Strengthen Capacity to Adapt to Climate Change

The effects of climate change are already palpable and society will be coping with its consequences for centuries to come. A commensurate response to climate change requires urgent action at the local, national, and international levels. However, the variability and uncertainty inherent in the predictions about the specific effects of climate change make it difficult to plan. New legal, policy, and institutional approaches are necessary for adaptive responses to the uncertainties associated with climate change, variability, and extreme weather events. In particular, these approaches must include more appropriate land use and zoning, regulation of resources, and protection of ecosystems. To be effective, the laws and approaches will need to provide opportunities for active engagement of affected people and businesses.

ELI is working with partners around the world to develop legal, institutional, and practical approaches for adaptively managing natural resources. Ongoing ELI research on invasive species examines how prevention, control, and eradication techniques may be adapted in light of climate change. ELI's International Water Program is considering how climate change could affect the management of water resources in light of climate change and how governance systems can respond to these effects.