Climate Adaptation

Recent Progress: Increase

Recent progress toward the Climate Adaptation outcome has increased, as the Climate Resiliency Workgroup (CRWG) continues to collaborate with other Goal Implementation Teams (GITs) and communities to support the development and funding of new restoration and protection projects and outreach efforts. These projects often provide multiple benefits across Watershed Agreement outcomes.

One example, “Partnership-Building and Identification of Collaborative Marsh Adaptation Projects,” supports the identification of potential projects and collaborative partnerships that fund and implement marsh restoration and resilience research projects. The CRWG was also able to provide advisory support to several GIT-funded projects led by other workgroups, such as the Targeted Outreach for Green Infrastructure project and the Marsh Migration Data Synthesis project. The workgroup has also supported climate resilience discussions at several tidal wetland workshops, including through the EPA Office of Research and Development, Maryland Sea Grant, and the Wetland Outcome Attainability Workshop.

Outlook: Off Course

The outlook of this outcome is off course because the metrics for tracking and measuring the success of projects to enhance resilience (e.g., carbon sequestration, flood reduction, shoreline protection, habitat preservation) have not yet been developed. Given the urgency demonstrated by climate change trends and projections, it is critical to establish metrics for measuring resilience successes to better inform management decisions and assess progress toward this outcome. Past efforts to track progress in improving resilience have been too broad in scope to develop a usable product, and further research and new methodologies are necessary to develop effective metrics for the short and long term.

Learn About Factors Influencing Progress

To achieve this outcome, Chesapeake Bay Program partners have committed to:

• Compiling and assessing current efforts and lessons learned from past and ongoing climate adaptation planning and programmatic efforts within the watershed;
• Preparing a state-of-the-science synthesis of climate impacts, vulnerabilities and adaptation information;
• Reviewing and revising conservation, restoration and protection goals and objectives to accommodate anticipated climate-related impacts;
• Engaging stakeholders in establishing climate adaptation priorities;
• Increasing the institutional capacity of the Chesapeake Bay Program to prepare for and respond to climate change; and
• Tracking the effectiveness of and ecological response to climate adaptation actions.

Monitoring and assessing progress toward the outcome will occur through a suite of indicators that will be selected by our partners and stakeholders.

As part of the Chesapeake Bay Program’s partnership-wide implementation of adaptive management, progress toward this outcome was reviewed and discussed by the Management Board in November of 2022.

Download Management Strategy (.pdf)

Chesapeake Bay Program partners have committed to taking a series of specific actions that will support the management approaches listed above.

Ongoing

• Facilitating climate adaptation planning and guiding project implementation.
• Exploring mechanisms that would encourage the integration of climate change considerations into the design and implementation of on-the-ground environmental protection and restoration efforts.
• Identifying funding availability, needs and mechanisms.
• Identifying and assessing institutional barriers.
• Planning and implementing targeted environmental restoration and protection efforts in order to build community and ecosystem resilience within the watershed.
• Pursuing the implementation of “pilot projects” that would test new and emerging design principles and implementation methodologies.
• Sharing current efforts (including policy, tools, products and scientific understanding) with interested parties.
• Testing and developing new, audience-specific communication tools to ensure climate information is accessible and understandable across multiple audiences and communities.
• Undertaking targeted efforts to engage diverse stakeholders.

Learn About Logic & Action Plan

The Climate Resiliency Workgroup leads the effort to achieve this outcome. It works in partnership with the Sustainable Fisheries, Habitat, Water Quality and Healthy Watersheds goal implementation teams.

Participating partners include:

• State of Delaware
• University of Maryland (State of Maryland)
• Bucknell University (Commonwealth of Pennsylvania)
• Penn State University (Commonwealth of Pennsylvania)
• Christopher Newport University (Commonwealth of Virginia)
• Hampton Roads Planning District Commission (Commonwealth of Virginia)
• Institute of Marine Science (Commonwealth of Virginia)
• Old Dominion University (Commonwealth of Virginia)
• Polytechnic Institute and State University (Commonwealth of Virginia)
• The District of Columbia
• The Chesapeake Bay Commission
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
• National Park Service
• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
• U.S. Geological Survey
• Chesapeake Bay Journal
• Chesapeake Research Consortium
• The Conservation Fund
• Maryland Sea Grant
• Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments
• National Wildlife Federation
• Sierra Club
• Wetlands Watch