Next week: the Upper Rio Grande Report Card!
On November 17, IAN and its partners will release the first iteration of an ecosystem health report card for the Upper Rio Grande. The report card publication will be the culmination of over two years of hard work, with dedicated teams from WWF, Audubon New Mexico, University of Massachusetts Amherst, and IAN collaborating with stakeholders to gather relevant socio-environmental data relevant to this historic watershed. The report card itself provides a present-day snapshot of Rio Grande from its headwaters in Colorado to just south of El Paso, Texas. It is our hope that this report card is the first of a series of publications that will eventually cover the entire length of the Rio Grande.
Sustainability in the South Pacific
In mid-October, Heath Kelsey and Annie Carew traveled halfway across the globe to facilitate workshops in Nouméa, New Caledonia. This workshop brought together scientists and local managers from across New Caledonia and Fiji to discuss regional priorities. There was a focus on potential management actions in the face of climate change; marine temperature changes impact fisheries and food security, while intensifying storms and sea level rise contribute to coastal erosion that threatens communities. We look forward to continuing these discussions as part of our ongoing PACPATH project through the Belmont Forum.
Planning resilience on public lands
Last week, the RAMS team traveled to West Virginia to attend a National Park Service workshop on resilient forest planning. Katie May Laumann presented on the potential management applications of RAMS: assessing natural resources in parks focuses management actions on those areas that are most vulnerable to change. There were also talks on parks' efforts to manage invasive pests like emerald ash borer.
Science communication course
On October 31, IAN collaborated with Future Earth Coasts to teach the last lecture in their Monsoon School series of classes. The course was organized so that students from across the world attended a 6-day series of lectures and worked together to apply the concepts and tools they learned to tangible research projects. Our science communication lecture, taught by Joe Edgerton, Ann Foo, and Heath Kelsey, covered the importance of good science communication, narrative structure, data visualization, design, and long-term evaluation of transdisciplinary projects. The three-hour course focused on providing tools, techniques, and resources for effective science communication. We were glad to have such an inquisitive and engaged group of students to work with, and hope to see the results of their work soon.
National Adaptation Forum in Baltimore
The National Adaptation Forum was in Baltimore this year, so it was an ideal opportunity for Katie May Laumann and Annie Carew to present on the Maryland Coastal Adaptation Report Card. There were many excellent presentations and stimulating discussions on the future of coastal adaptaion and management in the face of climate change. Many attendees and speakers recognize the importance of equity in climate adaptation: those communities that are first and worst affected are predominantly those that are least prepared to handle the oncoming changes because of historic and systemic inequities.
Farewell, Lorena!
Last month, IAN said a very fond farewell to project manager Lorena Villanueva-Almanza. She worked with us on the 2021 Chesapeake Bay Report Card as well as the upcoming Michigan report cards and the ongoing LENS project. Lorena's positive attitude and task-oriented organization will be much-missed in our offices. Best of luck, Lorena!