Looking broadly and deeply into perspectives of local climate change impacts among visitors to Missouri state parks

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Lisa Groshong

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] Missouri's outdoor recreation resources provide numerous mental, physical, and social values to millions of people each year and serve as a major contributor to the statewide economy. However, climate change threatens these benefits. This project sought to explore climate change perceptions and place attachment of outdoor enthusiasts in Missouri as a step toward managing natural and cultural resources for ongoing climate resilience. This study used interviews and a statewide visitor survey to measure climate change impacts on visitors to Missouri's state parks and historic sites. The dissertation is formatted in three manuscripts. The first manuscript assessed how engaged state park users perceive climate change impacts and what they view as the agency role in climate change mitigation, education, and communication. The second manuscript identified health concerns related to climate change and examined how these concerns affect park use. The final manuscript examined the role of place attachment in determining visitors' willingness to engage in climate friendly behavior and support for management action to minimize climate-change impacts. Overall findings suggested climate-change related management challenges and provided evidence for visitor support for education and action. Opportunities were identified for state park managers to take action toward locally-oriented climate change mitigation, education and communication. Place attachment dimensions were affirmed as tools for engaging visitors in climate-related actions, both in and beyond park settings.

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 668
Author(s):  
José Ulises Jiménez ◽  
Reinhardt Pinzón ◽  
José Fábrega ◽  
Dafni Mora

This study deals with the estimation of the carbon associated to the Above Ground Biomass, in a permanent plot of measurement located in the Cerro Pelado Tropical Hydrology Observatory in Gamboa, Panama. The objective is to highlight the contribution made by one-hectare of this forest to the local Climate Change mitigation. We employed a relation to carbon storage and sequestration, based on the important species of the tree community with diameter at breast height equal to or greater than 10 cm. It was found an increase in the Above Ground Biomass at the plot, with values of: 193 Mg*ha-1, 218 Mg*ha-11 and 225 Mg*ha-1, for the 2008, 2012 and 2015 censuses, respectively. The net growth in Above Ground Biomass is eliminating approximately 7 to 8 Mg de CO2*ha-1year-1 from the atmosphere, which means that it is acting as a sink and sequestrator of CO2. In this habitat, it is recognizable the important contribution of the Pera arborea species in terms of sustaining carbon sequestration in the Above Ground Biomass.Keywords: Gamboa, Panama, Above Ground Biomass, Climate Change, CO2


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paloma Marcos Morezuelas

As users of forest products and guardians of traditional knowledge, women have always been involved in forestry. Nevertheless, their access to forest resources and benefits and participation in forest management is limited compared to mens despite the fact that trees are more important to women, who depend on them for their families food security, income generation and cooking fuel. This guide aims to facilitate the incorporation of a gender lens in climate change mitigation and adaptation operations in forests, with special attention to those framed in REDD. This guide addresses four themes value chains, environmental payment schemes, firewood and biodiversity that relate directly to 1) how climate change impacts affect women in the forest and 2) how mitigation and adaptation measures affect womens access to resources and benefits distribution.


2017 ◽  
Vol 98 (2) ◽  
pp. 225-230
Author(s):  
Jeffrey A. Hicke ◽  
John T. Abatzoglou ◽  
Steven Daley-Laursen ◽  
Jamie Esler ◽  
Lauren E. Parker

Abstract Climate change is often perceived as controversial in the public’s view. One meaningful way scientists can address this problem is to engage with the public to increase understanding of climate change. Attendees of scientific conferences address climate change within meetings yet rarely interact with the public as part of conference attendance. Here, we describe outreach (sending experts into the community) and inreach (bringing the public to a conference) activities at the 2015 Northwest Climate Conference in Idaho that were designed to increase the local community’s understanding of climate change and foster interaction between scientists and the public. Conference attendees volunteered to visit community schools and civic groups to give presentations and engage in a discussion on climate change. We designed a well-attended evening plenary session for the public that featured an experienced speaker who described local climate change impacts important to the community. Local high school students attended the conference, and several were mentored by conference attendees. We reached an estimated 1,000 students and 500 other members of the public in person and many others via advertising and newspaper articles. Keys to our success were local contacts with excellent connections to schools, civic organizations, local government officials, interest groups, and a pool of motivated, enthusiastic conference attendees who were already traveling to the area. We encourage other conference organizers to consider these activities in their future meetings to increase public knowledge of climate change, particularly given the urgency of action needed to limit future climate change and its impacts.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (14) ◽  
pp. 3801 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chae Yeon Park ◽  
Dong Kun Lee ◽  
Jung Hee Hyun

The impacts of extreme heat in Seoul, Korea, are expected to increase in frequency and magnitude in response to global warming, necessitating certain adaptation strategies. However, there is a lack of knowledge of adaptation strategies that would be able to reduce the impacts of extreme heat to cope with an uncertain future, especially on the local scale. In this study, we aimed to determine the effect of adaptation strategies to reduce the mortality risk under two climate change mitigation scenarios, using Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) 2.6 and 8.5. We selected four street-level adaptation strategies: Green walls, sidewalk greenways, reduced-albedo sidewalks and street trees. As an extreme heat assessment criterion, we used a pedestrian mean radiant temperature threshold, which was strongly related to heat mortality. The results, projected to the 2050s, showed that green walls, greenways and reduced-albedo sidewalks could adequately reduce the extreme heat impacts under RCP2.6; however, only street trees could reduce the extreme heat impacts under RCP8.5 in the 2050s. This implies that required adaptation strategies can vary depending on the targeted scenario. This study was conducted using one street in Seoul, but the methodology can be expanded to include other adaptation strategies, and applied to various locations to help stakeholders decide on effective adaptation options and make local climate change adaptation plans.


Author(s):  
David Crichton

This paper examines climate change mitigation and adaptation from an insurance industry perspective, with particular reference to London and the USA. It illustrates how British insurers are increasingly shaping public policy and using new technology to manage the risks from climate change impacts and makes a plea for society to make more use of insurance expertise in future decision making. In particular, more dialogue is needed between architects, planners and insurers to adapt our buildings and cities for climate change impacts. The paper is an abbreviated and updated version of the paper presented by the author in Houston, Texas, in 2005.


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