5. Accounting for Climate Change | EcoPrinciples Connect

Principle: 5. Accounting for Climate Change

Climate change in the ocean includes a suite of system changes, including increased sea surface temperature, altered ocean circulation, and rising sea level. These changes are likely to have dramatic impacts on the fundamental attributes of ecosystems such as shifts in species abundance and distribution, loss of habitats due to erosion and inundation, and loss of important commercial species due to failed larval development under increasingly acidic ocean conditions.

Related Actions

5.1 Identify potential risks to the project from climate change

The effects of climate change are likely to affect existing and future activities.
5.2 Identify actual impacts on managed species, habitats, and project locations from climate change

Identify actual impacts on managed species, habitats, and project locations from climate change (e.g., inundation, dissolution of calcareous skeletons, shifts in species range)
The type of impacts to species, habitats, and project locations from climate change can take many forms. Identifying the type of probable impact is important for determining how species, habitats, and project locations will be changed and if those changes are detrimental to the ecosystem.
5.3 Identify opportunities for adaptation and/or mitigation of identified risks and impacts

Identify opportunities for adaptation and/or mitigation of identified risks and impacts (e.g., increase size of buffer zones, restore degraded habitats, ensure physical sturdiness or project materials)
Some impacts from climate change to species, habitats, projects may be avoidable, adapted to, or mitigated. Understanding the impacts and likely effect on the ecosystem can be used to help determine feasible options.

Applying ecological principles

Ecological principles represent the core attributes of natural systems that must be maintained or restored in order to support healthy marine and coastal ecosystems, and include maintaining, restoring, or accounting for:

These principles are explained in a reference guide for agencies in California, called the Ecological Principles Guide . This guide also includes a series of case studies and checklists that demonstrate how the principles can be applied to day-to-day decision making.

State GeoPortal

The EcoPrinciples Connect tool links to data from the California Geoportal, which offers an easy and convenient way to search, discover and use authoritative geospatial data resources. This one-stop geospatial shop is helping to improve access to California’s geographic data portfolio and expand the use of those data resources in decision making processes.