Module 1: Working with Climate Change Data
Learning Outcomes
Key Ideas to be covered in the Module
- To understand the implications of climate change for biodiversity, conservation and community well being in TFCA contexts
- To interpret and monitor climate change data in TFCA context to inform CCA planning, strategies and actions
- To conduct a risk and vulnerability assessment relevant to a particular TFCA context
Key Ideas to be covered in the Module
- Global climate change science; with emphasis on implications for biodiversity, conservation and community well being and TFCA management
- Interpreting and using climate change data for biodiversity, conservation and community well being in TFCA contexts
- Risk and Vulnerability Assessment
- Involving communities and park staff in data collection
Key readings1. Climate change meets habitat fragmentation: Linking landscape & biographical scale levels in research & conservation (2003)
2. Vulnerability and adaptation to climate change: Concepts, issues, assessment methods (2001) Additional readings1. Vulnerability of Southern African fauna and flora to climate change (2006)
2. Natural Solutions: Protected areas helping people cope with climate change (2010) 3. A status quo, vulnerability and adaptation assessment of the physical and socio-economic effects of climate change in the Western Cape (2005) 4. Climate Change information for effective adaptation: A practitioners manual (2009) 5. Developing regional and species-level assessments of climate change impacts on biodiversity in the Cape Floristic region (2002) Data tools1. GIZ: Integrating climate change adaptation into development co-operation. A practice-oriented training based on the OECD policy guidance training manual.
3. CoDrive Community driven vulnerability evaluation: A handbook for incorporating vulnerability to climate change into project design and implementation (2013)
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Some interesting online data tools to exploreEducational Global Climate Modeling
"EdGCM provides a research-grade Global Climate Model (GCM), with a user-friendly interface that can be run on a desktop computer. For the first time students can explore the subject of climate change in the same way that actual research scientists do" http://edgcm.columbia.edu CAIT 2.0 WRI's climate data explorer
"Through its powerful test easy-to-use online interface, CAIT 2.0 is designed to help users from government, business, academia, civil society, and the media efficiently compare, explore, understand and communicate climate data. http://cait2.wri.org/wri Google Earth Engine
"Google Earth Engine brings together the world's satellite imagery — trillions of scientific measurements dating back almost 40 years — and makes it available online with tools for scientists, independent researchers, and nations to mine this massive warehouse of data to detect changes, map trends and quantify differences on the Earth's surface. Applications include: detecting deforestation, classifying land cover, estimating forest biomass and carbon, and mapping the world’s roadless areas." https://earthengine.google.org/#intro CCWorldWeatherGen - University of Southampton
"The climate change world weather file generator (CCWorldWeatherGen) allows you to generate climate change weather files for world-wide locations ready for use in building performance simulation programs. It uses Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Third Assessment Report model summary data of the HadCM3 A2 experiment ensemble which is available from the IPCC Data Distribution Centre (IPCC DDC) (1,2)." http://www.energy.soton.ac.uk/ccworldweathergen/ Your Warming World
"The heat is on for the planet as a whole, but what has been happening where you live? Click on the map to find out, or enter a location in the search box at top right. The initial map shows average temperatures over the past 20 years; use the drop-down menu to see maps for earlier periods". http://warmingworld.newscientistapps.com Climate Change Knowledge Portal
"In an effort to serve as a 'one stop shop' for climate-related information, data, and tools, the World Bank created the Climate Change Knowledge Portal (CCKP), supported by the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery and others. The Portal provides an online tool for access to comprehensive global, regional, and country data related to climate change and development." http://sdwebx.worldbank.org/climateportal/ |
There are growing numbers of mapping and data tools out there. Google Earth Engine is one of those that is starting to gain popularity.
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More & more climate data tools become availableThere are increasing numbers of free climate data tools becoming available. The video on the left is one example. The Google Earth Engine is already being used in a variety of ways. The most recent is for mapping global tree loss and gain (find out more about the launch of this project or visit the project site and find your park on the tree loss map using the Global Forest Change project here).
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On-course Presentations |
Penny Urquhart is an independent climate adaptation analyse for the International Panel on Climate Change. In the first presentation, IPCC 2014 Findings: Implications for SADC Biodiversity Management and Communities, she shares some of the key findings from the latest IPCC report, with a special focus on what these findings mean for Trans-fontier Conservation Areas. In the second presentation, Community-Based Adaptation, with Reflections on Risk and Vulnerability Assessment, she brings special focus on making community links, and on the relationship between protected areas and communities within the climate change story. This presentation, Background to the Development & Implementation Process of the Climate Change Adaptation Trainings Targeting SADC TFCAs, provides an overview of the rationale for the SADC Climate Change Adaptation Training Programme for Trans-frontier Conservation Managers. |