic structures may need to be relocated. 

Interior’s 67,000 employees – with their scientific and natural and cultural 

resource management expertise – will be responsible for helping protect the 

nation from the impacts of climate change. 

• Interior must adapt its water management strategies to address the 

possibility of shrinking water supplies and more frequent and extended 

droughts in order to continue to supply drinking water to more than 31 

million people and irrigation water to 140,000 farmers. 

• Interior manages millions of acres of marine-based parks, refuges and 

national monuments; 35,000 miles of coastline; and the 1.7 billion acres of 

the U.S. outer continental shelf. 

• The Department has the primary national responsibility for the 

conservation and management of fish and wildlife resources, including 

over 800 native migratory bird species and nearly 2,000 federally listed 

threatened and endangered species. 

• The Department must manage many cultural and archaeological resources 

and iconic structures as the climate changes. 

• The Department must address, in particular, the impacts of climate change 

on American Indians and Alaska Natives, for whom the Department holds 

trust responsibilities on behalf of the federal government. 

• The Department will continue to provide state-of-the art science to better 

understand the impacts of climate change and develop science-based 

adaptive management strategies for natural and cultural resource 

managers. 

• Interior is identifying areas where carbon emissions can be stored 

underground, best management practices to increase the amount of carbon 

stored in our forests, wetlands, and grasslands, and ways to reduce the 

Department’s carbon footprint. 

To meet these current and future challenges Secretarial Order No. 3289 

establishes a Climate Change Response Council within the Office of the Secretary 

that will execute a coordinated Department-wide strategy to increase scientific 

understanding of and development of effective adaptive management tools to 

address the impacts of climate change on our natural and cultural resources. The 

Council will help coordinate activities within and among the Department’s 

agencies and bureaus to develop and implement an integrated strategy for 

responding to climate change impacts involving the resources managed by the 

Department. The Council will also coordinate its climate change activities with all 
relevant Federal Departments and agencies including, but not limited to USGCRP 

participating agencies and the Council on Environmental Quality, the Office of 

Energy and Climate Change, and the National Science and Technology Council. 

The Climate Change Response Council will implement Department-specific 

climate change activities through 1) Climate Change Response Planning 

Requirements in which each bureau and office of the Department will consider 

and analyze potential climate change impacts when planning exercises, setting 

priorities for scientific research, when developing management plans and when 

making major decision regarding the potential use of resources under the 

Department’s purview; 2) DOI Regional Climate Change Response Centers that 

will ensure that management decisions in response to climate change impacts will 

be informed by science and will require that scientists work in tandem with those 

managers who are confronting climate change impacts and evaluating options to 

respond to such impacts; 3) Landscape Conservation Cooperatives which, guided 

by the Climate Response Council, will work interactively with the relevant DOI 

Regional Climate Change Response Centers to work with federal, state, tribal and 

local governments, universities, non-governmental organizations, and private 

landowner partners to develop landscape-level strategies for understanding and 

responding to climate change impacts and coordinate adaptation efforts in the 

region. 

In addition Secretarial Order No. 3289 establishes the DOI Carbon Storage 

Projects and DOI Carbon Footprint Project to also be supported by the Climate 

Change Response Council. The USGS has the lead (pursuant to the Energy 

Independence and Security Act) to develop carbon sequestration methodologies 

for geological and biological carbon storage. The USGS will also take the lead in 

administering the Carbon Storage Project as it will be vital for successful 

domestic and global geological and biological carbon sequestration efforts. The 

DOI Carbon Footprint Project will develop a unified greenhouse gas emission 

reduction program, including setting a baseline and reduction goal for the 

Department’s greenhouse gas emission and energy use. 

Secretarial Order No. 3289 builds upon and further coordinates already existing 

ground-breaking adaptation projects being spearheaded by Interior bureaus and 

agencies. A truly comprehensive list of all existing projects involving climate 

change adaptation would be extensive and beyond the scope of time available for 

this data call. What follows are illustrative examples and descriptions of climate 

change adaptation activities across DOI. 

DOI Adaptation Strategies in Practice: Collaborative Examples: 

Rising Sea Level 

As our globe warms, sea level has already risen and will continue to rise due to 

melting ice sheets and glaciers, as well as thermal expansion of our oceans. 

Page 58 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
Strong science is needed to understand the risks associated with the impacts of 

sea level rise. DOI through U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is conducting a 

national risk assessment due to future sea-level rise for the U.S. Atlantic, Pacific, 

and Gulf of Mexico coasts. This includes work with the National Park Service 

(NPS) for coastal park units. In parallel, the DOI through the US Fish and Wildlife 

Service (USFWS) is working with partners to create and implement adaptation 

plans for specific coastal wildlife refuges. For example, forecasts suggest that 

without action, the North Carolina Albemarle Peninsula & Alligator River National 

Wildlife Refuge may lose 67% of swamp & 90% of dry land by 2100. In 2004, FWS 

created an adaptation plan with The Nature Conservancy, State of North Carolina, 

and Duke Power. Solutions articulated in the plan include the following elements: 

• Restore Wetland Hydrology: restore damage caused by artificial ditches 

• Reforest and Restore Shoreline: protect and restore existing natural coastal 

and inland habitat to facilitate species migration as sea level rises 

• Oyster Reef Restoration: restore oyster reefs in Pamlico Sound to protect 

shorelines from storms and rising seas; 

• Measuring and Monitoring Carbon Sequestration: monitor effects of 

management on soil carbon. 

Invasive Species and Fire 

Invasive annual grasses (e.g. cheatgrass) are increasing rapidly throughout the 

western U.S. These fire-tolerant species increase fire frequency, eliminating native 

plants, wildlife and livestock forage, and habitat. USGS is providing science in 

support of decision-making, including 1) mapping annual plant invasions (ground, 

aerial, satellite); 2) development of native plant restoration protocols; and 3) 

mapping of historic fires to understand causes. DOI’s Bureau of Land 

Management (BLM) is responsible for managing much of the federal land affected 

by these issues. In response to these issues, BLM is developing adaptation plans to 

restoring native plant communities, reduce fire frequency, and “pre-adapt” for 

climate change – planting communities in anticipation of local changes due to a 

changing climate. Specifically, the BLM and its partners are conducting a natural 

habitat restoration effort for millions of acres in the Great Basin of Nevada, 

Oregon, Idaho, California, and Utah, and they are working with commercial seed 

producers to grow native seed for restoration. The end goals of the adaptation 

plan are to reduce invasive species, reduce severity of wildfire, assure the 

necessary presence of pollinators, and “pre-adapt” these lands to climate change. 

Water Supply Predictability under Climate Change 

Water supply forecasts drive water project operations for resources managed by 

DOI’s Bureau of Reclamation (BOR), and climate warming could cause 

diminished snowpack in western U.S. basins, which in turn affects the timing, 

quantity, and quality of water supplies. In order to manage these critical resources 

effectively under a changing climate, it is essential to understand how climate 

Page 59 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
change will affect the reliability of snow-driven forecasts of spring-summer water 

supply and related Reclamation operations. Such information would inform 

adaptation planning, where studies of future operations capability require 

assumptions about the reliability of future water supply forecasts driving future 

operations. BOR has developed a process and is working together with four 

National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration National Weather 

Service (NOAA NWS) River Forecast Centers (RFCs) – Colorado Basin, 

Northwest, Missouri Basin, and California-Nevada – and the US Department of 

Agriculture Natural Resource Conservation Service (USDA NRCS) National Water 

and Climate Center, US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Portland District, and 

Bonneville Power Administration to understand and adapt to these expected 

changes. 

The approach is to translate downscaled climate projections over eight western 

U.S. basins into runoff and snowpack projections, using hydrologic simulation 

models provided by collaborating RFCs. Within these runoff and snowpack 

projections, the team is implementing water supply forecast model development, 

application, and updating procedures from federal forecast producers (NRCS, 

RFCs). The forecast models reflect relations between fall-winter precipitation, 

winter snowpack and spring-summer runoff. 

These models will be evaluated regarding how forecast reliability changes through 

time within the climate projections. If reliability decreases, BOR will explore 

mitigation options (e.g. new predictors or new forecast seasons of emphasis). At 

this point in time, the runoff and snowpack projections have been developed and 

forecast modeling has begun; the forecast reliability assessment is expected to be 

complete by Fall 2009. The results will be used to inform adaptive management 

decisions and planning in the west. 

An additional approach to water supply predictability issues is illustrated through 

a collaborative program coordinated by the Climate Change and Western Water 

group (CCAWG). The CCAWG is a coordinated federal interagency R&D 

plan/workgroup to provide scientific collaboration in support of Western water 

management and adaptation strategies in part in response to climate change. 

Principal partners also include DOI’s BOR and USGS. Other Federal Agencies 

include NOAA and USACE. 

Practitioner Development: Pilot Training Program 

With the array of potential climate change impacts on water resources, a key 

question is how to build capacity among the planning practitioners at BOR and 

other western water agencies, so that they are fully able to scope and conduct 

water resources planning evaluations and design adaptation strategies in a 

changing climate. A variety of methods exist that could be applied to support such 

studies, and new methods continue to emerge. Yet there is immediate need among 

western water management agencies to incorporate climate change information 

into longer-term planning, and the need is growing (e.g., Secure Water Act 2009). 

Page 60 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
To help fill that need, on September 18, 2009 the BOR announced the 

implementation of a new Basin Study Program that will better define options for 

future water management of Western river basins where climate change, record 

drought, population increases and environmental needs have heightened 

competition for scarce water supplies. The Basin Study will incorporate the latest 

science, engineering technology, climate models and innovative approaches to 

water management. The program will serve as a part of Water Conservation 

Initiative and a key element in implementing the Secure Water Act. Reclamation 

will partner with key stakeholders and provide a 50% cost share contribution to 

state, local and tribal partners to implement the studies. 

In addition DOI’s Bureau of Reclamation Research and Development 

Office and an array of partners (including six NOAA-RISAs; the Alaska Center for 

Climate Assessment and Policy; the Southern Climate Impacts Planning Program; 

USACE, USGS, EPA, and USDA) are working together to: 

• Develop and provide a Climate Change Integration Technical Training 

Program for western water practitioners, planners, technical specialists 

and/or decision makers. 

• Develop a “living curriculum” that (a) orients practitioners on established 

methods, and (b) exposes practitioners to emerging methods as they 

become available. 

• Conduct first-phase, classroom, pilot training course to develop 

information that guide development of higher-capacity online course, and 

provide a sense of demand and fees necessary to make the course selfsustaining. 

Preliminary discussions on program structure and curriculum have been held, and 

the goal is to develop the pilot course during FY2009 and serve the course during 

FY2010. 

National and Regional Groundwater Evaluations 

The depletion of groundwater at a variety of scales and the compounding effects 

of recent droughts emphasize the need for an updated status on the availability of 

the Nation's groundwater resources. Assessments of the current state of the 

highest stressed groundwater flow systems are necessary tools for characterizing 

the availability of groundwater. The USGS Ground Water Research Program is 

taking advantage of the quantitative work previously conducted by the Regional 

Aquifer-System Analysis (RASA) Program and information available from other 

USGS programs, DOI Bureaus, including BOR, NPS, and BLM, other Federal 

agencies such as EPA and NOAA, States, Tribes, and local governments to provide 

an updated quantitative assessment of groundwater availability in areas of critical 

importance. Those assessments that are currently underway and continuing into 

2010 and beyond will: 1) document the effects of human activities on water levels, 

Page 61 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
groundwater storage, and discharge to streams and other surface-water bodies; 2) 

explore climate variability impacts on the regional water budget, and 3) evaluate 

the adequacy of data networks to assess impacts at a regional scale. 

Climate Change Impact Data Collection and Monitoring 

 

Responding to global climate change and its impacts requires an unprecedented 

integration of information from multiple science disciplines and the full range of 

temporal and spatial scales. DOI is a lead in the collection and the assessment of 

data, and the dissemination of new data inventories for the better understanding 

of the causes and effects of climate change. Below are examples of USGS-and 

NPS-led efforts: 

DOI National Climate Effects Network 

The USGS leads DOI’s effort to build a Department of the Interior Climate Effects 

Network focused on the monitoring and understanding of causes and impacts of 

climate change and variability on physical and biological resources. With this 

effort, USGS is working toward implementation of a comprehensive plan that will 

combine new and existing monitoring information from multiple sources to 

provide more effective and timely science information on climate change and 

related impacts for resource management and policy decision-making. This 

integrated monitoring and research program will provide the nation with a system 

for early detection and management/adaptation to changes before they become 

chronic or catastrophic. Data from the DOI Climate Effects Network will be used 

for creating scientifically-sound decision-support tools to accelerate and improve 

responsiveness to resource management and policy needs. The prototype for this 

effort is underway in the Yukon River Basin, as a partnership among the USGS, 

USFS, the Department resource management agencies, the University of Alaska, 

the Yukon River Inter-Tribal Watershed Council, and several other partners. The 

prototype integrates air, water, soil, and forest information across the Yukon 

River Basin to track and understand regional changes in carbon flux and storage 

to inform management decisions. 

Vital Signs Program 

The National Park Service’s Vital Signs Program is the steward of long-term legacy 

monitoring data, plus new data inventories that have provided timely examples of 

the possible effects of climate change now visible in parks. The goal of Vital Signs 

is to help parks acquire the information they need to make informed decisions and 

to employ adaptive management in the face of climate change. Vital Signs also 

includes baseline documentation, including condition assessments of its cultural 

resources and ethnographic studies that include data on natural resources utilized 

and monitored by native groups. 

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Decision Support for Designing Adaptation Strategies 

A fundamental element of DOI’s climate change strategy is providing resource managers 

and policymakers with timely and responsive science information, in a useful format, for 

empowering more effective decision-making. Some examples of the tools and 

applications developed at DOI include: 

Adaptive Management Tools and Techniques 

Adaptive Management is a structured approach to resource management. Through this 

iterative process, managers and scientists team together to improve resource 

management over time by learning from management outcomes. The DOI Adaptive 

Management entails a multi-step process: 

1. Considering various actions to meet management objectives; 

2. Predicting the outcomes of these management actions based on what is currently 

known; 

3. Implementing management actions; 

4. Monitoring to observe the results of those actions; and 

5. Using the results to update knowledge and adjust future management actions 

accordingly. 

By repeating this cycle and increasing to the body of knowledge about the system in 

question, managers are able to refine their prescriptions to more closely meet the 

original objectives. 

DOI develops strategies and tools for science-based adaptive management and 

implements them in practice. The DOI Adaptive Management Technical Guide, issued 

March 2007, provides technical guidance for using adaptive management in decision 

making. The guide includes case studies, such as the Bureau of Reclamation’s 

management of Glen Canyon Dam and the FWS’ determination of annual waterfowl 

harvests, to demonstrate how adaptive management can be applied. 

 

Structured Decision Making 

Structured Decision Making is an organized approach to identifying and evaluating 

management options and making choices in complex, multivariate decision 

environments. The USGS and FWS have partnered to develop a series of workshops, 

training exercises and short courses intended to educate both scientists and managers in 

the principles of a structured decision making process, including: 

• The use of consistent and robust methods for evaluating physical and biological 

science information for use in decision-making 

• Methods for facilitating the integration of the science and management 

communities with stakeholder involvement 

• Identification of methods for empowering more effective decision-making in an 

open and transparent manner 
• Tools for integrating different kinds of quantitative and qualitative information 

including value-based information 

Climate Change Scenario Planning Workshops 

 

The National Park Service conducts Climate Change Scenario Planning Workshops. In 

the workshops, specific park units are used as case studies for exploring methodology 

and training. The workshops include participation by multiple agencies, with the goal of 

developing a series of guidelines for how scenario planning can be used for incorporating 

climate change into park planning processes. 

Carbon Sequestration 

The USGS is charged with the conduct of geological and biological carbon sequestration 

research, including starting a national assessment of the geological storage capacity for 

carbon sequestration (using a methodology developed by USGS), and developing a 

methodology for national assessment of biological carbon sequestration. These activities 

were authorized in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA, P.L. 110- 

140), which calls for comprehensive assessment of geologic and biologic carbon 

sequestration to enable decision-makers to evaluate the full range of sequestration 

options. USGS has begun the national assessment of the Nation’s resources for geologic 

sequestration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in saline formations and oil and gas reservoirs 

(physical traps), including coordination with BLM and other Federal and State agencies 

who are working with USGS on the national assessment, and USGS is also conducting 

research on technical issues and data gaps that impact uncertainties in the ability to 

assess CO2 storage resources. This effort will be closely coordinated with BLM and the 

Department of Energy. 

Similarly, USGS is also beginning the development of a methodology for assessment of 

the Nation’s resources for biological carbon sequestration, including the establishment of 

consultative mechanisms and research on data gaps and uncertainties that will also 

incorporate DOI’s numerous adaptation activities. 

An example of the linkage between sequestration and adaptation is the California Carbon 

Capture Project. This project is a 14-acre pilot, begun in the mid-1990s, on Twitchell 

Island in the western Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, about 40 miles south of 

Sacramento. The research is being led by USGS with funding and assistance from the 

California Department of Water Resources. Other research partners include the 

University of California, Davis, UC Berkeley and the University of New Hampshire. 

Carbon-capture farming works as CO2 is taken out of the air by plants such as tules and 

cattails. As the plants die and decompose, they create new peat soil, building the land 

surface over time. The Carbon Capture Program shows promise as a way to rebuild Delta 

islands that have "subsided," or sunk, below the level of surrounding waterways by 

building new peat soils. Preliminary results show significant accretion rates f peat soils 

much greater than the local rate of subsidence. This net increase in island elevation will 

help to shore up delta levees which protect water delivered to 23 million Californians. In 

addition, by taking CO2 out of the atmosphere, "carbon-capture" farming could combat 

Page 64 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
climate change by sequestering a major greenhouse gas. Another co-benefit relates to the 

establishment of native vegetation that will also restore nursery, breeding and forage 

habitat for fish and migratory waterfowl populations. Thus, outcomes and methodologies 

developed by this study may have substantial transfer value to together locations across 

the Nation related to sequestration, ecosystem restoration and wildlife conservation. 

Climate Change and Drought on Navajo Tribal Lands 

USGS scientists work with communities on the Navajo Nation to conduct geologic 

mapping and establish relations of land use and climate change to changes in the 

landscape. The landscape of the Navajo Nation is characterized by streams that have 

incised easily eroded fine-grained valley-fill, and highly erodible soft bedrock units. 

Conventional geologic mapping from this study provides crucial information for planning 

urban development and infrastructure such as highways, buildings, bridges, and 

domestic septic and landfill systems. Surficial maps that show temporal changes also 

provide information on geologic hazards, such as sand and dust storms and flood 

vulnerability, to provide a better understanding of ecosystem responses to land use and 

global warming. Sand dune mobility brought on by drought, climate change, or land use 

practices, has serious consequences on human and animal populations, agriculture, 

grazing, and infrastructure. Dune mobility is inundating housing and causing 

transportation problems. It may also contribute to a loss of rare and endangered native 

plants and grazing land, and lower air quality from periodic dust storms. The USGS staff 

and their Navajo Nation partners are combining mapping efforts with remotely sensed 

data and meteorological data to provide information necessary to more effectively 

mitigate these impacts. This project includes a significant traditional ecological 

knowledge component. Recent research is showing that erosion rates are highest, and 

most sensitive to climatic changes, in semiarid regions including the Navajo Tribal lands. 

Geologic mapping is highlighting those areas most susceptible to minor climatic changes, 

and when combined with precipitation and land use data, can identify those areas where 

land use sustainability is at greatest risk, and which threatens the livelihood and culture 

of local residents. 

 

Alaska Native Health and Ecosystem Studies 

The Alaska native community has an inseparable nexus to their surrounding natural 

resources that supports both nutritional and spiritual health. Alaska’s fish, wildlife, 

plants, and waters are also critical subsistence resources for Alaskan Natives. No more 

clearly than in Alaska are public health threats affected by the relationship between 

people and their surrounding natural physical, chemical, and biological environment. 

Public health problems caused by environmental contamination (both natural and 

anthropogenic) and insect or wildlife transmission of emerging diseases are a growing 

concern, with some being directly related those resources being used by Alaska Natives. 

These may include bio-accumulated, naturally occurring contaminants in the food chain, 

diseases transmitted by the bite of insects or animals, and environmental threats to 

public health from airborne hazards such as volcanic ash. The USGS is working closely 

with a number of Federal, State, and local native organizations in assessing the potential 

interconnections between naturally occurring minerals, ecosystem health, wildlife 

Page 65 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
health, and human health. In 2009, the USGS produced maps of arsenic in soil and water 

from regional databases and known cases of diabetes in and around native communities. 

These data were also related to arsenic obtained from drinking water samples from those 

same communities. This information is used to support organizations such as the Alaska 

Native Tribal Health Consortium, which is interested in better understanding how 

climate change and Alaska’s heavily mineralized environment (e.g. mercury, asbestos, 

arsenic) and wildlife patterns will relate to subsistence food safety and key health 

changes. 

Everglades Restoration Program 

The Everglades Restoration Program is critical to the restoration, preservation, and 

protection of Federal interest lands in South Florida. The National Park Service is a 

major partner in the combined State and Federal effort to restore Florida’s Everglades. 

The south Florida NPS units are among the collaborating entities implementing major 

water resources projects such as the Modified Water Deliveries and the regional 

Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP). The CERP is a $10.5 billion 

program of large-scale modifications to the water management infrastructure of south 

Florida, with a targeted completion date of 2038. Projects affecting NPS lands and waters 

occur in phases through the end of CERP implementation. The NPS works with the Fish 

and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to support CERP 

projects through the development of restoration performance measures and quantitative 

evaluations of the environmental benefits of proposed actions. Long-term monitoring and 

assessment plans that are critical for adaptive management are developed and 

implemented through the Critical Ecosystems Studies Initiative (CESI), while the South 

Florida Ecosystem Restoration Task Force provides assistance in coordinating this 

multi-agency effort. 

Coral Reef Protection 

Coral reefs worldwide are in decline, and DOI has responsibility for more than 3.5 

million acres of submerged habitat. In addition to shallow reef habitat, Interior also has 

responsibility for ocean areas where deep reef habitat exists. USGS research is informing 

States and Territories in the development of Local Action Strategies in response to Coral 

Reef Task Force resolutions to address coral reef degradation, conservation, and 

restoration in State and Federal waters (e.g., Hawaii, Florida, and the Caribbean). The 

USGS research is also providing information on reef health and status to resource 

managers and the scientific community to enable them to develop management 

strategies to address climate change effects on coral communities. USGS is working with 

the Minerals Management Service (MMS) on the structure, diversity and extent of deep 

reefs under Department responsibility. Resource managers with the NPS, FWS, MMS, 

NOAA, and coastal States have called upon USGS to help them understand the processes 

involved in reef decline so that local-scale stressors can be mitigated or removed, and 

reef recovery encouraged. USGS products are being and will continue to be used by 

members of the Coral Reef Task Force as they implement the various Local Action 

Strategies and the coral reef community as a whole. 

 

Page 66 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
Restoration of Mined Lands 

 

In 2004, DOI’s Office of Surface Mining (OSM), in cooperation with several states and 

other partners, initiated the Appalachian Regional Reforestation Initiative (ARRI) to 

address the technical, legal, and cultural barriers to effective reforestation as a part of 

mined land reclamation. There are enormous environmental, cultural, and economic 

benefits to restoring trees to those areas that were forested before mining. These 

include: 

• Increased carbon sequestration in plants and soils, 

• increased land values and economic productivity for mined lands, 

• reduction in peak storm flows that reduce flooding potential, 

• restoration of habitat for threatened or endangered species, and 

• improved water quality. 

Through ARRI, OSM has worked with states and others to remove the barriers to 

effective reforestation of mined land. Currently, ARRI has fostered partnerships enlisting 

226 individuals from 118 different organizations who share its objectives. In FY 2009, 

OSM will continue this effort and promote reforestation in other areas where 

appropriate. 

Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative (WLCI) 

The WLCI is a long-term science based effort to assess and enhance aquatic and 

terrestrial habitats at a landscape scale in Southwest Wyoming, while facilitating 

responsible development through local collaboration and partnerships. Wyoming 

encompasses some of the highest quality wildlife habitats in the Intermountain West. 

Sagebrush, mountain shrub, aspen, and riparian communities provide crucial habitat for 

deer, elk, pronghorn antelope, greater sage-grouse, and a variety of non-game species. 

This region’s vast open spaces support and are maintained by an important livestock 

industry and provide essential corridors for migratory wildlife. Lands and water in 

Southwest Wyoming also offer some of the country’s most sought-after recreational 

opportunities and provide an important economic asset by attracting anglers, hunters, 

and other visitors seeking outdoor recreation in pristine settings. For many small rural 

communities, money spent by anglers and hunters is essential for long-term economic 

stability. At the same time, this region is an active source of natural gas, producing 

enough natural gas annually to heat 4 million homes. 

The estimated 83 trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas in Southwest Wyoming will 

continue to account for one of the largest sources of natural gas in the U.S. WLCI 

Partners include the DOI’s Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Geological Survey, National Park Service, the Bureau of Reclamation, the Wyoming 

Department of Agriculture, USDA Forest Service, the Wyoming Game and Fish 

Department, local conservation districts, and local counties, who work together to 

conduct efficient science-based species monitoring and habitat enhancement; facilitate 

Page 67 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
best reclamation and mitigation practices for areas impacted by development; integrate 

existing data with new knowledge and technologies to forecast future development of 

energy resources and assist in habitat conservation planning; and conduct habitat 

enhancement in all habitat types with a special focus on the sagebrush, mountain shrub, 

aspen, and riparian communities. The WLCI provides a mechanism for the exchange of 

information, data, and research findings among partners, industry, and stakeholders to 

improve habitat conditions and long-term viability of species at a landscape scale. These 

efforts complement existing habitat reclamation and mitigation efforts, broaden our 

understanding of the valuable Green River Basin ecosystem, and ensure that grazing 

management practices support a viable livestock industry and associated open spaces. 

 

Conservation Planning Assistance (CPA) 

Conservation Planning Assistance (CPA - formerly Project Planning) plays a vital role in 

conserving America’s natural resources by helping advance energy, transportation, and 

land and water projects that simultaneously meet economic development needs and 

conserve fish and wildlife habitat for the benefit of the American people. The early 

recommendations to avoid or minimize project impacts saves design costs for projects 

proponents and makes later environmental reviews shorter and less costly. 

 

Environmental changes are occurring today in ways fundamentally different than at any 

other time in history. For example, sea-level rise, habitat loss, and climate change due to 

the growing scale of human activities have become prominent conservation challenges. 

DOI’s Fish and Wildlife Service proposes to reposition the CPA program to better 

address contemporary and emerging conservation issues, consistent with its mission and 

planned implementation of the new 2008 Strategic Plan for this program. The new plan 

has CPA employing strategic habitat conservation principles to conserve and restore 

native species and their habitats, and maintain the ecological processes and structure 

crucial for ecosystem integrity. 

Consensus-based, landscape-level planning approaches provide a framework to guide 

land use decisions necessitated by expanding population growth and land development. 

The resulting plans for key focal areas will protect human health and safety, as well as 

preserve community assets and sustainable ecosystems for fish, wildlife, and people. 

Wildlife Without Borders 

Wildlife Without Borders projects (created and maintained by DOI’s Fish and Wildlife 

Service) will continue to create viable long-term solutions to conservation efforts in 

undeveloped countries by building the capacity of local indigenous people to understand 

the purpose of conservation and species management and take action as a result. The 

Service will continue to fulfill the conservation commitments of the United States 

outlined in international treaties and statutorily mandated by Section 8 of the 

Endangered Species Act. Significant activities in 2008 and 2009 include: 

• Continuing support of the Mexican campesino community which maintains the 

world’s only winter habitat reserve of the Monarch butterfly, by integrating local 

Page 68 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
people into conservation efforts and reconciling their local land use practices with 

butterfly survival in indigenous forests; 

• Continuing facilitation of international cooperation related to the 

U.S./Canada/Mexico Trilateral Committee; international wetlands activities; the 

Convention on Nature Protection and Wildlife Preservation in the Western 

Hemisphere; the Commission for Environmental Cooperation the Ramsar 

Convention on Wetlands of International Importance; the Western Hemisphere 

Migratory Species Initiative; and other bi-national and multi-lateral initiatives. 

• Continuing support of academic and technical programs related to protected 

areas management training in the Western Hemisphere 

• Continuing support for training initiatives aimed at building capacity of African 

wildlife managers to address threats from extractive industries, climate change, 

human/wildlife conflict, wildlife disease, and the illegal bushmeat trade. 

The Outer Continental Shelf 

DOI’s Minerals Management Service (MMS) is a regulatory agency that oversees energy 

production from oil and gas and renewable resources on the Outer Continental Shelf. As 

part of this responsibility, the MMS must evaluate the potential environmental impact 

from these activities within the context of the existing marine environment. In describing 

the environment in which these activities occur, the MMS requires information about 

changes to that environment from global climate change, including shifting patterns of 

species distribution and changing habitats due to alterations in ice distribution. The MMS 

must also evaluate the cumulative effects of energy production activities in an 

environment that is stressed as a result of climate change. In response to shifting 

weather patterns, the MMS must ensure that structures placed in the ocean are designed 

to withstand increased storm activity and intensity. 

 

With a large portion of OCS production located in an active hurricane corridor, many 

changes in industry requirements have taken place due to the recent damages and 

curtailment associated with Hurricanes Ivan, Katrina, Rita, and Ike. Most notably, the 

MMS meteorological and oceanographic conditions criteria used to design offshore 

infrastructure has been revised since the 2005 hurricane season. Besides upgrades in 

structure design, the MMS has recommended the installation of Global Positioning 

System locators and black box information storage systems on Mobile Offshore Drilling 

Units, which will continue to monitor on-site conditions after evacuation of personnel as 

well as track the location of the unit should it drift from its position. 

Additional guidance has been developed or made available to assess vulnerabilities for 

existing structures; applying modifications to minimize damage; identifying the best 

seafloor and soil conditions for jack-up rigs; and determining where and when a 

particular jack-up rig can be used during Hurricane Season. In addition, MMS has 

adopted a requirement that drilling contractors upgrade their mooring systems for 

mobile drilling units. This requirement involved an increase in the number of mooring 

lines from 8 to 12 to 16, and additional requirements for the type and strength of anchors 

and mooring lines used by mobile drilling units. A mandatory detailed checklist is used to 

assess the safety of a mooring system. 

Page 69 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
The MMS is continuing efforts with industry workgroups to address hurricane-related 

issues, manage risk, and minimize damages associated with future storms that enter the 

OCS of the Gulf of Mexico. This enhanced scientific information will provide a better 

basis for evaluating meteorological hazards and requirements for engineering design of 

offshore energy infrastructure.” 

Page 70 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) submitted information on its 

adaptation-related efforts—and those pertaining to the U.S. Department of State— on 

May 07, 2009. USAID was given the opportunity to review its initial submission and 

did not send us any changes or updates for this e-supplement. Any questions should be 

directed to the USAID. 

U.S. Department of State and U.S. Agency for International Development 

“U.S. Government Activities Directly Supporting Adaptation to Climate Change in 

Developing Countries

USAID is one of the main U.S. Government agencies funding direct climate change 

activities in partner developing countries, although a number of other U.S. Government 

agencies also address adaptation needs. USAID has broadened its climate change 

portfolio to include activities aimed at strengthening the ability of developing and 

transition countries to respond to the challenges posed by climate-related impacts and 

risks. USAID seeks to strengthen the capabilities of program managers, host-country 

institutions, project implementers, and sectoral experts to assess relative vulnerabilities 

to climate change and to evaluate and implement adaptation options for agriculture, 

water, forest and coastal zone management projects within USAID's development 

assistance portfolio. Adapting to climate change requires a hierarchy of linked efforts. 

 USAID is linking information from observation systems to stakeholders lacking such 

information, improving their understanding of current climate, climate variability and 

future climate change. USAID is working to make Earth observation information readily 

applicable to development decisions, including creating innovative applications and 

appropriate tools to then communicate that information to stakeholders and decision 

makers. Through interaction with local partners and new tools, USAID can better 

understand how environmental changes may impact sectors critical for development. 

 Once those impacts are understood, stakeholders need to assess and agree on preferred 

adaptation options. Then, on-the-ground actions are implemented to build the resilience 

of projects designed to promote economic development. Adaptation actions will vary 

depending upon the sector, and can include activities ranging from improving the use of 

weather forecasts, to changing planting dates or seed varieties, to modifying water 

harvesting approaches or key infrastructure. 

 

USAID has developed several tools and programs and is leveraging the efforts of many 

other U.S. Government agencies to facilitate international adaptation. USAID funding for 

these direct adaptation activities (four USAID projects detailed immediately below – 

Adaptation Guidance Manual, Coastal Zone Adaptation Manual, Climate Mapper, and 

FEWSNET) was $14M in FY07, and approximately $13M in FY08, with some additional 

funding from NASA. Of the USAID funding, most of that supports the Famine & Malaria 

Early Warning Systems (funding for FY06-08, approximately $13.2M/yr). In addition, 

NOAA supports adaptation activities through the International Research Institute for 

Climate and Society (IRI) and co-designed and provides technical support to the 

GEF/CARICOM Mainstreaming Adaptation to Climate Change (MACC) Project. 

Page 71 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
 

USAID Climate Change Adaptation Guidance Manual 

To facilitate the process of adapting development projects, USAID has developed a 

Climate Change Adaptation Guidance Manual to provide USAID staff, other donor 

organizations, and developing country planners with the tools to understand how climate 

change may affect their projects. The manual draws on lessons learned in four pilot 

projects that assessed impacts and vulnerability to climate variability and change, and 

developed adaptation implementation plans for: flood planning and coastal resources in 

Honduras, water resource planning and natural resource management in South Africa, 

rainfed agriculture and food security in Mali, and sustainable livelihoods and water 

management in shared river basins in Thailand. These pilot projects and the guidance 

manual are helping to improve the resilience and sustainability of USAID’s development 

efforts by integrating climate change adaptation into project planning. The Adaptation 

Guidance Manual provides a step wise process for evaluation of climate change impacts 

applicable in the field, including a primer on climate-related risks, a framework for 

determining if a specific project is vulnerable, and guidance on interventions to increase 

project resilience. Training courses for USAID staff and partners are being developed, 

and have been requested by other donors. The Adaptation Guidance Manual has been 

enthusiastically received by the international development community, and has been 

disseminated by the U.S. Climate Change Science Program (CCSP), Columbia’s IRI, and a 

variety of climate change and development list serves. It is referenced in the OECD 

Guidelines on Integrating Climate Change Adaptation into Development Cooperation, 

and outside groups, including in Nigeria and Pakistan, are using it in their own training 

activities. 

 

USAID Guidebook on Adapting to Climate Change in the Coastal Zone 

Recognizing a need to provide sector-specific guidance to USAID staff and host country 

partners, USAID is finalizing a Guidebook that draws lessons learned in coastal zone 

management and in the tsunami recovery effort and places them in the context of 

building resilience to climate change. USAID and its partners led an initial seminar on 

climate change and coastal management at the 4th Global Conference on Oceans, Coasts, 

and Islands in April, 2008. The Guidebook will be released in Fall 2008. A pilot project is 

planned in the Pacific. 

 

Climate Mapper for SERVIR Viz (NASA, USAID) 

USAID, NASA, the Institute for the Application of Geospatial Technology (IAGT), the 

University of Colorado, and the Water Center for the Humid Tropics of Latin America 

and the Caribbean (CATHALAC) released in May 2008 the Climate Mapper tool. Climate 

Mapper is part of a larger program, called SERVIR – the Regional Visualization and 

Monitoring System, which is detailed in the next section. The Climate Mapper makes 

historical weather data and the results of climate change models accessible to a broad 

user community via the Internet. With the Climate Mapper, users can assess climate 

change projections for the 2030s and 2050s against 3D visualizations of landscape 

(Figure 6). By making climate change model results easily accessible and 

Page 72 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
understandable, vulnerability assessments will be enhanced and development planners 

can consider improved adaptation strategies for projects. The Climate Mapper data are 

currently available for Africa at 1⁄2 degree latitude by 1⁄2 degree longitude areas, or roughly 

50km x 50km areas near the equator; it will soon expand to cover the entire globe. The 

Climate Mapper also presents historical temperature and precipitation for the base 

period (1961-1990), which were taken from the University of East Anglia's Climate 

Research Unit (CRU) database of monthly climate observations from meteorological 

stations. As additional climate model scenarios are produced, they can be easily 

imported into the Climate Mapper and made available to the general public. Funding: 

FY07 - USAID $90K. 

 

Screen-shot of Climate Mapper for SERVIR Viz. 

 

Page 73 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
Famine Early Warning Systems Network – FEWSNET & Malaria Early Warning 

System – MEWS (USAID, NASA, DOI/USGS, USDA, NOAA) 

USAID, NASA, the Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey (DOI/USGS), the 

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and NOAA are collaborating with local, regional, 

and international partners to provide early-warning and vulnerability information on 

emerging or evolving food security and malaria issues, including information relating to 

variability and changes in regional climate conditions. A primary goal of the Famine 

Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) program is to produce high-quality 

information for disaster and crisis prediction. FEWS NET provides demand-driven 

information products that pinpoint and assess emerging or evolving food security 

problems. Program professionals in the United States and Africa monitor data and 

information—including remotely sensed as well as ground-based data on meteorological, 

crop, and rangeland conditions—for early indications of potential threats to food 

security. The program also works to strengthen African early-warning and response 

networks by increasing local technical capacity, building and strengthening networks, 

developing policy-relevant information, and forming consensus about food security 

problems and solutions. Additional accomplishments include the development of 

capacity to prepare seasonal food security outlook scenarios from consensus forecasts 

of Regional Climate Outlook Forums, as well as analysis of food security implications of 

IPCC climate change scenarios for East and Southern Africa. The FEWS-NET Web site 

serves as a gateway of information about threats and updates on response measures. 

 

The Malaria Early Warning System (MEWS) is part of the FEWSNET project. Malaria is a 

high priority infectious disease target for domestic and international health agencies. 

 Malaria kills an estimated 3 million people yearly worldwide, many of whom are 

children. In addition, malaria costs African nations approximately $12 billion per year in 

economic productivity. Both FEWSNET and MEWS enhance USAID humanitarian 

programs by integrating NASA Earth observation and modeling results to improve 

famine and malaria early warning in sub-Saharan Africa. The project utilizes NASA Earth 

Science satellite observations of vegetation density, precipitation, and relative humidity. 

 Recent accomplishments of MEWS include the analysis of rainfall patterns in subSaharan Africa using meteorological station data, rainfall estimated from satellite 

images, and malaria incidence. The analysis indicated strong links between clinical 

malaria incidence and rainfall patterns across Eritrea, with malaria incidence peaks 

lagging behind rainfall peaks by 2 to 3 months. Funding: USAID ($13.2M/yr, as noted 

above); NASA FY07 $467K. 

 

 

Information, Communication, and Decision Support Tools for Adaptation 

 

SERVIR and SERVIR extension (NASA, USAID) 

NASA and USAID are developing tools that apply space-based assets to development 

assistance. SERVIR is a U.S. led high-tech regional satellite visualization and monitoring 

system for Central America that supports decision-making in the areas of climate change 

adaptation, environmental management, and early warning for disasters, among others, 

Page 74 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
providing historical data, information on current environmental and weather conditions, 

forecasts and future scenarios. In operation since 2005, SERVIR consists of a regional 

hub in Central America and a suite of web-based tools, providing access to information 

products in a variety of formats and tailored to the range of decision makers, from 

scientists to the general public. Products available via SERVIR include high resolution 

climate change scenario database, climate change maps indicating impacts on Central 

America’s biodiversity, a fire/smoke mapping and warning system, red tide alerts, and 

weather alerts. The SERVIR regional hub has enabled the training and capacity building 

of hundreds of Central American scientists, technicians, and government employees. 

 Based on the successful SERVIR program, the U.S. Government is developing regional 

hubs in Africa and beyond to apply remotely sensed information to help track and 

combat wildfire, improve land use and agricultural practices, and help local officials 

respond faster to natural disasters. The first expansion of SERVIR is in East Africa 

where a hub is being established at the Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for 

Development in Nairobi, Kenya. This SERVIR expansion to East Africa will link available 

data streams to new applications, develop tools, and build local human and institutional 

capacity to use this information. Funding: USAID $1.254M for FY07, $924.5K for FY08; 

NASA -Mesoamerica $1,021K in FY07 and $897K in FY08, Africa $439K in FY08. 

 

RANET Program (NOAA, USAID) 

USAID and NOAA are working with a range of humanitarian and meteorological 

organizations to provide useful weather and climate information to rural communities. 

 The RANET program (Radio and Internet for the Communication of HydroMeteorological and Climate-Related Information for Development) uses reserve capacity 

on the WorldSpace digital satellite system to transmit forecasts, bulletins, imagery, 

seasonal assessments, and data to remote areas. The goal of the program is to provide 

environmental information that assists governments and populations in coping with 

hydro-meteorological hazards and environmental fluctuations. The program provides 

vulnerable communities with access to hydro-meteorological information, which in turn 

strengthens day-to-day decision-making to reduce vulnerability to potential hazards. 

RANET also supports the formation of community groups and associations that are 

instrumental in disseminating information and extending the network to new 

communities. Since its inception in 2000, RANET has expanded to 16 African countries, 

with ongoing pilot activities in Asia and the Pacific. The program operates in Africa, 

South and Southeast Asia, and the Western Pacific. Funding: FY07 and FYO8, $619,925 

(two-year total). Average annual direct funding ranges from $400 -$700K per year. The 

program also receives significant in-kinds in the form of satellite broadcast capacity and 

personnel time of foreign weather services. USAID/OFDA is the primary funder of 

RANET, with contributions from other donors made on a project-by-project basis. 

RANET began in 1998. 

 

Page 75 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
Inter-Governmental Authority on Development Climate Prediction and Application 

Center (USAID) 

Together with the WMO, the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development Climate 

Prediction and Application Center (ICPAC) has implemented seasonal climate prediction 

systems in several regions in ten Horn of Africa countries. In targeted countries, the 

project has improved climate monitoring, prediction, and applications, for early warning 

for weather-related hazards. Funding: FY07 $200,000 and FY08 $200,000. 

 

Climate Forecast Applications (USAID) 

As a follow up to the Extreme Climate Events program implemented by the Asian 

Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC), in 1998, this project strengthens the national 

capabilities of Indonesia, the Philippines, and Timor-Leste to manage and reduce the 

impacts of climate fluctuations through targeted demonstration projects and community 

participation. The project makes climate forecasting information available to farmers 

and local communities, and helps them utilize the data for planting and other decision 

making purposes. Funding: FY07 $250,000; FY08 $79,413. 

 

Hydrometeorological Technical Assistance (USAID, NOAA) 

Through an interagency agreement funded by USAID/OFDA, NOAA provides access to 

weather, climate, and hydrometeorology experts and information to build the capacity of 

national, international, and regional response bodies in reducing vulnerability to extreme 

hydrometeorological events. Funding: FY07 $830,075; FY08 $1,000,000. 

Activities Indirectly Supporting Adaptation (Non-Forest) 

A number of U.S. Government activities constitute good adaptation practice and 

contribute to enhanced climate resilience in developing countries, but were not 

implemented expressly for the purpose of addressing climate change. These activities 

are being evaluated for their applicability as climate adaptation responses and will be 

applied more broadly as appropriate. Funding information is not provided for all the 

activities in this section, as it was not possible to separate out an adaptation-specific 

funding component and would have been misleading relative to direct funding of 

adaptation activities. Any funding amounts listed are for the program as a whole and 

should not be taken to indicate funding specific to adaptation. 

 

The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (USAID) 

USAID is a major donor to the Consultative Group on International Agriculture Research 

(the CG system), which is developing heat and drought tolerant varieties of cereal crops 

and improving natural resource management and soil protection in agriculture 

ecosystems through conservation agriculture and agroforestry. Examples include: 

• Drought tolerant maize and rice through biotechnology and breeding. Such 

technologies hold enormous promise for achieving economic growth and 

insulation from shocks (e.g., droughts, floods) in developing countries in South 

Page 76 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
Asia and Africa. 

• Mitigating impacts of agriculture on tropical forests & biodiversity: 13% of the CG 

supports biodiversity, providing alternatives to clearing tropical forests. 

• Achieving transformation in high-population Middle East countries through 

drought and salinity tolerant crops and more strategic management of land and 

water resources in countries such as Sudan, Syria, Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan and 

Yemen. 

Global Conservation Program (USAID) 

The Global Conservation Program is supporting the development and application of 

nature-based strategies to adapt to climate change in four large marine ecoregions – the 

Meso-American Reef in Central America; Wakatobi National Park and Raja Ampat in 

Indonesia; and Kimbe Bay in Papua New Guinea. Climate change poses a major threat to 

tropical marine ecosystems by increasing sea temperatures, sea level, storm intensity, 

and the acidity of the ocean. Nature-based adaptation strategies can help people and 

communities deal with climate change impacts by protecting natural systems and the 

benefits they provide – shoreline protection, erosion control, as well as food from 

fisheries, jobs and income. 

Capacity Building for Flash Floods Management and Sustainable Development in the 

Himalayas (USAID) 

The IPCC Fourth Assessment states that climate change-related melting of glaciers could 

seriously affect half a billion people in the Himalaya-Hindu Kush region and a quarter of 

a billion people in China who depend on glacial melt for their water supplies. 

USAID/OFDA has supported technical assessments and forums for decision-makers and 

technical personnel from the Himalaya-Hindu Kush region to strengthen capacities on 

flash flood management, promote collaboration, and develop regional approaches to 

flood management, flood early warning systems, and broader transboundary water 

issues. These forums convey information about climate impacts as well as strategies and 

lessons about how to effectively cope with climate change, and thus are part of our 

strategy for impacting policy development and implementation in these countries. A 

regional organization based in Nepal, the International Center for Integrated Mountain 

Development hosts the forums, which include participants from Afghanistan, 

Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma, China, India, Nepal, and Pakistan. Funding: FY07 $125,000. 

 

Flood Early Warning Systems (USAID) 

USAID/OFDA has engaged in flood early warning systems in a number of regions and 

countries; changing precipitation patterns and increased extreme events are recognized 

as significant climate change impacts in developing countries. For example, in January 

2003, USAID/OFDA and the Mekong River Commission, an inter-governmental river 

basin organization based in Laos, began an innovative demonstration project to 

strengthen warnings to communities most at risk to floods. The five-year program 

Page 77 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
developed appropriate flood information to enable the most vulnerable communities in 

Cambodia to effectively prepare for floods. In Mozambique USAID/OFDA has 

contributed to the Mozambique Integrated Information Network for Decision-Making 

(MIND) project, part of USAID's FEWS NET. The MIND FEWSNET system indicates 

storm severity (based on wind speed) and the expected amount of time until storm 

landfall. MIND has strengthened early warning systems for cyclones and flooding and 

helped improve disaster management and contingency planning in the Limpopo River 

Basin. The project includes flood risk mapping, community flood education, planning 

and preparedness, and establishment of RANET stations to inform communities about 

storm risk in highly vulnerable remote locations. Funding: FY07 $102,257. 

 

Flood Proofing for Households in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam (USAID) 

USAID/OFDA is supporting the flood proofing of homes in the poorest flood-prone 

villages in the Mekong Delta. In collaboration with the Government of Vietnam’s 

Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the program is also training officials and 

the affected populations on the use of flood mapping to reduce loss of life, economic 

consequences, and disruption of livelihoods. The program is implementing river flood 

alert systems and a television and radio flood disaster warning system in three provinces 

and at the national level. USAID/OFDA provided $180,250 to support the flood proofing 

of homes in the poorest flood-prone villages in the Mekong Delta from September 2005 

through March 2008. This was a follow-on program to the USAID/OFDA-funded U.N. 

Development Program (UNDP) initiative to implement a comprehensive flood 

preparedness program in seven provinces of central Vietnam from June 2000 through 

December 2004. A coastal storm early warning system implemented by the Government 

of Vietnam with support from USAID/OFDA and UNDP helped mitigate the impact of 

storms such as Typhoon Damrey in September 2005, and Typhoon Durian in December 

2006. Since FY 2001, USAID/OFDA funding for flood and storm preparedness in 

Vietnam, including flood early warning, coastal storm early warning, and flood proofing 

of households totals $2,834,250. 

 

Asia Flood Network (USAID, DOI/USGS, NOAA) 

The Asia Flood Network (AFN) aims to strengthen the climate, weather, and 

hydrological forecasting capacity of regional and national hydro-meteorological 

institutions with the goal of reducing the vulnerability of at-risk communities. 

 USAID/OFDA, NOAA, and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) are jointly implementing 

AFN in the Mekong river basin in Cambodia, China, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam as well 

as in the Ganges-Brahmaputra–Megna river basin in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, 

Burma, China, India, Nepal, and Pakistan. Funding: FY07 $500,000 and FY08 $250,000. 

Development of Hurricane Hazard Maps for the Caribbean (USAID) 

Development of accurate baseline data related to climate and environmental conditions 

is critical to understanding the extent to which climate is changing. Without 

understanding the present in the context of historical norms it is impossible to plan 

appropriate adaptation activities. In FY 2007, USAID/OFDA supported the Pan American 

Page 78 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
Health Organization (PAHO) to develop wind hazard maps for the Caribbean basin, 

including all of the islands of the Caribbean and the Caribbean coastlines of South and 

Central America. The program will incorporate over 20 years of the region’s data to 

improve the quality of currently available wind hazard information. The proposed maps 

will enable wind hazard experts, government authorities, and the engineering and 

architectural communities to obtain better wind hazard guidance for structural design of 

new hospitals and other relevant facilities. Funding: FY07 $126,560. 

 

Program for Hydrometeorological Risk Mitigation in Asian Cities (USAID) 

The IPCC Fourth Assessment reports that amplification in storm-surge heights, along 

with high reported rates of recent sea level rise, could result in an enhanced risk of 

coastal disasters along the coastal regions of East, South and South-East Asian countries. 

 Implemented by the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC), this program 

promotes hydrometeorological disaster preparedness through demonstration projects to 

improve community preparedness and reduce vulnerability to climate sensitive disasters 

in six highly vulnerable secondary urban centers in Bangladesh, Pakistan, the 

Philippines, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, and Indonesia. Funding: FY07 $855,285. 

Drought Preparedness (USAID)

Climate variability in the form of drought significantly impacts developing countries. 

These impacts are projected to be exacerbated by climate change. USAID/OFDA has 

implemented drought preparedness programs in a number of drought-prone areas. For 

example, the NGO CARE is implementing drought preparedness activities in Cambodia, 

Vietnam, and Timor-Leste. Also, NGO partner Catholic Relief Services is implementing a 

three-year project to improve resilience to drought among communities in Rajasthan, 

India, and Sindh, Pakistan. In partnership with International Relief and Development, 

USAID/OFDA is strengthening food security through a community-based drought 

mitigation program in Shiselweni and Lubombo districts in Swaziland. These programs 

promote community-based drought preparedness planning while also developing 

expertise in effective low-cost and innovative drought mitigation and preparedness 

technologies, such as promoting water harvesting and water storage practices and 

techniques, agroforestry, water conservation, and dry season cultivation. Through the 

program, vulnerable communities will be better able to harvest and store rainwater for 

domestic and agricultural use, adopt water-efficient agricultural practices, improve landuse techniques for agriculture and livestock, and better engage with local government 

and other actors. Funding: FY07 $1,099,963. 

 

Land Cover Change and Biodiversity in Africa (DOS/USGS, USAID) 

The DOI’s USGS is completing projects that integrate remote sensing to assess land 

cover and land use change with biogeochemical modeling to quantify carbon status and 

evaluate both climate mitigation and adaptation options. This activity, funded by USAID, 

is focused on the Sahel and some countries, especially Senegal and Ghana, in West Africa 

and incorporates local capacity building. A related project has completed a land cover 

change project for the Sahel with country reports for management and policy guidance in 

both French and English soon to be released. In cooperation with host country partners, 

Page 79 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
USGS has used remote sensing and site validation to describe some exemplary village 

level interventions to improve economic livelihoods and likely carbon sequestration. 

 The work has resulted in products for several major watersheds, utilizing data from the 

NASA Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) at resolution of 30m, a Rapid Land 

Cover Mapper (RLCM), and a capability to secure time series of remotely sensed images. 

 New project activities will assist the monitoring of resources, including areas for forest 

protection and management, in transboundary areas. Training in the new tools and 

products will be provided to regional centers. 

 

National Health Accounts (USAID) 

Research suggests that climate change could have a variety of impacts on human health, 

for instance by changing the frequency and distribution of disease vectors. Tracking 

financial information will help countries understand the extent to which the health 

sector in different countries is directing funds towards climate change based concerns. 

In partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank, the U.S. 

Agency for International Development (USAID) created and introduced a tool for 

comprehensively mapping public and private funding sources and how funds are used 

for health sector activities. This approach, known as national health accounts (NHAs), is 

being applied in more than 65 developing countries to strengthen national health policy 

and decision-making processes. 

 

Drinking water and sanitation services (USAID) 

Safe and reliable access to drinking water and sanitation services are critical to 

developing country health. Water supplies are also highly sensitive to climate variability. 

 USAID is developing guidance on technologies and techniques for managing water 

supplies as climate changes. Many water program managers and implementers 

recognize that their work is closely tied to adapting to climate variability and change. 

 

Activities Indirectly Supporting Adaptation (Forest-Related) 

 

Well-managed forests provide climate mitigation and carbon sequestration benefits, as 

well as resources to communities and natural services that help reduce the impacts of, 

and enhance resilience to, climate change. For example, sustainable forest management 

facilitates communities’ resilience to changing temperature and precipitation regimes – 

providing buffers against flooding and helping to maintain water table levels. The U.S. 

Government supports a number of international initiatives and programs to promote the 

conservation and sustainable management of existing forests, as well as to increase 

forest cover and enhance the health of forest ecosystems. A number of U.S. international 

forest initiatives offer co-benefits for both climate change mitigation and adaptation. 

Examples of U.S. Government forest activities that can have adaptation benefits are 

provided below. 

 

Page 80 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (USAID) 

Through a series of successive projects, USAID has led efforts in Niger to change the 

forestry code and encourage farmers to allow trees to grow up on their land. Three to 

six million ha of tree cover have been added in the past 30 years. In addition to 

sequestering carbon, the effort has resulted in better soil condition, water infiltration, 

reduced wind damage, and more resilient livelihoods. New businesses have arisen 

around the availability of wood and fodder for animals. Women have particularly 

benefited from the effort, gaining access to and rehabilitating infertile land, and starting 

small businesses for fattening animals (using seed pods from the trees for feed) and 

selling wood and food products. 

Changes to tree cover in Galma, Niger, 1975-2003 (aerial photographs). 

Technical Assistance to Address Deforestation and Forest Degradation (USDA/USFS, 

USAID) 

Under its International Programs, the U.S. Forest Service is currently collaborating with 

other governments, nongovernmental organizations and the private sector on climate 

change and avoided deforestation through policy engagement and technical 

cooperation. By slowing deforestation rates, curbing land degradation, increasing 

carbon storage, and using forests as an alternative and sustainable energy source, 

greenhouse gas emissions can be mitigated and reduced. The Forest Service works with 

Page 81 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
a number of countries on these issues, including Brazil, Indonesia, Liberia, Mexico, and 

Peru. 

 

Tropical Forest Conservation Act (DOS, Treasury, USAID) 

The Tropical Forest Conservation Act (TFCA) was enacted in 1998 to offer eligible 

developing countries options to relieve certain official debt owed to the United States, 

while at the same time generating funds to support local tropical forest conservation 

activities. As of July 2008, TFCA debt-for-nature programs are being implemented in 

Bangladesh, Belize, Botswana, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Jamaica, 

Panama (two programs), Paraguay, Peru, and the Philippines. These 13 programs will 

together generate more than $163 million to conserve tropical forests over the life of the 

programs. Additional funds will be generated through returns on investments and 

matching funds. 

Congo Basin Forest Partnership (USAID, DOS, DOI/FWS, USDA/FS) 

The Congo Basin Forest Partnership (CBFP), which includes more than 35 governments, 

international organizations, private sector and civil society representatives, is working to 

strengthen the sustainable management of the world’s second largest tropical forest. 

The partnership promotes economic development, poverty alleviation, and improved 

local governance through natural resource management across 13 landscapes in six 

Central African countries. The United States has invested more than $82 million from 

2002-2007 in a wide range of programs that support sustainable forest management, 

development of alternative livelihoods for forest-dependent communities, control of 

illegal logging and wildlife poaching, governance, and capacity building for natural 

resource conservation. Secretary Powell and other partners launched the CBFP at the 

World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in 2002. If successful over 

the long-term, CBFP programs could have significant climate benefits through 

conservation of the forest biomass. 

 

Initiative for Conservation in the Andean Amazon (USAID) 

The Initiative for Conservation in the Andean Amazon (ICAA) is a 5-year program (2006-

2011), supported by USAID and partner funds, that brings together the efforts of 20 

public and private organizations working in the Amazon regions of Bolivia, Colombia, 

Ecuador, and Peru. ICAA’s goal is to build constituencies that promote the sustainable 

use and conservation of biodiversity and environmental services of the region. In 

promoting a regional vision of conservation that is able to address the growing array of 

challenges and threats to biodiversity, ICAA focuses in particular on supporting the 

management of indigenous territories and strengthening indigenous organizations for 

enhanced conservation and development. ICAA builds on and complements the 

successful current portfolio of conservation efforts supported by USAID in the region by 

the bilateral Mission programs in Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.” 

Page 82 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) submitted information on its 

adaptation-related efforts on March 19, 2009. DOT was given the opportunity to 

review its initial submission and sent updated information on September 4, 2009. 

GAO did not assess the validity of these submissions. Any questions should be directed 

to the DOT.

U.S. Department of Transportation 

“Recent Accomplishments

Gulf Coast Study, Phase 1, (2008) 

Phase 1 of the Gulf Coast Study studied how changes in climate over the next 50 to 100 

years could affect transportation systems in the U.S. central Gulf Coast region and 

discussed how to account for potential impacts in transportation planning. A case study 

approach was selected that generated useful research methodologies for application in 

other locations. http://www.climatescience.gov/Library/sap/sap4-7/final-report/

The Potential Impacts of Global Sea Level Rise on Transportation Infrastructure—

Atlantic Coast Study, (2008) 

The study uses multiple data sources to identify the potential impact of sea level rise on 

land and transportation infrastructure along the Atlantic coast, from Florida to New 

York. The study (1) creates maps of land and transportation infrastructure that, without 

protection, could be inundated regularly by the ocean or be at risk of periodic inundation 

due to storm surge under a range of sea level rise scenarios; and, (2) provides statistics 

to demonstrate the potential extent of land areas and transportation infrastructure 

affected. http://climate.dot.gov/impacts-adaptations/forcasts.html#potentialImpacts

Integrating Climate Change into the Transportation Planning Process, June 2008. 

The final report summarizes a review of the state-of-the-practice in State DOTs and 

Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs), including statutes and regulations, and 

interviews with several planning agencies. Report includes both mitigation and 

adaptation. (Report completed June 2008) 

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep/climatechange/index.htm

Peer Workshop on Adaptation to Climate Change Impacts, December 2008 (Report 

Pending). 

Peer Exchange conducted (with support from the American Association of State 

Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO)) on adaptation of transportation 

infrastructure to climate change impacts. Participants in the workshop included leaders 

from FHWA and 11 State DOTs. 

Page 83 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
Initiated or Ongoing Activities 

FHWA Adaptation Working Group 

FHWA has formed a multi-disciplinary internal working group to coordinate policy and 

program activities to address climate change impacts to transportation infrastructure. 

Status: first meeting: December 2008, meetings ongoing 

FHWA Strategy to Address Adaptation to Climate Change Effects 

The Strategy is being developed by the FHWA Adaptation Working Group. The Strategy 

will include the relevance of impacts/adaptation to FHWA program areas, identify 

program vulnerabilities, and discuss ongoing, planned activities by FHWA. The Strategy 

will provide FHWA with a common strategic framework as the agency addresses climate 

change impacts through policies, regulations, and programmatic activities. 

Status: Currently drafting 

Timeframe: Late 2009 

Interim Framework on Conducting Assessments of Transportation Infrastructure 

Vulnerable to GCC Effects 

The project’s first phase will address what can reasonably be assumed by practitioners 

with regard to climate change impacts, its effects differentiated by geographic area, and 

data to be used in conducting assessments (including data gaps). The Framework itself 

will include criteria to be considered, recommended categories for existing and planned 

infrastructure, and methods to assess importance, redundancy and scale. HEP and HIF 

are requesting additional research funds to pilot the “Framework” in up to 5 States. 

Status: Proposals are currently being reviewed 

Timeframe: Summer 2010 

NCHRP 20-83(05): Climate Change and Highway Infrastructure: Impacts and 

Adaptation Approaches 

This is a $1 million project identified by the Transportation Research Board (TRB) 

executive committee as priority research. FHWA is providing technical assistance to the 

panel and coordination with other FHWA and DOT activities to prevent duplicative 

effort. The anticipated product will be guidebooks for transportation practitioners and 

outreach materials. 

Status: Initial panel meeting held, RFP being drafted 

Timeframe: 2-3 years 

Guidelines for Consideration of GCC Impacts and Adaptation in Project Development 

and Environmental Review

Page 84 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
These guidelines will include discussions of how to consider climate change impacts as 

part of the project development, preliminary engineering, and NEPA analysis (including 

scoping, environmental context, and alternatives screening and analysis) 

Status: Initiating activity 

Timeframe: Fall 2009/Spring 2010 

Second peer workshop on Adaptation to Climate change, under development for fall 

2009 

FAA Approach to Address Adaptation for Aviation Navigation Systems Brought by 

Climate Change: Induced Perturbation in Weather Patterns 

More frequent adverse weather brought on by climate change will potentially impact 

aviation operations and air space management. Presently, the FAA is researching 

approaches to better use predictive weather capabilities to adapt flight routes to 

minimize weather related impacts. Though these efforts are largely not driven by climate 

change, they can provide an adaptation strategy for potential climate change impacts. 

Future activities – Medium to Long-term 

Gulf Coast Study – Phase 2 

The ultimate goal of the "Impacts of Climate Change Variability on Transportation 

Systems and Infrastructure: Gulf Coast Study" research is to provide decision-makers 

with more capacity to adapt to the long-term impacts of climate change on the 

transportation system. This will be achieved by providing knowledge and tools that will 

enable transportation planners and managers to better understand the risks, adaptation 

strategies, and tradeoffs involved in planning, investment, design, and operational 

decisions for all modes of transportation. The objective of Phase 2 research is to build on 

the findings of Phase 1 to develop more definitive information about multimodal impacts 

at the local level. This study will focus on a detailed analysis in one area within the Gulf 

Coast region. 

Lead: Robert Ritter 

Status: RFP drafted 

Timeframe: 3 years 

Update of the FHWA Floodplain regulations (23 CFR 650, Subpart A) 

This revision of the floodplain regulations is anticipated to better reflect more recent 

flood risk assessment and management approaches/opportunities, clarify requirements 

vis-à-vis NEPA, FEMA, and other floodplain processes and stakeholders, incorporate 

consideration of climate change effects as appropriate. 

Status: Pending 

Timeframe: Several years (rulemaking process)” 

Additional Update as of September 4, 2009 

Page 85 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
The Department of Transportation (DOT) Center for Climate Change and 

Environmental Forecasting 

 

The Center fosters comprehensive and multi-modal approaches through technical 

expertise, research, policy analysis, partnerships, and outreach to reduce transportationrelated greenhouse gases and mitigate the effects of global climate change on the 

transportation network. The Center's Transportation and Climate Change Clearinghouse 

(http://climate.dot.gov) is intended for use by the transportation community as a onestop source of information on transportation and climate change issues, including 

adaptation.” 

Page 86 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) submitted the following examples as 

illustrative of its adaptation-related efforts on July 2, 2009. EPA was given the 

opportunity to review its initial submission and sent updated information on 

September 3, 2009. GAO did not assess the validity of these submissions. Any 

questions should be directed to EPA. 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

“Information on EPA’s Ongoing Adaptation Efforts: A perspective on the role of the 

federal government in adaptation

Climate change will have far-reaching impacts across many federal agencies. We believe 

that federal adaptation efforts can be categorized into three relatively distinct but 

interactive roles: 

1. Research. Includes all research to inform climate change adaptation, such as 

adaptive options for natural and human systems; the tradeoffs, costs, and benefits 

inherent in those options; and the necessary basis for implementation. 

2. Climate Modeling and Data Dissemination. 

Compiling, analyzing, and distributing information 

related to climate variability and change, including 

future climate projections and associated impacts 

(e.g., downscaled climate projections), the 

characteristics and tradeoffs of various adaptation 

options, and other important data and research 

down to the local level. 

3. Policy and Planning. The programmatic-oriented 

implementation of adaptation. Recognizing that specific adaptation actions will 

generally occur at the local level, this role involves actions at the federal level to 

inform and enable adaptation policy, management, and planning. Examples of such 

actions include: compiling and distributing lessons learned, providing expert 

knowledge on adaptation, and programmatic efforts to enable encourage and inform 

adaptation. These efforts will utilize existing information and build upon existing 

infrastructure and relationships between the federal, regional, state, local, and tribal 

communities. 

EPA’s relative expertise and work lies generally in the first and third of these roles: 

research and policy and planning. In general, EPA considers itself a “client” or user of 

data and climate modeling referred to in #2 above with regard to adaptation efforts. 

Below are examples of ongoing EPA work within these two roles. 

Page 87 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
Examples of EPA adaptation research efforts 

• Climate Change Science Program Synthesis and Assessment Products (SAPs) 

(ORD).2 ORD produced two SAPs entitled: Synthesis and Assessment Product 4.4: 

Preliminary Review of Adaptation Options for Climate-Sensitive Ecosystems and 

Resources and Synthesis and Assessment Product 4.6: Analyses of the Effects of 

Global Change on Human Health and Welfare and Human Systems. 

• Climate Change Science Program Working Group on Adaptation (ORD). ORD is 

currently the co-chair of this effort. 

• Climate Change and Air Quality (ORD). In collaboration with OAR, ORD is 

conducting a major assessment of the sensitivity of air quality to climate change. 

The final assessment will be completed in 2012. 

• Climate Change Impacts on Water Quality and Aquatic Ecosystems (ORD). In 

collaboration with OW, the Global Program is conducting a major assessment of 

the sensitivity to climate change of goals articulated in the Clean Water Act and 

the Safe Drinking Water Act, and opportunities for adaptation to the anticipated 

impacts. This assessment will be completed in 2013. 

• Climate Change and Human Health (ORD). ORD is working with other CCSP 

agencies (particularly CDC, NIEHS, and NOAA) to support the public health 

communities’ efforts to develop strategies for adapting to a changing climate.

Examples of EPA program office initiatives to enhance adaptation planning efforts 

Program office adaptation efforts are focused on the third role described above: the 

programmatic informing and enabling of adaptation policy, management, and planning. 

Examples of current and future work include: 

• Planning for Air Quality Management in a Changing Climate (OAR). IPCC (2007) 

and CCSP (2008) reports indicate with “virtual certainty” declining air quality in 

urban areas as a result of climate change. To better understand and address the 

effects of climate change on air quality, OAR, in collaboration with the Office of 

Research and Development, is undertaking modeling studies and impacts analyses, 

and updating our analytical tools, to assist urban areas, states and regions to integrate 

climate change into their air quality planning. These analyses will also help answer 

questions such as: Which air pollution control scenarios are clear “winners”—i.e., 

worth pursuing regardless of the uncertainties surrounding future climate? What 

additional air pollution mitigation efforts may be necessary as people alter behavior 

in response to future climate conditions (e.g., higher air conditioning use)? What 

control strategies can reduce air pollutants and climate pollutants simultaneously and 

 

2 EPA Offices referred to in this document: 

 ORD – Office of Research and Development 

 OAR – Office of Air and Radiation 

 OW – Office of Water 

Page 88 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
cost-effectively? Answers to these questions will help EPA, along with our regional 

and state partners, integrate air quality management planning with climate change 

and to develop multipollutant emission standards for sources of air pollution and 

GHGs. 

• National Water Program Strategy: Response to Climate Change (OW). This 

September 2008 strategy document, and the effort behind it, broadly represents the 

Office of Water’s recognition that adaptation is necessary for a significant number of 

national water programs. The strategy identifies 44 specific actions that the National 

Water Program planned to take in 2008/2009 to respond to climate change. The 

majority of the proposed actions involve adjustments to program management to 

reflect a better understanding of impacts of climate change in several key areas: 

drinking water, water quality and effluent standards; watershed protection; National 

Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits; water infrastructure; and wetlands 

protection. The Office of Water has significant actions currently underway to 

implement this strategy. In addition, efforts are now underway to update and revise 

the Strategy. More information can be found at 

http://www.epa.gov/ow/climatechange/strategy.html. 

• Climate Ready Estuaries (Joint OAR-OW). The Climate Ready Estuaries (CRE) 

program is a partnership between EPA and the National Estuary Programs (NEPs) to 

address climate change in coastal areas. In its second year, this effort is building 

additional capacity in coastal communities as they prepare to adapt to the effects of 

climate change. Climate Ready Estuaries is supporting NEPs and coastal 

communities in becoming “climate ready” by providing tools and assistance to: 

• Assess climate change vulnerabilities 

• Engage and educate stakeholders 

• Develop and implement adaptation strategies 

• Share lessons learned with other coastal managers 

More information can be found at http://www.epa.gov/cre/. 

• Planning for Heat Health-Related Climate Change Impacts in American Cities 

(OAR). Heat is presently the #1 weather-related killer in the U.S. and heat waves are 

projected to increase in frequency, intensity, and duration in a warming climate. 

Building on past EPA heat health-related work, this developing effort is designed to 

assist American cities with understanding and planning for the public health impacts 

of climate change, focusing mainly on extreme heat events. 

• Scoping Adaptation Planning and Management Options for the U.S. Southeast 

(Joint OAR-OW). This initiative is a joint project of the Office of Air and Radiation, 

the Office of Water, and Region 4 (composed of 8 Southeastern states). The purpose 

is to help begin to create the conditions for success for the U.S. Southeast on climate 

change adaptation with regard to scoping adaptation planning and management 

options based upon an understanding of climate change impacts, and bringing 

together practitioners and principals to assess and develop these options. 

Page 89 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
• Water-focused Adaptation Programs and Activities (OW). Other Office of Water 

efforts include: 

• Forming a FACA subcommittee on Climate Ready Water Utilities to address both 

water and wastewater utility adaptation; 

• Creating a State/Tribal Climate Change Workgroup to work with and inform OW 

on water program adaptation; 

• Developing a Climate Vulnerability Assessment tool to complement the security VA 

tool already existing for water utilities; 

• Developing a decision framework for vulnerability assessments; and 

• Held a joint OW/ORD expert and stakeholder workshop on water infrastructure 

sustainability and adaptation to climate change. 

• U.S. Climate Change Science Program Synthesis and Assessment Product 4.1: 

Coastal Sensitivity to Sea-Level Rise: A Focus on the Mid-Atlantic Region (OAR). 

This Synthesis and Assessment Product (SAP), developed as part of the U.S. Climate 

Change Science Program, examines potential effects of sea-level rise from climate 

change with a focus on the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The SAP describes 

the physical environments; potential changes to coastal environments, wetlands, and 

vulnerable species; societal impacts and implications of sea-level rise; decisions that 

may be sensitive to sea-level rise; opportunities for adaptation; and institutional 

barriers to adaptation. SAP 4.1 was released in January as a joint product of EPA, 

USGS, and NOAA with EPA as the lead agency. More information can be found at 

http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/effects/coastal/sap4-1.html or 

http://www.climatescience.gov/Library/sap/sap4-1/final-report/default.htm. 

Additional Examples of EPA Regional Efforts 

Numerous adaptation efforts are occurring in many of the 10 EPA Regions. As examples, 

some of the activities being undertaken in two Regions are highlighted below. 

• Region 1 (New England). Adaptation work that is being undertaken by this 

Region includes:

• involvement of four of the Region’s six NEPs in the Climate Ready 

Estuaries program;

• working with the EPA-funded New England Environmental Finance Center 

to develop tools for coastal communities to identify sea-level rise and 

coastal storm vulnerabilities to make informed adaptation planning and 

zoning decisions, coupled with economic impact assessments; 

• conducting a multi-stakeholder meeting on adaptation research and 

planning in June 2008 at the University of New Hampshire;

• conducting a multi-day inter-agency meeting on adaptation research and 

planning for ocean and coastal resources and watersheds in June 2009, in 

Gloucester, MA, with participation by 12 federal agencies; and

• participating on taskforces for regional and statewide adaptation planning 

in New England states. 

Page 90 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
More information about Region 1 activities can be found at 

http://www.epa.gov/region1/climatechange/

• Region 10 (Northwest). This Region has produced its own climate change 

strategy that incorporates many adaptation-related activities. Examples of such 

activities include: 

• personnel support to Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation 

adaptation activities;

• using existing grant programs to encourage incorporating considerations of 

climate change impacts into funded work, such as IGAP, Tribal Air Grants, 

and Western Estuary Initiative grants; and

• organizing workshops for state, local, and tribal governments on 

considering climate change impacts and adaptation strategies.

More information about Region 10 activities can be found at 

http://yosemite.epa.gov/R10/ECOCOMM.NSF/climate+change/cc.”

Page 91 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) submitted information 

on its adaptation-related efforts on July 2, 2009. NASA was given the opportunity to 

review its initial submission and did not send us any changes or updates for this esupplement. GAO did not assess the validity of this submission. Any questions should 

be directed to NASA. 

National Aeronautics and Space Administration 

“The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) makes global 

measurements of climate forcing and Earth system responses from advanced satellite 

missions; conducts cutting-edge research utilizing data from spaceborne, airborne, and 

in-situ systems to produce more accurate Earth system models; and works with both 

NASA and external organizations to provide tailored, efficient Earth system predictions 

that are an essential basis for adaptation. 

 

NASA’s 15 operating Earth research satellite missions acquire high-resolution, frequent, 

stable, accurate, global measurements of key quantities including solar irradiance and 

Earth radiation budget, atmospheric composition and dynamics, aerosols, precipitation, 

land and sea ice cover, ocean surface winds, sea level, ocean surface temperature and 

color, land cover and vegetation type, time-varying gravity, and space weather. Most of 

the research satellites provide near-real-time data, thus contributing to improved shortterm environmental forecasts produced by NOAA, DoD, and international meteorological 

organizations. A further 7 NASA Earth-observing research missions are in formulation 

and development for launch before 2013, and the 2007 Earth Science and Applications 

Decadal Survey identified 13 additional Earth-observing missions to be developed and 

demonstrated by NASA over the coming 10-20 years. 

 

 NASA’s Earth data and information systems generate, archive, and make broadly 

available the full suite of NASA Earth observation products, including notable multidecadal, multi-mission, consistently processed climate data records such as the 27+ year 

time series of calibrated solar irradiance, the 30-year time global series of multi-spectral 

land images (Landsat), and the 17-year time series of global precision ocean topography. 

 

 

NASA’s Earth science research activities – comprising approximately half of the NASA 

Earth Science Division (ESD) budget – focus on advancing Earth System Science and 

related applications, and defining the set of highest priority, yet tractable, questions for 

the next generation of spaceborne missions. NASA-funded research combines theory 

with measurements (often from multiple satellite missions as well as in-situ and airborne 

campaigns) to increase understanding of the Earth as an integrated system. The 

resulting quantitative knowledge of the interactions between Earth processes – as well 

as the characteristics of individual processes – is codified in models which can be used 

for predictions when combined with a continuing stream of input measurements. Much 

of this work is carried out with significant involvement of the scientific research 

community through competitive solicitations; at present, ESD funds some 1700 grants. 

Page 92 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
The scientific results provide a rigorous basis for scientific assessment, especially with 

respect to multiple stressors that affect Earth today and in the future. 

 

In addition to providing the underpinning for adaptation studies—the data and models 

needed to enable forecasting of climate impacts—NASA works directly with the 

organizations that have management and policy responsibilities to develop and carry out 

adaptation strategies. NASA’s Applied Sciences Program helps to leverage the nation’s 

investment in Earth observations and research by demonstrating their use for practical 

decision making. These demonstrations are carried out in partnership with resource 

managers, policy makers and other end-users. For example, the Applied Sciences 

Program is working in 31 states and has developed mature partnerships with other 

Federal agencies and their regional offices. Federal partners currently include 7 USDA 

agencies, 4 DOI agencies, 6 branches of NOAA, USAID, EPA and the Departments of 

Energy, Transportation (FAA) and Homeland Security. 

 

As one illustration of the integrative nature of our Earth system science research, NASA 

researchers have developed the Terrestrial Observation and Prediction System (TOPS)

to forecast ecological impacts of climate change by combining surface, satellite, and 

climate data with ecosystem models (Nemani et al., 2009). TOPS has been used 

extensively by both the research and applications community for nearly a decade. 

 Example applications include: forecasting stream temperatures for NOAA managers 

responsible for managing Chinook salmon populations in the Sacramento River system; 

predicting water flow regimes and subsequent fire risk in Yosemite National Park; 

building species distribution models for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; forecasting 

projecting bark beetle outbreaks in the Western U.S.; supporting the state of California’s 

Encephalitis Virus Intervention Decision Support Systems; and developing a Viticultural 

Information System for vineyards throughout California. Now, TOPS is providing the 

basis for the development of an integrated information system that incorporates climate 

impact data to improve water management in the agriculture sector. This tool, to be 

demonstrated in California’s drought-ridden San Joaquin Valley, will assimilate satellite 

data and meteorological observations into models parameterized for specific crop types 

to produce forecasts of soil moisture, evapotranspiration (ET), and irrigation demand for 

multiple crops (e.g., corn, soy, vegetable row crops, orchards, vineyards) for enhanced 

irrigation efficiency. It will also provide snow water equivalent (SWE) forecasting to 

improve the ability of state and local agencies to estimate water availability and annual 

water budgets, and forecast flood risk information. 

NASA, in collaboration with USAID, is also providing environmental information 

products and portals to developing regions of the world, where predictions and 

resources for adaptation are scarce. The Regional Monitoring and Visualization System, 

called SERVIR, is a web-based information system that utilizes imagery and data from 

numerous satellites and other data sources for environmental management and disaster 

early warning. SERVIR was developed in Mesoamerica by NASA in partnership with 

USAID and Central American environmental management organizations. Today, SERVIR 

is routinely used in Central America to plan for and respond to hurricanes and other 

natural hazards. Recently, USAID and NASA expanded SERVIR to East Africa. SERVIR 

Africa is already providing data and information to first responders to the recent severe 

Page 93 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
floods in that region. A next step will be to develop flood-potential maps and Rift Valley 

Fever maps for East Africa area based on vegetation indices, precipitation and other 

climate variables to enable better planning. SERVIR provides a platform upon which to 

build and serve to policy makers and the general public an array of information tools and 

is thus an important (and sometimes, the primary) environmental decision support 

system within these regions as they plan for and respond to climate change impacts 

(http://www.servir.net/). 

Internally, NASA is also planning for adapting to climate impacts on our own physical 

installations, several of which are unique national facilities located in climatically and 

ecologically sensitive locations. Kennedy Space Center, Wallops Flight Facility, Stennis 

Space Center, and the Michoud Assembly Facility are all coastal installations exquisitely 

susceptible to sea-level rise and with large exposure to storm damage from hurricanes 

(as is Johnson Space Center). The Marshall Space Flight Center is subject to severe 

thunderstorms and tornadoes, while the centers in California – Ames Research Center, 

Dryden Flight Research Center, and Jet Propulsion Laboratory - are vulnerable to future 

water stress and fire. 

 

NASA ESD and NASA’s Environmental Management Division (EMD) in the Office of 

Infrastructure are collaborating to ensure that knowledge of climate trajectories and 

their implications developed by ESD are accounted for in long-term facilities planning by 

the NASA centers. As the next step in this collaboration, ESD and EMD are planning a 

joint workshop to be held in the summer of 2009, to define any additional NASA research 

studies required to address key center-specific issues, and to identify specific 

information products required to best apply NASA’s scientific capabilities to the agency’s 

need for long-term facilities planning that fully recognizes and responds to the impacts of 

a changing climate. 

 

References: 

Nemani, R.R., H. Hashimoto, P. Votava, F. Melton, L. Mutch, W. Wang, C. Milesi, S. Hiatt 

and M. White, 2009: Monitoring and forecasting ecosystem dynamics using the 

Terrestrial Observation and Prediction System. Remote Sensing of the Environment, 

doi:10.1016/j.rse.2008.06.017.” 

Page 94 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
The National Science Foundation (NSF) submitted information on its adaptationrelated efforts on April 10, 2009. NSF was given the opportunity to review its initial 

submission and sent updated information on September 3, 2009. GAO did not assess 

the validity of these submissions. Any questions should be directed to NSF. 

National Science Foundation

 

“As an agency charged with supporting basic research, the National Science Foundation 

(NSF) in general is not involved in the implementation of adaptation measures; rather 

NSF-supported projects are aimed at providing a strong scientific basis for rational 

decisions regarding potential adaptation strategies and identification of potential 

unintended consequences of choices. There are some exceptions, most often, at some of 

our specialized research centers where engagement of stakeholders dealing with 

adaptation questions may be a critical component of the project. NSF recognizes that the 

“science of adaptation” will have to expand to meet national needs and we are actively 

exploring how NSF can most effectively contribute to the overall federal effort. With 

respect to GAO’s three specific questions, NSF primarily will be involved in helping 

authorities and the public adapt to a changing climate by providing new insights into the 

issues and helping to develop new tools for predicting the effects of adaptation choices. 

Our research portfolio will include projects to help identify the challenges involved in 

implementing adaptation strategies. 

Four science directorates within NSF are involved with climate change and adaptation 

issues: Biological Sciences, Engineering, Geosciences, and the Social, Behavioral, and 

Economic Sciences. In addition, the Office of Polar Programs funds activities that span 

many disciplines, but are regionally focused. NSF has several research programs that are 

cross-directorate in nature and support. The key activities related to adaptation in each 

of these organizations are described below. 

As noted above, research focused on climate adaptation issues will increase in the 

coming years, as our scientific understanding is not mature enough to form a solid 

underpinning for policy action. NSF recognizes and is responding to the need for 

compressed timelines of discovery, understanding, and education on key concepts. 

Additional information on specific NSF programs and awards can be found on our 

website: http://www.nsf.gov

Directorate for Biological Sciences 

The living world is tightly coupled with Earth’s climate; the biosphere responds and 

adapts to changes, but it also produces important drivers and feedbacks that transform 

the climate. Adaptation planning requires that managers and policy-makers account for 

the potential and likely outcomes of climate change for the biosphere. The Directorate 

for Biological Sciences (BIO) participates in the Federal response to climate change 

Page 95 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
adaptation needs by supporting fundamental disciplinary and interdisciplinary research 

that relates to resilience and limits to adaptation; system dynamics governing responses 

and feedbacks; and transformations and tipping points in biophysical systems. Our 

research is discovering answers to fundamental questions about how the living world 

adapts to and transforms Earth’s climate. 

Biological science projects provide an understanding of the factors that underlie 

vulnerability, resilience and robustness to change across levels of organization from the 

molecule to the ecosystem. Studies in ecology and evolution are helping to determine 

how organisms may respond to rapidly and continuously changing environments through 

behavioral changes and genetic responses. Research at the nano- and molecular-scale is 

elucidating biophysical phenomena that underlie mechanisms of rapid stress response 

and other adaptive strategies. We are supporting the use of powerful genomic tools in 

research that reveals the secrets encoded in the genomes of microbes and other 

organisms that control ecosystem function and enable adaptation to environmental 

change. 

Researchers supported by the BIO are helping to develop next-generation climate models 

that better represent the dynamics of biosphere, carbon, water and nutrient cycles, and 

more tightly integrate biophysical and social sciences. Our support of sites in long-term 

ecological research and centers for biological synthesis provide crucial information to 

validate models and understand adaptation phenomena that are undetectable or poorly 

understood at short time scales. We have begun an effort to determine the unknown 

dimensions of biodiversity within a decade that will enable better understanding of the 

relationships between biodiversity, ecosystem services, and human systems. And, BIO is 

supporting research that investigates the ecology of infectious disease and the biology of 

invasion by exotic species, biological impacts of climate change with direct bearing on 

human well-being. 

Climate change will disproportionately affect developing nations, tropical and dry 

regions, and alpine, tundra, and coastal systems. Biophysical patterns and processes will 

change, as well as the ecosystem services that are elemental to sustainable development 

and human health and well-being. BIO-supported research helps to inform adaptation 

efforts that account for the dynamic relationship between humans, the living world, and 

the Earth’s climate. 

The Directorate for Engineering 

The Directorate for Engineering (ENG) has no programs specifically focused on 

implementation of adaptation measures, but a number of programs involve research on 

related topics. In particular, ENG supports research in areas such as preparing cities for 

climate change, whereby international comparative assessments of urban adaptation 

planning are conducted and quantify adaptation strategies in the face of uncertain 

climate change impacts to conserve or reuse water, manage storm-water, and/or reduce 

energy demands. Research is also supported to translate climate change predictions and 

uncertainties into useful information for drought preparedness planning in order to 

Page 96 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
address the critical question: What does possible climate change imply for drought 

hazards, and how should society respond? Projects focused on understanding renewable 

energy resource applications and adaptation to climate change impacts; creating a 

national capability to better predict and manage the behavior of water-and its nutrients, 

contaminants, and sediments-everywhere in the U.S.; and electronic systems to sense 

and detect environmental changes have been awarded. 

Researchers supported by ENG contribute significantly to the knowledge base for major 

components of the U.S. economy, including chemicals, pharmaceuticals, medical 

devices, forest products, metals, petroleum, food, textiles, utilities, sensing systems, and 

microelectronics. 

Several programs also support research related to impacts of extreme events or changing 

climate (e.g., sea level rise) on infrastructure, water resources and infrastructure, and 

alternative fuels. 

Directorate for Geosciences 

The Directorate for Geosciences (GEO) supports the adaptation process at the front end 

by sponsoring research that aims to provide information about future climate on decadal 

and shorter time scales and at regional resolution. Such information serves to inform 

decisions made by the public and policy makers for adaptation strategies. 

The starting point for adaptation to climate change is a credible climate forecast, with a 

reliable estimate of its uncertainty. Planning for adaptation is done on time horizons at 

which anthropogenic climate change is convolved with natural variability of the climate 

system. Climate scientists supported by GEO seek to advance prediction on these 

timescales through their collective strengths in the mathematical theory of prediction 

and predictability, through their innovative uses of peta-scale computing, through 

development of new techniques of initializing the key long-memory components of the 

climate system (the ocean and land surface) and through their development of novel 

multi-model ensemble methods for climate forecasting. 

The availability and fate of water resources will be a key issue for consideration in 

adapting to climate change. GEO, along with ENG, is working closely with the research 

community to expand capabilities to improve understanding of how the overall water 

cycle functions, how it will be affected regionally with climate change and the 

implications for future water resources management. 

NSF provides significant support for research that is exploring the impacts of climate 

change on marine ecosystems, including fisheries, with obvious connections to the 

global and regional approaches to ensuring adequate food supplies. 

Directorate for Social, Behavioral, & Economic Sciences 

For purposes of this report, the Social, Behavioral, and Economics Sciences (SBE) 

interprets “climate change adaptation” research as addressing how humans can adapt to 

Page 97 GAO-10-114SP Climate Change Adaptation
climate change. The research is not about how to reduce the amount of global warming 

by reducing greenhouse gas emissions (we interpret that as “mitigation”). Adaptation 

research includes work on resilience and vulnerability to expected climate change (e.g., 

more frequent and more severe storms, more droughts in some regions, more flood in 

other regions, rising ocean levels, melting permafrost, urban heat island effects, longer 

growing seasons in some regions, etc.). 

SBE is involved in three key interdisciplinary activities that have a significant component 

of adaptation research. These include: 

1) Decision Making Under Uncertainty Centers/Collaborative Groups (DMUU). All five 

existing DMUU Centers and Teams do adaptation research. For example, the Decision 

Center for a Desert City at Arizona State has developed a water use simulation that 

projects adaptation options. 

2) Dynamics of Coupled Natural and Human Systems (CNH). This BIO, GEO, SBE 

collaborative effort funds several adaptation projects on how species and humans are 

responding to climate change. 

3) Environment, Society, and Economics (ESE). This SBE/GEO collaboration 

encourages submission of interdisciplinary proposals for joint review and co-funding by 

existing programs within the two directorates. Many aspects of climate change 

adaptation are topics appropriate for this activity. 

The SBE programs (which span the social sciences from economics and political science 

to social psychology and anthropology) support a wide variety of projects that are 

relevant to climate change adaptation. Research topics include adaptive environmental 

management, as well as climate change adaptation as a “commons” problem. In addition, 

projects are funded on how people understand climate change and adaptation options as 

well as adaptation costs and opportunities. Response to vulnerabilities is a leading 

research theme. SBE also supports many projects examining why some civilizations 

failed to adapt to climate change (or did successfully adapt) and how societies reacted to 

climate changes. 

Some of the SBE-supported research is relevant to, but does not directly address, 

adaptation. For example, SBE supports projects related to land-use in response to rising 

tides, as well as such topics as planning and zoning, vulnerability and class. Other 

research topics that can contribute to the development of successful adaptation 

strategies include treaties for adaptation, game theory, politics of land-use and 

intergovernmental relations. In addition, projects to investigate the role of media 

treatment of adaptation issues, how policy makers have treated the science of 

adaptation, organizational treatment of climate change information, and ethical issues in 

adaptation are being and have been supported. Finally SBE funds basic social 

psychology studies on how people respond to new information, which will be a crucial 

component in developing successful adaptation pathways. 

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Office of Polar Programs 

The Office of Polar Programs (OPP) does not have a program dedicated to adaptation, 

but supports research focused on the polar regions, which can include biological, 

physical, chemical, and the social sciences - and combinations thereof. The poles are 

expected to experience climate change of greater magnitude and at a more rapid rate 

than other parts of the globe and, indeed, already there is significant evidence for this, 

particularly in the Arctic. Within the existing programs, OPP invests in both Arctic 

climate change as well as Arctic social science. One program, the Bering Sea Ecosystem 

Study, will serve as a baseline for understanding ecosystem and fisheries changes in 

response to climate change. A significant portion of the Arctic social science research 

portfolio focuses on cultural adaptation to rapid climate change. Work in these areas will 

continue to be encouraged. OPP also supports research in the Antarctic to understand 

the response of organisms and ecosystems to climate change. A number of these 

programs are accomplished in collaboration with the Biology Directorate (e.g., the two 

Antarctic Long Term Ecological Research sites). Such studies in the Antarctic Peninsula 

are particularly important because of the significant warming seen in that region, which 

has led to changes in sea ice extent as well as to collapse of significant ice shelf areas. 

These in turn have significant effects on ecosystems. 

Finally, OPP supports the NSF Science and Technology Center for Remote Sensing of Ice 

Sheets. A principal goal of this Center is to advance understanding of the contribution of 

the polar ice sheets (both Arctic and Antarctic) to sea level rise. The question of how ice 

sheets are contributing now to sea level rise and how they will contribute to sea level 

rise in the future is a major source of uncertainty in the IPCC projections of climate 

change. In addition to the obvious global effects of sea level rise on coastal communities, 

improving IPCC models is of major importance to environmental policy worldwide.” 

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