Abstract

The need for climate change adaptation has become increasingly widely recognised in the last 20 years. Nature conservation was one of the first sectors to identify the need and to start developing approaches. To date, much of the focus has been on identifying general principles. This was an essential first step, but adaptation needs to be embedded into decision-making in specific places and circumstances. There can be a big gap between general principles and specific applications. Effective adaptation requires local knowledge and experience, combined with relevant scientific information and an understanding of practical options. It will be assisted by sharing good practice and evidence of what techniques have worked in particular places and situations.

This Adaptation Manual is a resource to support practical and pragmatic decision-making, by bringing together recent science, experience and case studies, and is intended to be an accessible entry point to a range of available resources and tools. It is not intended to be read from cover to cover. Different elements stand alone and can be read individually. We anticipate that the information contained here will be useful to a variety of people, including managers of nature reserves and other protected sites, conservation and land management advisors, and environmental consultants. The intended audience is those who are involved in the management of land for conservation and amenity, and includes staff of local and national government, statutory agencies and NGOs.

Much of the work to date on adaptation in the natural environment has been centred on biodiversity, which is the focus for this first edition of the manual, particularly habitat management. However, this is a fast moving field and we anticipate the manual will be a resource that develops and grows over time. Subsequent revisions are intended to deal more thoroughly with species, and how managing the natural environment can help society to adapt to climate change. Other future topics include landscape character, geodiversity, and recreation. We encourage feedback and comment. The manual is designed to support practical adaptation, and the lessons learnt and experience gained will ideally be fed back as case studies to assist others.