Regional, National, and Local Perspectives on Adaptation

The adaptation panel on Oceans Day featured several presentations focusing on adaptation efforts at the regional, national, and local levels. Some highlights below:

The governor of the Mexican State of Campeche, which has 30% of Mexico's mangrove surface, spoke about two adaptation goals on which he is focusing: capacity building and identifying and implementing priority projects for adaptation. As 70% of the Campeche population resides in the coastal zone, adaptation to climate change impacts is an important focus of the state's government and citizens.

In Vietnam's Mekong Delta, modeling shows that a one meter rise in sea level will result in almost total inundation of the delta region. The Vietnamese government is very focused on adaptation and developing a national adaptation strategy.

The state of California has been working with its neighboring states of Washington and Oregon to address ocean and coastal issues through the West Coast Governors' Agreement (see http://westcoastoceans.gov/). 70% of California's population lives within close proximity to the coastal zone and the state's Natural Resource Agency is working on addressing sea level rise.

In summary, it is clear that concrete change is happening now and there is an absolute urgency to act. There is the potential for climate-smart management, as existing methodologies provide frameworks for governments and communities to reference when developing adaptation plans.