NATIONAL
ESTUARY
PROGRAM
CLIMATE CHANGE
Climate change has edged its way to the top of Federal, state, and local agendas. Scientists and leaders across the nation are taking numerous steps to
prepare for the consequences of a new weather era so that ecosystems, human life, and infrastructure can adapt and survive. Threats to life and property
associated with global warming, such as sea level rise, land loss, aquatic and atmospheric temperature rise, changes in rainfall patterns, increased storm
intensity and flooding, waterbody acidification, and general weather instability, are of particular concern in U.S. coastal zones.
To address climate change in coastal regions, the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently launched a Climate Ready Estuaries (CRE) program with six National Estuary
Programs (NEPs) that served as pilot programs, whose case studies and lessons learned can be transferred to other NEPs across the country. The program works to ensure the
long-term survival of coastal wetlands and mitigate the threats by implementing newly developed adaptation plans. Charlotte Harbor, located in southwest Florida, is one of the
most vulnerable estuaries in the country and is at particular risk for experiencing increased sea levels associated with climate change.
THE NATIONAL ESTUARY PROGRAM IN ACTION Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program
As one of six CRE pilot partici-
pants, the Charlotte Harbor Na-
tional Estuary Program (CHNEP)
is working to create a viable
plan for addressing climate
change. In conjunction with its
host agency, the Southwest
Florida Regional Planning Coun-
cil (SWFRPC), the CHNEP is al-
ready close to reaching one of its
most immediate goals, which is
to complete a comprehensive
climate change Vulnerability As-
sessment for the Greater Char-
lotte Harbor region.
Fundamental to this effort was
the early work of SWFRPC, which
has been focusing on hurricane
preparedness for decades. The
SWFRPC adopted "Climate Pros-
perity" as part of its Comprehen-
sive Economic Development
Strategy to promote energy effi-
ciencies for green savings, to
encourage and support green
business opportunities, and to
develop green talent in the work-
force. The Council has formed
an Energy & Climate Committee
to develop plans for implement-
ing the strategy throughout the
region. Since 2003, the SWFRPC
staff has also been collaborating
with local scientists and EPA's
Office of Atmospheric Programs,
Climate Change Division, on the
"Land Use Impacts and Solu-
tions to Sea Level Rise in South-
west Florida" project. Therefore,
the CHNEP was able to tap this
collective experience in order to
study the impacts of a more per-
manent sea level rise. Other im-
portant tools that were immedi-
ately available included existing
regulatory strategies such as
comprehensive plans, zoning
regulations, and building codes.
Since 1990, the SWFRPC has
worked on landscape-scale con-
servation planning to provide
opportunities for coastal habitat
retreat from rising sea levels. As
a result, CHNEP was able to cre-
ate a significant suite of maps
illustrating the anticipated ef-
fects of climate change along
with three potential "severity"
scenarios: least case, moderate
case, and worst case. The Vul-
nerability Assessment examines
EFFECTIVE
EFFICIENT
ADAPTIVE
COLLABORATIVE
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the following potential effects of
climate change:
• Air Temperature and Chemistry
• Altered Hydrology
• Climate Instability
• Geomorphic Changes
• Habitat and Species Changes
• Sea Level Rise
• Water Temperature and
Chemistry
• Human Economy
• Human Health
• Infrastructure
• Land Use Changes
• Variable Risk
The next step in the effort is to
apply the Vulnerability Assess-
ment to the City of Punta Gorda,
a region within the study area, to
identify and develop adaptation
options and mitigation method-
ologies for inclusion in a com-
prehensive climate-ready Adap-
tation Plan. This work began in
late 2008. The CHNEP's future
Adaptation Plan aims to address
a wide variety of issues. The plan
will consider land development
regulations (CHNEP past and fu-
ture land acquisition and protec-
tion projects are also a crucial
factor), fiscal policies, manage-
ment challenges and solutions,
habitat translocations, emergen-
cy response, exotic plant and
animal invasion, anticipated fu-
tures, and other critical topics.
Meanwhile, CHNEP reviewed the
draft Southwest Florida Feasibil-
ity Study (SWFFS), which was
funded through the Water Re-
sources Development Act of
2000 and tied to Everglades res-
toration. Implementation of the
SWFFS would:
• Protect latitudinal and eleva-
tional gradients, along with refu-
gia, heterogeneity, gene flow,
and connectivity.
• Reduce non-climate stresses
such as exotic species invasion
and pollution.
• Restore natural freshwater
flow regimes.
• Represent a long-term invest-
ment that buffers the effect
of climate change; restoration
would persist in a world of sig-
nificant sea level rise.
The CHNEP CRE pilot project di-
rectly supports several goals in
CHNEP's Comprehensive Con-
servation and Management Plan
and complements the State of
Florida Office of the Governor
Executive Order requirement for
the development of a compre-
hensive Energy and Climate
Change Action Plan. Moreover,
both the Vulnerability Assess-
ment and Adaptation Plan will be
available for use by local and re-
gional agencies in developing
their Local Mitigation Strategies
updates and plans in compliance
with the Disaster Mitigation Act
of 2000.
Visit www.chnep.org to learn
more about this and other
CHNEP efforts.
EPA's National Estuary Program
(NEP) is a unique and successful
coastal watershed-based program
established in 1987 under the
Clean Water Act Amendments.
The NEP involves the public and
collaborates with partners to pro-
tect, restore, and maintain the wa-
ter quality and ecological integrity
of 28 estuaries of national signifi-
cance located in 18 coastal states
and Puerto Rico.
For more information about the
NEP go to www.epa.gov/owow/
estuaries.
The NEP: Implementing the Clean Water Act in ways that are Effective, Efficient, Adaptive, and Collaborative.
EPA-842F09001
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