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FWC tackles the issues of climate change FWC tackles the issues of climate change"The power of people can make a huge difference in our success in dealing with climate change," said Nobel laureate Dr. Jean Brennan at the closing session of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s (FWC) climate change summit. "I am very impressed with what was accomplished at this conference, and I am proud to have been a part of it," Brennan told the audience. "I hope you are all proud of what you have
The FWC spent three days huddled with wildlife, environment and government experts from around the state and country to discuss the future for fish and wildlife in a changing climate. "Florida’s Wildlife: On the front line of climate change" summit in Orlando, Oct. 1-3, addressed the ecological, economic, social, cultural and legal impacts of climate change on species within the different habitats in Florida. "You exceeded my expectations of what we could get done here," said Tim Breault, director of the FWC’s Division of Habitat and Species Conservation and workshop leader at the summit at the closing session. "The information gathered here is not the FWC’s – it is the public’s, so take it, and spread the word that Florida is doing something. Take your enthusiasm from today and move forward." This summit is the first of its kind in the country, and keynote speakers included Nobel laureates Brennan, from Defenders of Wildlife, and Dr. Virginia Burkett, from the U.S. Geological Survey. Both addressed the vulnerable status of Florida as a coastal state that will be impacted by increased intensity of storms and fires and a changing environment. Stacey Small, with the Environmental Defense Fund in Washington, D.C., spoke at the final session and told participants she was going back to D.C. to spread the word about the FWC’s summit. "I want to see these summits across the country," Small said. "This summit stands as a model for other states to follow." The summit’s workshops stimulated discussion and offered possible directives for all stakeholders in a state growing rapidly in an environment changing just as quickly. Brennan pointed out on Thursday that wildlife is not able to adapt as quickly as the climate change is occurring. FWC experts addressed that complex issue within the workshops and common themes emerged. "We want to manage for resilience," said Gil McRae, director of the FWC’s Fish and Wildlife Research Institute and leader of the marine ecosystems workshop. "We need to include both the human and the resource side when we consider management." The FWC stands at the forefront nationally in considering the future for fish and wildlife. Several weeks before the summit, the agency released the report "Wildlife 2060: What’s at stake for Florida?" Dr. Thomas Eason, with the FWC, presented highlights from the report at the summit, which considers all the changes that will occur based on the projection that Florida’s population will double in the next 50 years. "The FWC will start moving immediately on the information gathered here," Breault said. "There is good news: We’re prepared and ready to initiate, monitor and manage for the future conservation of fish and wildlife."
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