Enabling coastal climate adaptation for food security and marine biodiversity conservation

Climate Adaptation Flagship
 

Team: Fiorenza Micheli, Kristen Davis, Giulio De Leo, Steve Palumbi, Brooke Weigel, Nur Arafeh-Dalmau, Carolina Jacobson, Joy Kumagai

Coastal communities face increasing climate-related extreme events, yet many lack the resources and tools to track changes and implement adaptive measures. This project will develop technology and a monitoring network to map floating kelp ecosystems and identify climate refugia. These ecosystems sequester carbon, protect coastlines from flooding and storm damage, mitigate pollution, and support biodiversity, food, livelihoods, local economies, and cultures, but are vulnerable to climate extremes and a suite of anthropogenic stressors. The project will empower Indigenous and coastal communities, along with policymakers in the U.S. and Latin America, by providing knowledge and regenerative strategies to manage and protect coastal ecosystems and ecosystem services in the face of climate variability and extremes. The project seeks to directly benefit at least 50 indigenous and local fishing communities from the U.S. and Latin America.