Climate Change Effects on Natural Resource Management

A few unusually big tropical storms and hurricanes don't "prove" global warming is happening. But the hurricane season of 2005, which included monsters Katrina and Rita, has at least pointed anecdotally toward the predictions of extreme weather that have accompanied most climate change scenarios. Scientists around the globe have been making these predictions and warnings about climate change for decades. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, created in 1988 by the United Nations, has issued strong statements about the changing climate and has written a comprehensive study of it and its potential effects. Many in the science community recognize climate change as a serious matter where the consequences are likely to continue for many centuries. In the land management community, some managers are starting to adapt management strategies for changing climatic conditions. The issue of global climate change is highly complex and the spatial and temporal natures of its impacts are highly uncertain. First, there is the scientific complexity of a global issue and its relation to specific localities relevant to land managers. Second, there is uncertainty about the speed and extent of its occurrence that complicates human responses. Third, there is great market and policy complexity since it is an issue that crosses national and ownership boundaries.