Climate changes pose big threat to Florida
Climate changes pose big threat to Florida
POSTED 10/03/2008 - Climate change threatens to kill up to a third of Earth's species by the century's end if urgent action isn't taken to restore fragile ecosystems, protect endangered animals and manage growth.
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Satellite Image of Florida
courtesy NASA
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That was the message from prominent experts as the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) kicked off its "Florida Wildlife: On the front line of climate change" summit this week in Orlando.
Florida is particularly vulnerable to the main effects wrought by climate change. Rising sea levels, loss of critical habitat, increase in storm intensity and increase in the frequency and intensity of fires will have major impacts on the state, according to Dr. Jean Brennan, with Defenders of Wildlife, in an address to the summit on Thursday.
Brennan is a co-recipient of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for her work on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. She presented the challenges facing wildlife managers in Florida’s
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Dr. Jean Brennan speaks at the FWC's climate change summit.
(FWC photo by Tim Donovan)
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unique environment.
"Much of the predictions are gloom and doom. The ray of hope, however, is that we have not lost our opportunity. We still have time if we act now," said Dr. Brennan. "Wildlife respond to climate change, and the management challenge is to help species adapt. It is critical that the FWC integrates science and management as the tool to move forward."
Brennan said as the climate changes, species will do one of three things. They will track and shift their range; some will adapt to the changes; and yet others, unfortunately, will become extinct.
However, she said things can be done to manage the situation to benefit fish, wildlife and people by protecting space, enhancing natural systems, establishing travel corridors for wildlife, reducing other stressors such as invasive plants, and striving for proactive management practices.
She praised the FWC for bringing together those who can make a difference.
"This conference is the start of taking the FWC from a good wildlife agency to a great one," Brennan said.
Dr. Thomas Eason, of the FWC, presented the findings from "Wildlife 2060: What’s at stake for
Florida?" This document looks at the future of Florida’s fish and wildlife resources in a practical and objective way.
Wildlife 2060 illustrates how continuing the past patterns of urban sprawl could result in fragmented natural places.
"Natural habitats could become islands in a sea of development," Eason said. "Corridors for some animals to move about the state will be cut off by roads, subdivisions and shopping malls."
The three-day summit, sponsored by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, assembled several world-renowned climate change researchers with dozens of wildlife experts to trade ideas on how to save species on a warming planet. It is the first summit of its kind in the nation.
