Office of International and Tribal Affairs: Climate Adaptation Implementation plan


OFFICE OF
INTERNATIONAL AND

U.S. Environmental

TRIBAL AFFAIRS:

CLIMATE ADAPTATION
IMPLEMENTATION PLAN

October 2022

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Disclaimer

To the extent this document mentions or discusses statutory or regulatory authority, it does so
for informational purposes only. This document does not substitute for those statutes or
regulations, and readers should consult the statutes or regulations to learn what they require.
Neither this document, nor any part of it, is itself a rule or a regulation. Thus, it cannot
change or impose legally binding requirements on EPA, States, the public, or the regulated
community. Further, any expressed intention, suggestion or recommendation does not
impose any legally binding requirements on EPA, States, tribes, the public, or the regulated
community. Agency decision makers remain free to exercise their discretion in choosing to
implement the actions described in this Plan. Such implementation is contingent upon
availability of resources and is subject to change.

EPA

Document Number

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160B22002

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UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20460

SEP 12 2022

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$ 2 DEPUTY ADMINISTRATOR

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Preface

Climate change is threatening communities across the nation. Millions of Americans feel the
destructive effects of climate change each year when the power goes down, rivers and lakes
go dry, homes are destroyed by wildfires and communities are flooded by hurricanes.
Underserved communities are especially vulnerable to the climate crisis and are more likely
to experience the negative health and environmental effects of extreme weather events.

The Biden-Harris Administration is actively confronting the climate crisis while also
advancing environmental justice. As part of a whole-of-government approach, the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency is strongly committed to taking the actions necessary to
protect human health and the environment and to increase the resilience of the entire nation,
even as the climate changes.

The EPA's commitment to action is reflected in its FY 2022-2024 Strategic Plan and in the
2021 Climate Adaptation Action Plan. Both documents present priority actions the agency
will take to ensure that its programs, policies and operations remain effective under future
climate conditions while we work to support states, territories, tribes and communities in
increasing their own adaptive capacity and resilience to climate change impacts.

From flooding at Superfund sites, to wildfires causing air pollution, to sea-level rise affecting
water quality and infrastructure, the EPA will boldly address climate impacts in both its
programs and the communities it serves. We recognize the importance of tribal, state and
local government partnerships in efficient, effective and equitable implementation of climate
change adaptation strategies. Our plans were informed and improved by input we received in
listening sessions we held to engage these and other partners as we developed these plans.

To ensure we are addressing the climate crisis in a comprehensive way, each of our national
program and regional offices has developed individual Climate Adaptation Implementation
Plans that outline how the EPA will attain the agencywide goals described in the broader
Climate Adaptation Action Plan. These plans describe how programs and regions will
integrate climate adaptation into their programs, partnerships and operations. They also
describe how they will help partners build their resilience and capacity to adapt, while

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delivering co-benefits, including curbing greenhouse-gas emissions and other pollution, and
promoting public health, economic growth and climate justice. Of course, the EPA has a
major role to play on emissions reductions as well, though that is not the focus of these plans.
Indeed, we must focus on both climate adaptation and mitigation to ensure our nation and
communities thrive in an era of climate change.

As part of this effort, we will empower our staff and partners by increasing awareness of how
climate change may affect our collective ability to implement effective and resilient
programs. We will also provide them with the necessary training, tools, data, information and
technical support to make informed decisions and integrate climate adaptation into our work.

The EPA will work to modernize its financial assistance programs to encourage climate-
resilient investments across the nation. We will also focus on ensuring that investments
funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Inflation Reduction Act and other
government programs are resilient to the impacts of climate change. Finally, as our
knowledge advances and as impacts continue to develop, our response will likewise evolve.
We will work to share these developments to enhance the collective resilience of our nation.

The actions outlined in these implementation plans reflect the EPA's commitment to build
every community's capacity to anticipate, prepare for, adapt to and recover from the
increasingly destructive impacts of climate change. Together with our partners, we will work
to create a healthy and prosperous nation that is resilient to the ever-increasing impacts of
climate change — which is vital to the EPA's goal of protecting human health and the
environment and to ensuring the long-term success of our nation.

Janet G. McCabe

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OITA's International and Tribal Climate Adaptation

Implementation Plans

Introduction

Climate change poses a real and present danger to communities across the U.S. including tribal
and Alaskan Native Villages, and to our international partner communities as well. Nearly 40%
of federally recognized Tribes live in Alaska Native communities where rapidly rising
temperatures, melting sea ice and glaciers, and thawing permafrost is having a significant
negative impact on critical infrastructure, in addition to other disproportionate impacts to tribal
lands and natural resources closely tied to traditions and cultural identities. Internationally,
climate impacts are already being felt, and already disproportionately impacting communities in
the Global South where historic and growing inequities are especially challenging.

President Biden's Executive Order 14008, Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad,
requires federal agencies to develop Climate Action Plans that describe their agency's climate
vulnerabilities, as well as the vulnerabilities of their tribal and international partners, and the
steps it will take to bolster adaptation and increase resilience to the impacts of climate change.
The 2021 EPA-wide Plan calls for accelerating and enhancing climate action and focuses agency
attention on priority actions it will take to fulfill our mission and increase human and ecosystem
resilience even as the climate changes.

The Office of International and Tribal Affairs (OITA) has two distinct areas of focus: the
American Indian Environmental Office (AIEO), and the Office of International Affairs (OIA).
OITA has developed Climate Adaptation Implementation Plans for the two distinct missions.
The specific plans for AIEO (pages 6-18) and for OIA (pages 19-31), are significant
enhancements to the OITA's 2014 plans. AIEO and OIA will also consult with its tribal and
international partners, as appropriate, as these plans evolve and are refined.

Senior Career Leader Responsible for Oversight

The senior career leader responsible for oversight of the OITA climate adaptation activities is the
OITA Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator, Rafael DeLeon. In AIEO, several people have
contributed to the development of the climate adaptation plan. Felicia Wright is the Deputy
Director of AIEO and provided plan oversight and guidance, especially on priority actions. Lisa
Berrios is the Senior Advisor for Tribal Capacity Development and she provided extensive input
on plan development and direction. Sarah Finnegan is the performance measures lead for the
Tribal Capacity Development team and she contributed to the development of the plan and
performance measures. In OIA, Deputy Office Directors provided guidance and oversight, and
Anthony Socci, Ph.D., Senior Lead on International Resilience & Adaptation Policy, leads
planning, outreach and drafting.

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OITA Operating Procedures

OITA will periodically review and evaluate operating procedures to continually ensure that
programmatic operational elements account for potential risks posed by climate change. This
will help ensure the continued effectiveness and viability of OITA programs and initiatives.
OITA will periodically review and assess the changing climate adaptation needs of our
international and tribal partners and assess the adequacy and direction of our programs and
initiatives and make adjustments insofar as resources permit.

OITA will work with its Office of Mission Support (OMS) and the rest of EPA HQ to ensure the
resilience of its facilities and operations to climate changes as needed or desired. Additionally,
OITA will consider exploring with the State Department's Bureau of Oceans and International
Environmental and Scientific Affairs (OES) and the ESTH community (environment, science,
technology, and health officers located within US Embassies internationally) the feasibility of
the network of US Embassies around the world, adding to their travel advisories and guidance
for official government business travelers, relevant local weather and climate information that
may impact the timing of travel, traveler safety or the ability of official government business
travelers to move about easily within a specific area subsequent to arrival.

OITA will incorporate climate considerations into the office's publications and communications
as applicable. While OITA does not routinely produce publications, OITA does have a web
presence and has a process in place for social media and other communications activities. Within
that process, OITA will add a step to ensure climate change risks have been considered and
communicated when deemed appropriate and/or relevant. OITA will also continue to share its
climate adaptation implementation plan with all its partners and continually invite partner
feedback as well.

OITA will explore opportunities to integrate climate change considerations into its financial
assistance programs in order to expand support for projects that increase climate resilience while
delivering co-benefits for public health, the mitigation of greenhouse gases, and the reduction of
other pollution.

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American Indian Environmental Office
Climate Adaptation Implementation Plan

Climate Vulnerability Assessment

Overview

Each Tribe experiences their own unique climate change impacts and vulnerabilities, and
collectively, tribal nations experience nearly every climate change impact that's present in North
America. Critically, because Tribes are so closely connected to the area and land on which they
live, the changes to the physical environment due to climate change have disproportionate
impacts on indigenous peoples.

AIEO reviewed the vulnerability assessments that each EPA Region conducted, some of which
specifically identified tribal vulnerabilities in their region. This review enhances AIEO's own
vulnerability assessment. For example, a consistent tribal vulnerability mentioned throughout
regional Climate Adaptation Implementation Plans relates to water. Both extreme drought and
extreme precipitation have disproportionate impacts on Tribes because, as Region 9's
vulnerability assessment states, "water is at the heart of many tribal cultures and the foundation
of livelihoods, economies, subsistence, and treaty rights."

AIEO has also assessed vulnerabilities related to climate adaptation capacity building, which is
directly applicable to the Indian Environmental General Assistance Program (GAP) that AIEO
manages. During a December 2021 listening session with Tribes, AIEO learned that the most
prevalent barriers to tribal climate adaptation work are related to funding, inaccessible data &
information, and tribal climate adaptation expertise.

Physical Impacts of Climate Change

For a broad overview of climate change indicators impacting Tribes in the North America, see
Figure 1. These and other projected climate change impacts will affect Tribal Nations. As with
all climate change impacts, all projections are dependent on location and may result in
compounding effects depending on local climate. Table 1 outlines major climate vulnerabilities
across North America from the Fourth National Climate Assessment, Volume II: Impacts, Risks,
and Adaption in the United States. For a comprehensive look at climate change in the United
States, refer to the full National Climate Assessment report.2

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Change in
Annual Average Temperature

1990s 2000s 2010s

U.S. Heavy Precipitation

1910 1 930 1 950 1970 1990 2010

Change in
Western U.S. Snowpack
Percent change
#>80

• 60 to 80

• 40 to 60

• 20 to 40

• 0to20

• 0to-20

• -20 to-40

• -40 to -60

• -60 to-80

• <-80

t *

U.S. Drought Conditions

Arctic Sea Ice Extent

i -8

Annual average

—9-year weighted average

D_Z

X « 3.0
uj 4?

8 E 25

—
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Climate Change Vulnerabilities by Topic

Air

Water

Increased tropospheric ozone pollution
Increased particulate matter from wildfires
Decreased indoor air quality
Increases in airborne allergens

Human Health

Water Quantity and Quality

Increases in agricultural drought

Reduction of snowpack

Changes in timing of water supply

Changes in temperature and dissolved oxygen levels

losses in biodiversity and shifts in ecosystems and aquatic
life

~^increased instances of harmful algal blooms
Water Infrastructure and Built Environment

Increases in heat waves and other extreme weather events
Increased exposure to allergens

Increased exposure to vector-, food-, and water borne diseases
Mental health consequences.

Ecosystems

Increases in extreme precipitation events

flooding, failure of wastewater and water treatment plants
failure of levees and other retaining features

Permafrost thawing

loss of land and flooding

Legacy contaminated sites and industrial sites at risk for flooding

Coastal Impacts

Increases in nuisance species
Disruption of ecosystems
Permafrost melting
Destruction from increased wildfires

Sea level rise

flooding, loss of wetlands, loss of infrastructure
Erosion of coastline
Ocean acidification

^ affects ability of some aquatic life from producing shells

Table 1: Select climate change vulnerabilities pertinent to Tribal Nations in North America. Sources: Air", Human Health7, Ecosystems8, Water9, Permafrost thawing10, contaminated and industrial
sites flood risk11, coastal imapcts12

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Tribal Nations and Climate Change
Vulnerability Assessments

Tribal Nations and members within each Tribal Nation have a unique relationship with climate
and a unique set of climate change impacts that they are experiencing. The best resource for
understanding climate change vulnerabilities for a Tribe will come from a Tribe itself. Resources
to find current, publicly available tribal climate vulnerability assessments include the University
of Oregon Climate Change Guide. National Congress of American Indians Climate Action:

Tribal Approaches. Northern Arizona University, and the Climate Adaptation Knowledge
Exchange. In the December 2021 Listening Session, AIEO learned from Tribes that many are
currently in the process of writing their adaptation plans. Tribes requested technical assistance
for the following items: accessing climate data, engaging with leadership and the community,
finding resources, understanding vulnerabilities, writing a climate adaptation plan, and methods
for implementation of a climate adaptation plan. Table 2 outlines barriers to this work outlined
by Tribes in this listening session.

Tribally Identified Barriers to Climate Adaptation Work

Access to relevant climate adaptation data
Funding

Accessibility of online information
Internet access

Capacity to analyze climate data

Capacity to make site specific decisions (mapping, engineering, etc)

Lack of staff with climate adaptation science expertise

Table 2: Barriers to climate adaptation work identified by Tribes in the December 2021 Listening Session

Examples of Tribal Vulnerabilities to Climate Change

The following sections detail some vulnerabilities specific to Tribal Nations, however this list is
not exhaustive and does not necessarily apply to all Tribal Nations. Along with the
vulnerabilities assessments listed in the previous section, the following references will give a
more comprehensive look at climate change and Tribal Nations:

• Institute of Tribal Environmental Professionals "The Status of Tribes and Climate
Change Report"13

• Fourth National Climate Assessment, Volume II "Chapter 15: Tribes and Indigenous
Peoples"14

• Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, "A Tribal Climate Adaptation
Menu"15

• Environmental Protection Agency's "Climate Change and Social Vulnerability in the
United States"16

• Tribal Case Studies within the U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit1718
Institutional Vulnerabilities

Federally Recognized Tribes may have a special relationship with the environment.13 Tribes'
adaptation to climate change vulnerabilities may depend upon or be affected by treaty rights, acts
of Congress, executive orders, administrative agreements, and court decisions.13 In order to

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respond effectively to Tribal climate vulnerabilities, EPA staff are encouraged to bolster their
understanding of Tribal boundaries, treaty rights and economic, cultural, and spiritual practices,
as well as incorporation of Tribal Ecological Knowledge into Agency decision making and
planning. As noted in Table 2, Tribes have identified the lack of both funding and technical
assistance needed to adapt to climate change. To address this, AIEO has developed a priority
action to improve tribal climate change adaptation capacity development, which includes sub-
actions such as examining how GAP can be leveraged for Tribal climate adaptation work.

Tribal Ecological Knowledge

Many indigenous peoples have a spiritual connection with the environment that informs their
view of climate and climatology.14 In particular, a Tribe's Traditional Ecological Knowledge, or
TEK, has been developed over hundreds or perhaps thousands of years and is intimately tied to
the environmental systems in which the Tribe lives.19 Changes to the environment, or a Tribe's
relocation to a different area due to climate change, may severely limit the applicability of a
Tribe's TEK and the responsible stewardship benefits embodied in a Tribe's TEK are
consequently lost to the environment. Because of this, climate change can have severe
repercussions on Tribal members' knowledge base, community connection, spiritual health, and
subsistence practices.14 See Table 3 for some generalized examples of Tribal ecological
knowledge.

Examples of Tribal Ecological Knowledge

Specific language to describe local conditions and seasons
Location of sacred and or medicinal plants

Knowledge of seasonal timing: harvesting, water availability, wildlife movements etc.
Stories passed through generations to convey lessons

Connections with non-human relatives

Table 3: Generalized examples of Tribal ecological knowledge meant for illustrative purposes.

Inter-cultural exchange of Tribal ecological knowledge can be a sensitive topic, as this
knowledge can relate to spiritual practices and beliefs.13
Cultural Practices

Since many Tribal groups have this connection to their environment, many cultural and spiritual
practices could be disrupted by climate change. See Table 4 for examples.

Examples of Cultural and Spiritual Practices at Risk Due to Climate

Change

Invasive species threatening Fond du Lac Band's use of baapaagimaak (aka
black ash trees) for snowshoes and woven baskets13

Temperature affecting beings important to upper Midwest Ojibwe Tribes'
spiritual, subsitence and economic needs (such as wild rice)13

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Increasing temperatures and harmful algal blooms altering when mussels
are safe to eat for the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian people of southeast
Alaska13

Table 4: Examples of cultural and spiritual practices threatened by climate change.

Priority Adaptation Actions

The information below represents the specific actions AIEO plans to complete in FY2022 and
FY2023, with some actions extending into FY2024. These actions support one or more of the
priorities in EPA's Climate Adaptation Plan AIEO will update our plan with additional specific
actions for FY2024-FY2026 in the coming years. A crucial part of developing future actions will
be assessing the efficacy of previous actions, incorporating new information into the
development of new actions, and input received from Tribes through consultation and
engagement opportunities.

The four priority actions for AIEO are:

1. Develop AIEO portion of OITA Climate Adaptation Implementation Plan

2. Align EPA climate efforts with Tribal treat Rights Memorandum of Understanding

3. Incorporate Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge in Agency Decision-Making

4. Improve Tribal Climate Change Adaptation Capacity Development

1. Develop AIEO Portion of OITA Climate Adaptation Implementation Plan

The climate adaptation planning process is extremely important to ensure we spend our energy
on actions that are meaningful and impactful to EPA, Tribes and other stakeholders. To that end,
we are holding ourselves accountable to complete a number of steps that will help us achieve our
planning goals.

• Agency-wide priorities addressed: This activity addresses EPA adaptation priority action
areas 1, 2 & 4.

• Timeframe (in FY): FY2022

• Performance Metric: Completion of below sub-actions and climate plan

• Sub-actions, measures & vulnerabilities:

la) AIEO will complete two sub-actions in FY22 to contribute to the main action of
developing the OITA climate adaption plan. The first is to host a Tribal listening session with
other National Programs, specifically the Office of Water, the Office of Air and Radiation,
the Office of Land and Emergency Management and the Office of Chemical Safety and
Pollution Prevention, to engage with and receive input on climate priorities from tribal
governments. We will consider this action accomplished when the listening session is
completed.

lb) The next action is to coordinate with OITA's Lead Region to co-host and streamline
agency-wide consultation on draft National Program and Regional Climate Adaptation Plans.
This effort will not only strengthen OITA's Climate Adaptation Implementation Plan, but it
will inform the planning process for all EPA Climate Adaptation Implementation Plans. We
will consider this action accomplished when all tribal consultations are completed.

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• Co-benefits (if any): In addition to sharing EPA's climate adaptation priorities and
actions, tribal engagement provides opportunities to learn more about tribal climate
adaptation interests, mitigation needs and environmental justice concerns, and further
inform the ongoing adaptation planning process.

• Resource Requirements: No new resources are required.

2. Improve Tribal Climate Change Adaptation Capacity Development

AIEO is committed to improving Tribes' ability to build capacity to adapt to climate change.
Tribal nations, communities and individuals experience a wide variety of impacts from climate
change. As such, providing meaningful assistance towards building capacity to adapt to climate
change will allow Tribes to tailor their environmental programs to meet the climate change
adaption needs of their communities.

• Agency-wide priorities addressed: This activity addresses EPA adaptation priority action
areas 1 & 2.

• Timeframe (in FY): FY2022-FY2023

• Performance Metric: Completion of below sub-actions

• Sub-actions, measures & vulnerabilities:

2a) AIEO's primary means of assisting Tribes to build environmental capacity is through
General Assistance Program (GAP) grants. Office of Policy (OP) has already identified the
number of GAP-funded activities that climate adaptation in the agency-wide baselining
efforts. Building upon this baselining effort, AIEO will communicate and amplify how GAP
can be used for Tribal climate change adaptation needs. AIEO will consider this action
accomplished when the communication resources (e.g. fact sheets, training, etc.) are
developed and deployed to GAP Project Officers and Tribes. The primary purpose of these
communication resources is to highlight climate-related opportunities that are GAP-eligible.
Measuring GAP-funded climate adaptation activities will continue in future years as part of
OP's LTPG and AIEO aims to see a correlation between the amplification efforts and an
increased use of GAP funds to address Tribal climate adaptation needs. Future actions will
depend on the analysis of this measure.

2b) Another action AIEO will pursue is identifying opportunities for joint grant opportunities
(such as BIA Tribal Resilience and GAP) to leverage resources and align work. AIEO will
coordinate with WHCNAA to identify climate grant opportunities with other federal agencies
and/or other EPA funding sources, find alignment, determine feasibility of joint grant
solicitations and pursue viable solicitations. AIEO will measure this action by completing a
joint grant solicitation. For FY23, AIEO is targeting one solicitation. If this action is
successful, AIEO intends to pursue additional solicitations in future years.

2c) AIEO is developing a technical assistance webinar series for Tribes based on feedback
we have heard from Tribes on their climate adaptation support needs. We will partner with
the Environmental Protection Network (EPN), which is a network of former EPA staff, to
deliver the webinar content. During the webinars, EPN will offer the opportunity to provide
direct technical assistance to requesting Tribes at no cost to EPA or Tribal governments
through their technical assistance program.

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• Co-benefits (if any): Assisting Tribes in assessing vulnerabilities and developing climate
adaptation needs and priorities may provide a co-benefit to tribal environmental justice
concerns, including international indigenous communities.

• Resource Requirements: Additional Congressional appropriations to support EPA tribal
climate adaptation programs and efforts, including GAP, may be needed to support
collaboration and sufficiently fund Tribal climate adaptation needs while continuing to
address tribal environmental capacity building.

3. Align EPA climate efforts with the Tribal Treaty Rights (TTR) Memorandum of
Understanding (MOV)

EPA has a government-to-government relationship with Tribes and recognizes tribal
governments as sovereign entities with primary authority and responsibility for the reservation
populace.20 Under the Constitution, treaties with tribal nations are part of the supreme law of the
land, establishing unique sets of rights, benefits and conditions for the treaty-making Tribes who
were forced to cede millions of acres of their homelands to the United States, in return for
recognition of property rights in land and resources as well as federal protections. Tribal treaty
rights have the same legal force and effect as federal statutes and they should be integrated into
and given the fullest consideration throughout EPA's collective work. Reserved rights are the
rights Tribes retain that were not expressly granted to the United States by Tribes in
treaties. Treaty and reserved rights, including but not limited to the rights to hunt, fish and
gather, may be found both on and off-reservation lands. Agencies should consider treaty and
reserved rights in developing and implementing climate adaption plans in order to protect these
rights and ensure the Agencies meet their legal and statutory obligations and other mission
priorities as we work to combat the climate crisis.

In September 2021, EPA joined 16 other federal agencies1 in signing a Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU) that committed those parties to identifying and protecting tribal treaty
rights early in the decision-making and regulatory processes. Accordingly, EPA will consider
and protect treaty and reserved rights in developing and implementing climate adaptation plans
through strengthened consultation, additional staff training and annual reporting requirements.

• Agency-wide priorities addressed: This activity addresses EPA adaptation priority action
areas 1 & 2.

• Timeframe (in FY): FY2022-FY2024

• Performance Metric: Completion of below sub-actions

• Sub-actions, measures & vulnerabilities:

3a) In order to align EPA climate efforts with the TTR MOU, AIEO plans to complete five
sub-actions between FY22-FY24. The first is to provide guidance to Regions and Programs
on how to identify and incorporate treaty and reserved rights early in climate adaptation
implementation plans, consistent with TTR MOU. We will consider this action accomplished
when guidance is provided.

1 The MOU signatory agencies include DOI, USD A, DOJ, DOD, DOC, ED, DOE, DHS, HUD, DOL, DoS, DOT,
VA, EPA, OPM, CEQ, and ACHP.

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3b) Another action is for AIEO to establish an understanding of the universe of EPA
consultations that include climate actions and impact TTR. To date, this type of data
collection or categorization has not been conducted, so AIEO is first committed to
identifying a process for collecting or identifying information about consultation activities
that include both Tribal Treaty Rights and climate actions. We will consider this action
accomplished when the process has been identified and communicated. Future actions, such
as identifying improvement opportunities and actions taken, will be dependent on this initial
phase of data collection. One of the main sources of data AIEO will consider is existing data
input into The Tribal Consultation Opportunity Tracking System (TCOTs). We will also
utilize existing resources and processes to the extent possible, such as TPM meeting forums
and the annual OMB reporting process.

3c & d) Another action AIEO will complete is to collaborate with other federal agencies
through the White House Council on Native American Affairs (WHCNAA) Committee on
identifying best practices and areas of collaboration for protecting treaty and reserved
resources impacted by climate change. While collaboration is an ongoing activity, two
deliverables that AIEO will track are a) completion of an inventory of federal agency climate
adaptation plans with TTR included and b) best practices identified and delivered to relevant
stakeholders.

3e) Another action that AIEO will complete is to train EPA staff on the use of the new Treaty
Database in development by USD A to better identify treaty and reserved rights and
resources. AIEO will consider this action accomplished with the training has been developed
and delivered.

• Co-benefits (if any): This action will assist EPA to comply with the White House Council
on Environmental Quality (CEQ) guidance on the inclusion of TTR in climate adaptation
plans and commitments of the TTR MOU.

• Resource Requirements: New resources (training materials, training expert, software, etc)
may be needed dependent on the Treaty Database platform (Sub-action 3d).

4. Incorporate TEK (Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge) in Agency Decision
Making

Incorporating TEK into agency decision making is imperative to EPA's decision making
processes because it provides tribal environmental and cultural information that informs critical
climate baseline and historical data from unique and often unrepresented or absent indigenous
perspectives In November 2021, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
(OSTP) and the CEQ jointly released a new memorandum that commits to elevating TEK in
federal scientific and policy processes. The memorandum includes the creation an Interagency
Working Group charged with initiating a process to develop government-wide guidance for
Federal agencies on elevating TEK, with Tribal consultation, Native community engagement, as
well as agency, expert, and public input.

• Agency-wide priority addressed: This activity addresses EPA adaptation priority action
area 5.

• Timeframe (in FY): FY22-FY23

• Performance Metric: Completion of below sub-actions

• Sub-actions, measures & vulnerabilities:

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4a) In order to support the broader action of incorporating TEK in Agency Decision making,
AIEO will complete two sub-actions between FY22-FY23. In coordination with Region 10,
AIEO will lead the EPA's participation in the OSTP-CEQ-led TEK interagency working
group. As participation is an ongoing activity, AIEO will measure success based on the
completion of the TEK Guidance in FY22.

4b) After the TEK Guidance is produced, AIEO will develop and deploy TEK training to
EPA staff in order to implement CEQ TEK Guidance. AIEO will consider this action
accomplished when training is developed and delivered.

• Co-benefits (if any): Incorporating TEK in federal decision making, and particularly
climate adaptation planning, is a priority for tribal governments and communities. Taking
action will significantly advance our partnership with Tribes in combatting the climate
crisis locally. Additionally, with federal government guidance and training, a better
understanding by EPA of TEK may benefit tribal environmental justice concerns,
including international indigenous communities.

• Resource Requirements: No new resources are required for AIEO's contribution to the
TEK interagency working group. New resources may be needed to develop TEK training
to all EPA staff, depending on the guidance and its implementation directives, resources,
etc.

Aspirational Actions & Future Considerations

In addition to the above specific actions that AIEO is committing to in the near term, AIEO is
considering a number of ideas for actions in FY24 and beyond. The ability to complete these
actions will depend on resource availabilities, results of previous actions, etc. Including these
aspirational actions in this plan will help AIEO focus on these potential opportunities in the
future.

• AIEO recognizes that a critical aspect of assisting Tribes with climate adaptation work is
making sure that resources and information are relevant and easy to find. Tribes have told
EPA that the administrative burden of identifying where to locate certain pieces of
information negatively impacts their ability to meet climate adaptation goals. AIEO
would like to organize a centralized online location for a wide variety of climate
adaptation resources, including funding sources, relevant data, technical assistance,
training, etc. This is similar to EPA's Climate Change Adaptation Resource Center,
ARC-X but would function as a tribally-focused resource center. Longer term, AIEO
would like to expand this concept to include resources from other federal agencies,
potentially in cooperation with the WHCNAA Climate Adaptation Subcommittee.

• While AIEO's primary means of assisting Tribes is through GAP funding, AIEO is
interested in looking for opportunities to partner with other federal agencies outside of
GAP. For example, partnering with the Indian Health Service (IHS) to identify vulnerable
water, wastewater, or solid waste infrastructure and then developing an action plan on
how to address those vulnerabilities. This could include identifying available funding,
developing best practices for adapting to the vulnerabilities, etc. There is also the
possibility of looking for ways to address those vulnerabilities within GAP.

• EPA Office of Water is seeking to incorporate TEK in water quality monitoring projects,
including TEK/tribal data layers in Hows My Waterway and ATTAINS reporting system.

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OITA is a partner in this effort, but may be more involved (e.g., through GAP leveraging
and/or pilot projects) if additional resources, including FTE, are available.

• While AIEO doesn't currently manage any of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
(BIL) funding, AIEO is committed to supporting climate adaptation considerations with
other offices that manage the BIL expenditures and helping to communicate BIL
opportunities to tribal communities.

Training Plan for Enhancing Staff Knowledge About Climate Adaptation

There are two planned trainings for EPA staff included in AIEO's implementation plan: TTR and
consultation, Tribal Treaty database, and TEK. In addition to the below trainings that AIEO is
developing for EPA staff, OITA is also committing its own staff to take Climate Adaptation 101
training that is currently being provided by EPA's Office of Policy. This introductory training
will ensure that all of OITA's own staff have baseline knowledge about climate adaptation,
which will further enable OITA's staff to more fully consider climate adaptation in all
programmatic work.

1) AIEO will lead (in cooperation with USD A) efforts to train EPA staff on the use of the new
Treaty Database in development by USDA to better identify treaty and reserved rights and
resources. The purpose of this database is not only as a repository of Tribal treaties, but it
will also increase understanding of Tribal treaties and how they should be implemented and
considered. As EPA staff become more aware of Tribal treaty and reserved rights, they can
better incorporate their provisions and protections in Agency decision making. AIEO's
training plan will align with the roll out of the USDA database and is anticipated to rely
heavily on training resources developed by USDA. The training audience will be all EPA
staff.

2) AIEO will coordinate appropriately to develop and deploy TEK training to implement the
CEQ TEK Guidance. The guidance and resultant training will focus on TEK (what it is) and
how to incorporate it into agency decision making, especially climate adaptation and
mitigation efforts. This training will build upon existing resources, and rely on forthcoming
guidance from the CEQ, an effort with which AIEO is involved. The training audience will
be all EPA staff.

Science Needs

AIEO has identified several science needs that would benefit our office and our tribal partners.
At a procedural level, AIEO is focused on helping the Agency better incorporate TEK in
decision making, which means elevating TEK in EPA science processes. More information on
what this means for EPA science needs will be available after the CEQ TEK Guidance is
complete; AIEO will revisit science needs and update this section at that time.

EPA tribal partners have identified data accessibility as a primary need for identifying and
addressing climate adaptation vulnerabilities and priorities. For our Tribal partners, it is
important that our science data can be filtered and targeted to Tribal geographic areas - state
wide data may not be relevant to their location, landscapes, and traditional uses. Related to

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targeted Tribal data, it is important EPA considers Tribal-specific projections of climate impacts.
It is also important to make sure EPA's science is easily accessible to our Tribal partners and
that there is sufficient technical assistance and expertise available to Tribes in using adaptation
tools and interpreting the data.

References

m "White House Commits to Elevating Indigenous Knowledge in Federal Policy Decisions," Nov 15, 2021,
https://www.wliitehouse.gov/ostp/news-updates/2021/ll/15/wliite-house-commits-to-elevating-indigenous-
knowledge-in-federal-policv-

decisions/#:~:text=ITEK%20is%20a%20bodv%20of.between%20humans%20and%20enviromnental%20svstems.
m USGCRP, 2018: Impacts, Risks, and Adaptation in the United States: Fourth National Climate Assessment,
Volume II [Reidmiller, D.R., C.W. Avery, D.R. Easterling, K.E. Kunkel, K.L.M. Lewis, T.K. Maycock, and B.C.
Stewart (eds.)]. U.S. Global Change Research Program, Washington, DC, USA, 1515 pp. doi: 10.7930/NCA4.2018.
m Jay, A., D.R. Reidmiller, C.W. Avery, D. Barrie, B.J. DeAngelo, A. Dave, M. Dzaugis, M. Kolian, K.L.M. Lewis,
K. Reeves, and D. Winner, 2018: Overview. In Impacts, Risks, and Adaptation in the United States: Fourth National
Climate Assessment, Volume II [Reidmiller, D.R., C.W. Avery, D.R. Easterling, K.E. Kunkel, K.L.M. Lewis, T.K.
Maycock, and B.C. Stewart (eds.)]. U.S. Global Change Research Program, Washington DC, USA, pp. 33-71. doi:
10.7930/NCA4.2018.CH1

m Vose, R.S., D.R. Easterling, K.E. Kunkel, A.N. LeGrande, and M.F. Weliner, 2017: Temperature changes in the
United States. In: Climate Science Special Report: Fourth National Climate Assessment, Volume I [Wuebbles, D.J.,
D.W. Fahey, K.A. Hibbard, D.J. Dokken, B.C. Stewart, and T.K. Maycock (eds.)]. U.S. Global Change Research
Program, Washington, DC, USA, pp. 185-206, doi: 10.7930/J0N29V45.

121 U.S. Enviromnental Protection Agency. 2016. Climate change indicators in the United States, 2016. Fourth
edition. EPA 430-R-16-004. https://www.epa.gov/climate-indicators.

Nolte, C.G., P.D. Dolwick, N. Fann, L.W. Horowitz, V. Naik, R.W. Pinder, T.L. Spero, D.A. Winner, and L.H.
Ziska, 2018: Air Quality. In Impacts, Risks, and Adaptation in the United States: Fourth National Climate
Assessment, Volume II [Reidmiller, D.R., C.W. Avery, D.R. Easterling, K.E. Kunkel, K.L.M. Lewis, T.K.

Maycock, and B.C. Stewart (eds.)]. U.S. Global Change Research Program, Washington DC, USA, pp. 512-538.
doi: 10.7930/NCA4.2018.CH13

^ Lipton. D., M. A. Rubenstein, S.R. Weiskopf, S. Carter, J. Peterson, L. Crozier, M. Fogarty, S. Gaichas, K.J.W.
Hyde, T.L. Morelli, J. Morisette, H. Moustalifid, R. Munoz, R. Poudel, M.D. Staudinger, C. Stock, L. Thompson, R.
Waples, and J.F. Weltzin, 2018: Ecosystems, Ecosystem Services, and Biodiversity. In Impacts, Risks, and
Adaptation in the United States: Fourth National Climate Assessment, Volume II [Reidmiller, D.R., C.W. Avery,
D.R. Easterling, K.E. Kunkel, K.L.M. Lewis, T.K. Maycock, and B.C. Stewart (eds.)]. U.S. Global Change
Research Program, Washington, DC, USA, pp. 268-321. doi: 10.7930/NCA4.2018.CH7

181 Ebi, K.L., J.M. Balbus, G. Luber, A. Bole, A. Crimmins, G. Glass, S. Saha, M.M. Shimamoto, J. Trtanj, and J.L.
White-Newsome, 2018: Human Health. In Impacts, Risks, and Adaptation in the United States: Fourth National
Climate Assessment, Volume II [Reidmiller, D.R., C.W. Avery, D.R. Easterling, K.E. Kunkel, K.L.M. Lewis, T.K.
Maycock, and B.C. Stewart (eds.)]. U.S. Global Change Research Program, Washington DC, USA, pp. 539-571.
doi: 10.7930/NCA4.2018.CH14

121 Lall, U., T. Johnson P. Colohan, A. Aghakouchak, C. Brown, G. McCabe, R. Pulwarty, and A.
Sankarasubramanian, 2018: Water. In Impacts, Risks, and Adaptation in the United States: Fourth National Climate
Assessment, Volume II [Reidmiller, D.R., C.W. Avery, D.R. Easterling, K.E. Kunkel, K.L.M. Lewis, T.K.

Maycock, and B.C. Stewart (eds.)]. U.S. Global Change Research Program, Washington DC, USA, pp. 145-173.
doi: 10.7930/NCA4.2018.CH3

l",J Jantarasami, L.C., R. Novak, R. Delgado, E. Marino, S. McNeeley, C. Narducci, J. Raymond-Yakoubian, L.
Singletary, and K. Powys Whyte, 2018: Tribes and Indigenous Peoples. In Impacts, Risks, and Adaptation in the
United States: Fourth National Climate Assessment, Volume II [Reidmiller, D.R., C.W. Avery, D.R. Easterling,
K.E. Kunkel, K.L.M. Lewis, T.K. Maycock, and B.C. Stewart (eds.)]. U.S. Global Change Research Program,
Washington, DC, USA, pp. 572-603.'doi: 10.7930/NCA4.2018.CH15

1111 Dupigny-Giroux, L.A., E.L. Mecray, M.D. Lemcke-Stampone, G.A. Hodgkins, E.E. Lentz, K.E. Mills, E.D.
Lane, R. Miller, D.Y. Hollinger, W.D. Solecki, G.A. Wellenius, P.E. Sheffield, A.B. MacDonald, and C. Caldwell,
2018: Northeast. In Impacts, Risks, and Adaptation in the United States: Fourth National Climate Assessment,

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Volume II [Reidmiller, D.R., C.W. Avery, D.R. Easterling, K.E. Kunkel, K.L.M. Lewis, T.K. Maycock, and B.C.
Stewart (eds.)]. U.S. Global Change Research Program, Washington, DC, USA, pp. 669-742. doi:
10.7930/NCA4.2018.CH18

1131 Fleming, E„ J. Payne, W. Sweet, M. Craghan, J. Haines, J.F. Hart, H. Stiller, and A. Sutton-Grier, 2018: Coastal
Effects. In Impacts, Risks, and Adaptation in the United States: Fourth National Climate Assessment, Volume II
[Reidmiller, D.R., C.W. Avery, D.R. Easterling, K.E. Kunkel, K.L.M. Lewis, T.K. Maycock, and B.C. Stewart
(eds.)]. U.S. Global Change Research Program, Washington, DC, USA, pp. 322-352. doi:

10.7930/NCA4.2018.CH8

1111 Status of Tribes and Climate Change Working Group (STACCWG). (2021). Status of Tribes and Climate Change
Report, Institute for Tribal Enviromnental Professionals, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ. [Marks-
Marino, D. (ed.)] http://nau.edu/stacc2021

Jantarasami, L.C., R. Novak, R. Delgado, E. Marino, S. McNeeley, C. Narducci, J. Raymond-Yakoubian, L.
Singletary, and K. Powys Whyte, 2018: Tribes and Indigenous Peoples. In Impacts, Risks, and Adaptation in the
United States: Fourth National Climate Assessment, Volume II [Reidmiller, D.R., C.W. Avery, D.R. Easterling,
K.E. Kunkel, K.L.M. Lewis, T.K. Maycock, and B.C. Stewart (eds.)]. U.S. Global Change Research Program,
Washington, DC, USA, pp. 572-603.'doi: 10.7930/NCA4.2018.CH15

^ Tribal Adaptation Menu Team. 2019. Dibaginjigaadeg Anishinaabe Ezhitwaad: A Tribal Climate Adaptation
Menu. Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission Odanah, Wisconsin. 54 p.
https://forestadaptation.org/tribal-climate-adaptation-menu

^ EPA. 2021. Climate Change and Social Vulnerability in the United States: A Focus on Six Impacts. U.S.
Enviromnental Protection Agency, EPA 430-R-21-003. https://www.epa.gov/cira/social-vulnerabilitv-report
1121 U.S. Federal Government, 2017: U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit: Tribal Nations [web site]. U.S. Global Change
Research Program, Washington, DC https://toolkit. climate.gov/topics/tribal-nations

051 U.S. Federal Government, 2018: U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit: Case Studies [web site]. U.S. Global Change
Research Program, Washington, DC. https://toolkit. climate.gov/case-studies

021 Chief, K, A. Meadow, and K. Whyte, 2016: Engaging southwestern tribes in sustainable water resources topics
and management. Water, 8 (8), 350 as cited in The US Global Climate Research Program's 2018 report, "Impacts,
Risks, and Adaptation in the United States: Fourth National Climate Assessment Volume II" (NCA4)

™ EPA, Indian Policy for the Administration of Enviromnental Programs on Indian Reservations (Nov. 8, 1984),
available at https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2015-04/documents/indian-policy-84.pdf

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Office of International Affairs

Climate Adaptation Implementation Plan

Climate Vulnerability Assessment

Internal OIA and EPA Challenges and Vulnerabilities

OIA's work faces several climate-and non-climate-related vulnerabilities that could adversely
impact the office's work on climate adaptation. The non-climate-related vulnerabilities could
affect every region in which OIA works. These range from ransom-ware attacks that could
compromise government systems, functionality, and databases, to the diminution of
administrative capacity, including loss of FTE's, outdated equipment, and reduced security
measures. These pose a growing risk to OIA in effectively fulfilling its mission in response to the
global climate crisis. Left unaddressed, these challenges could erode the capacity for OIA and
the EPA more broadly, to effectively carry out its mission. It could also erode public and partner
confidence in OIA and EPA to provide effective and timely services.

External OIA Partner Climate Challenges, Vulnerabilities, and Opportunities
by Region

OIA anticipates its international partner governments, communities, and organizations will
collectively experience a wide range of climate impacts. Given that a significant number of
partner governments and communities are located in low- and middle-income countries,
inequities will not only remain but are likely to be exacerbated. Continued disruptions to global
trade, trade routes, supply chains, and the cost of goods and services, because of both climate-
and non-climate-related phenomena, also pose risks. The following section provides a more
detailed assessment of the climate-related challenges, vulnerabilities, and opportunities facing
OIA's partner governments and communities, organized by region.

Arctic

Current Programs and Initiatives

OIA supports ongoing projects to strengthen the capacity of remote and indigenous Arctic
communities in responding to climate change and will promote the needs of these communities
in the Arctic Executive Steering Committee (AESC). Two projects, run through the Arctic
Council Arctic Contaminants Action Program (ACAP), which are underway or about to get
underway, are led by Indigenous Arctic communities. They are the Community-based Black
Carbon Health Assessment and a forthcoming project on wildfire management co-led by
Environment and Climate Change Canada and the Aleut International Association with US
government expert cooperation. These projects have the scope for mitigation and resilience
activities. The Circumpolar Local Environmental Observer (CLEO) project supports local

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observers to report environmental phenomena, and the project received funding from EPA to
help its launch. It also received support from ACAP to expand to additional Arctic communities.

Likely Vulnerabilities

OIA's Arctic country and Indigenous community partners will face challenges from rising
temperatures causing permafrost melt, thinning and loss of sea ice, melting of glaciers, sea level
rise, accelerated regional land and ocean warming, enhanced drying, increased forest fires, black
carbon, the breakdown of Arctic ecosystems, and loss of habitat and food sources. Permafrost
melt in particular poses a serious challenge to infrastructure and transportation systems,
jeopardizing supply chains and the delivery of basic goods and services. Forced migration from
these changes also poses a threat and is an issue that some communities have already
experienced.

Potential Areas for Future OIA Programmatic Efforts

OIA can consider delivering training for enhanced wildfire management to support its country
partners and communities to mitigate the spread of community and environmental harm during
wildfire events. Boosting air quality monitoring throughout the Arctic can also enhance
determination of black carbon content. Continued support for Indigenous communities as local
environmental observers through the CLEO project can also enhance reporting of climatic and
environmental events to help share and integrate traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) among
Indigenous Arctic communities in the US and internationally. CLEO observations may also be
incorporated into locally-scaled climate model projections.

Asia-Pacific

Current Programs and Initiatives

OIA implements programming in Taiwan, Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand, Japan, and Australia,
and had 40 years of bilateral programming with China which lapsed in 2020. The biggest
program in the region is on marine litter. OIA coordinates with multiple countries on this issue.
The US and Taiwan work together with the Asia-Pacific Mercury Monitoring Network to lead a
community of policymakers and mercury experts from 17 member countries dedicated to
establishing a system of mercury monitors in the region. OIA also works with Taiwan to address
e-waste, build capacity to advance policy, governance, and practice in environmental education,
advance special consideration to the disproportionate environmental impacts on children, and
share best practices and air quality data within the region. Programming in Vietnam is focused
on strengthening environmental governance and cleaning up contaminated lands. In Cambodia,
OIA provides technical input to draft and implement environmental laws for pollution controls.
OIA partners with Singaporean stakeholders to advance clean drinking water research by
addressing high priority topics such as algal blooms, detection of contamination, and water reuse.
With stakeholders in Thailand, OIA shares best practices and provides policy guidance and
reviews regarding air quality issues. OIA's programming with China was the Agency's largest
bilateral program and worked across a variety of environmental topics. These included
developing domestic environmental protection laws and policies, improving air quality, reducing

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water pollution, preventing exposure to toxic chemicals, remediating soil and hazardous waste,
and improving environmental enforcement and compliance.

Likely Vulnerabilities

Across the region, there is a high likelihood of species range shifts across land and ocean
ecosystems. There are medium to high risks of varied impacts to water scarcity and agriculture
and crop production, and an increasing number of hot days per year, infectious diseases, floods,
droughts, storms, and sea-level rise. Together, these risks put populations in several countries at
high risk of health effects and displacement.1'2'3'4

Potential Areas for Future OIA Programmatic Efforts

With positive and negative impacts to food and water security across the region, providing
technical assistance and building capacity for climate smart agriculture, water quality
monitoring, water capture and storage, watershed management, and nutrient and crop
management will be crucial to manage the range of impacts. Since many countries in the Asia-
Pacific are vulnerable to impacts of increasingly powerful storms, flooding, drought, and
dangerously hot days, bolstering early warning systems and disaster management protocols
would also be beneficial.

Border Regions

Current Programs and Initiatives

OIA works with respective partners in Mexico and Canada to manage and coordinate on
environmental projects along the countries' borders. Along the US-Mexico border, OIA works
with Mexico's Secretariat of the Environment and Natural Resources on the Border 2025 plan to
address environmental and public health issues. These include air and water quality, solid waste
management, emergency preparedness and response, and enforcement and compliance. OIA also
works with the North American Development Bank by participating in board meetings and
reviewing and clearing environmental infrastructure projects based on environmental
performance. Along the US-Canada border, OIA coordinates with EPA Regions, Native
American Tribes, and the State Department on a variety of agreements and MOUs, including the
Boundary Waters Treaty and mining development in British Columbia.

Likely Vulnerabilities

The border region between the US and Mexico is nearly 2,000 miles long and covers 62.15 miles
on each side, containing a variety of types of ecosystems which will undergo a myriad of
changes.5 The starkest changes will be increased dryness, drought, and decreased available water
supply due to decreased precipitation, continued overuse of the Colorado River, and increased
urban and agricultural water use. Impacts to accessible safe drinking water will also be
exacerbated. Wetland ecosystems and biodiverse areas, in addition to human health, are at risk of
these changes to water supply and water quality.6

The US-Canada border is the longest in the world at around 5,525 miles long. This border
crosses a range of ecological zones and is thus vulnerable to a range of climate impacts, both
positive and negative.7 As a result of warmer temperatures, the eastern border region will

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experience stronger and more frequent storms, while the central prairie and western regions will
likely experience more drought. The western region will also experience more precipitation-
induced landslides. The Alaska-Canada border will likely experience increased permafrost melt.

Potential Areas for Future OIA Programmatic Efforts

On the US-Mexico border, it will be pertinent to focus on improving watershed management,
water capture, storage, and water quality. On the US-Canada border, it will be important to
ensure that early warning systems and scientific research for storms, permafrost melt, changing
growing seasons, and ensuring appropriate are readily available for people to respond to
changing conditions on the ground in a timely manner.

Latin America and the Caribbean

Current Programs and Initiatives

OIA implements a range of environmental programming in Latin American and Caribbean
countries. It provides training to CAFTA-DR countries (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala,
Honduras, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic) as well as Panama, Peru, Colombia, and
Chile, to build national environmental governance. OIA also works with ten countries that make
up the Latin American Network for Environmental Enforcement and Compliance to share best
practices and develop strategies to address common environmental challenges. OIA provided
training to Network members on criminal environmental enforcement, next generation
approaches to enforcement, and hazardous waste management. In addition to governance and
enforcement, OIA provided technical assistance to El Salvador, Costa Rica, Dominican
Republic, and Honduras to make their environmental impact assessment processes more
streamlined and accessible to the public. In Panama, OIA assistance led to the development of
the country's first water quality reference lab. OIA worked with Panama, Costa Rica, and the
Dominican Republic to develop or implement a national marine litter action plan, and
collaborated with stakeholders in Jamaica, Panama, and Peru to identify and prioritize solid
waste management actions that prevent litter from entering waterways and the marine
environment. Finally, OIA provides technical assistance to Brazil on policies, programs, and
tools to address water contamination to freshwater bodies.

Likely Vulnerabilities

Across the region, there is a high likelihood of changes in ecosystem structures and species range
shifts across land, freshwater, and ocean habitats as a result of future climate changes. There are
medium to high risks of water security, severe health effects due to increasing epidemics, coral
reef ecosystem degradation due to coral bleaching, food security issues due to frequent and/or
extreme droughts, and damages to life and infrastructure due to floods, landslides, sea level rise,
storm surges, hurricanes, earthquakes, and coastal erosion. These vulnerabilities are unevenly
distributed throughout the region, with some countries more likely than others to experience the
range of impacts.8

Potential Areas for Future OIA Programmatic Efforts

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With food and water insecurity being major vulnerabilities across the region, providing technical
assistance and building capacity for climate smart agriculture, water quality monitoring, water
capture and storage, watershed management, and nutrient and crop management will be crucial.
Since many countries in the Caribbean and Central America are vulnerable to impacts of
increasingly powerful storms, bolstering early warning systems and disaster management
protocols would also be beneficial.

Middle East

Current Programs and Initiatives

OIA's environmental programming in the Middle East addresses a variety of topics in Jordan,
Morocco, and Israel. OIA recently concluded cooperation with Jordan on public participation
training and solid waste management, including developing a landfill health and safety plan that
will help improve management of existing landfills in the Jordan River Valley. OIA also
completed a policy paper on alternatives to plastic mulch used by Jordan Valley farmers. In
Morocco, OIA recently cooperated with stakeholders on crisis communication and solid waste
management, including sharing best practices, tools, and public outreach strategies to help the
community of El-Kelaa des Sraghna in Morocco to implement its waste reduction plan. In Israel,
OIA collaborates on a wide range of scientific and technical topics, including water quality
monitoring, contaminated site clean-up and remediation, air pollution modelling, and emergency
response. Water reuse and contaminated site clean-up are the current priorities in Israel. In
support of the Global Alliance to Eliminate Lead in Paint, EPA has also worked with Israel to
strengthen its regulation on lead in paint.

Likely Vulnerabilities

As an already water-scarce country, Jordan's main climate vulnerability is increasing water
scarcity as a result of decreasing precipitation and an increasing number of hot days per year.9
Ensuring water availability for agricultural purposes and clean drinking water for its population
will be crucial for the country moving forward.

Morocco's climate vulnerabilities include increased frequency and intensity of drought which
will exacerbate water insecurity.10 Food security will be impacted due to effects to the
agricultural sector. Morocco will also experience increased average temperatures and hot days
per year which will increase stress on crops and exacerbate public health concerns. Changing
rainfall patterns, including more intense arid periods and more intense rain events, will also
impact water security and cause flooding. As a country with a long coastline, Morocco is also
vulnerable to sea level rise.

Israel's climate vulnerabilities include changes in rainfall patterns and increasing temperatures
and number of hot days per year.11 Together, these will account for increased drought, more
intense storms, and water insecurity.

Potential Areas for Future OIA programmatic Efforts

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In Jordan, OIA can consider assistance to address clean water. Since a hotter climate and an
increased likelihood of drought in Morocco will impact agricultural output, EPA should consider
programming to address clean water, build capacity for climate smart agriculture, improve water
capture and storage, watershed management, and nutrient and crop management. Continuing
programming in Israel will be crucial, especially on water quality monitoring and water re-use.
Expanding these capabilities to other water-insecure countries in the region, including Jordan
and Morocco, are an opportunity to deepen OIA's relationships and promote water security.

Sub-Saharan Africa

Current Programs and Initiatives

OIA's environmental program in Sub-Saharan Africa is focused on addressing Ghana and
Ethiopia's growing urban and industrial pollution issues that impact people's health, with a
particular focus on vulnerable populations such as children and the economically disadvantaged.
Areas of focus include outdoor and indoor air quality, water quality, and exposure to toxic
chemicals. To help ensure the delivery of clean water in urban areas, OIA works with the African
Water Association (AfWA) and Ghanaian stakeholders to build capacity of drinking water
quality laboratories in Accra. The objective is to enhance the proficiency of participating labs
using best available methods by trained personnel to produce high quality analytical data. Efforts
have included support on laboratory auditing, quality control/quality assurance procedures, and
development of a Ghanaian Quality Assurance Manual that is now in use and can be used as a
model for other laboratories in the region. OIA also works in Ethiopia to build capacity in
support of air quality management planning. The next phase will be to move toward capacity
building for regional leadership, enabling these countries to serve as regional models, with
trainings on air quality management planning.

Likely Vulnerabilities

Ghana and Ethiopia are both agriculture-dependent and water insecure countries. In Ghana, 50%
of the population is employed in agriculture and 25% lacks access to clean water.12 In Ethiopia,
85%) of the population is employed in agriculture while 75% lacks access to clean water.13

Despite geographical differences, these countries share similar climate vulnerabilities, including
increased and more intense drought, flooding, and heat stress. These vulnerabilities are likely to
impact agriculture through soil erosion and decreased arable land and crop yields. Floods will
likely cause infrastructure damage and further land degradation. With an increase in the number
of hot days, human health and livestock production are also put further at risk. Together these
vulnerabilities will likely cause Ghanaians and Ethiopians to become more food and water
insecure, rely more on health systems, and be more at risk of the spread of disease.

Potential Areas for Future OIA Programmatic Efforts

Since a hotter climate and an increased likelihood of drought will aggravate the number of public
health concerns that are linked to indoor and outdoor air pollutants and decreased agricultural
output, the importance of OIA's current programming in Ghana and Ethiopia to monitor and
manage air quality cannot be overstated. Programming in Ghana to address clean water is also

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pertinent. Further areas of programming for OIA to consider include extending current clean
water programming in Ghana to Ethiopia. For both countries and others in the region with
similar climate vulnerabilities, OIA can consider strengthening these countries' technical
capacity to integrate climate-smart agriculture practices and climate change risk management,
improving observational data of weather and groundwater monitoring, and improving water
capture, storage, watershed management, and nutrient and crop management.

Priority Adaptation Actions

The following OIA priority adaptation actions will be implemented provided that sufficient
resources continue to be made available. OIA's priority activity is to provide technical and
policy training on a range of environmental governance issues to international partners and
national and sub-national governments for the purposes of helping our partners establish
effective and equitable environmental governance practices that result in effective policies that in
turn, result in desirable environmental and societal outcomes.

1) Climate Environmental Governance: Deployment and Implementation of the EPIC
(Educational Partnerships for Innovation in Communities) Capacity Building Tool

OIA's commitment to the provision of trainings on various aspects of environmental governance
presents opportunities to offer training and capacity building related to climate literacy, climate
risk, resilience, and climate adaptation, especially to partners in developing countries. More
specifically, OIA will seek to educate and train international partners on the use of EPIC, a tool
for creating local government-university partnerships that bring the full range of university
knowledge and expertise to the service of local governments and communities. EPIC
partnerships are locally-led, demand-driven, action-oriented partnerships that enhance the
capacity of local governments and communities to adapt, build resilience and develop more
sustainably. Partners in this activity include but are not limited to the EPA Office of Policy, the
UN Global Adaptation Network (GAN), the EPIC Network (EPIC-N) Secretariat, ICLEI (Local
Governments for Sustainability), the US National Science Foundation (NSF) and the
International START (System for Analysis, Research and Training) program.

• Agency-wide priorities addressed: This activity addresses EPA Agency adaptation
priorities 1 and 2 (See text box below).

• Timeframe: This work is already underway and is slated to continue through FY2026 and
beyond, pending resources are made available. However, trainings and subsequent
actions taken by OIA international partners as a direct consequence of these trainings,
will be documented. See section on metrics.

• Performance Metrics: Short- and long-term metrics include the number and name of
states, Tribes and international partners (national and sub-national) who seek training and
enhanced capacity to address climate adaptation, resilience and sustainable development,
utilizing the EPIC tool. In addition, in May 2021, 11 Asian cities were awarded small
grants to implement the EPIC model to work on adaptation, resilience and sustainability
actions that benefit their respective cities/communities. OIA's metrics will also include
updates on actions, outputs and outcomes resulting from implementing the EPIC model
in these 11 Asian cities. Lastly, OIA will examine the feasibility of developing metrics on

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actions taken and/or policies implemented as a consequence of trainings on the use of the
EPIC tool.

• Co-Benefits: Use of the EPIC tool is designed to bring about a range of actions from
climate adaptation and mitigation to more sustainable development, and making progress
on the full range of SDGs, including addressing issues of underserved and especially
vulnerable communities.

• Lead Organization: This activity will be led by the policy and bilateral sides of OIA.

• Resource Requirements: There are currently very few if any resources for this activity.
Resources for this activity have thus far come almost exclusively from outside partners
such as the GAN, NSF, START, and the EPIC Secretariat, with in-kind support from
ICLEI (Local Governments for Sustainability) and OIA in the form of services and FTEs.
Despite OIA having played a lead role in creating an international partnership to
introduce the EPIC model to local governments and universities internationally in various
parts of Africa and Asia to date, the lack of sufficient EPA resources for this activity to
date leaves OIA at a serious disadvantage in choosing where and when future trainings on
the tool will take place as well as the selection of trainees. EPA funding for this activity
would provide OIA with considerably more leverage to play a lead role in directing
essential training on the use and implementation of the EPIC tool to realize its full
benefits.

2) Climate Environmental Governance: Deployment and Implementation of the ARC-X
Capacity Building Toolkit.

• Agency-wide priorities addressed: This activity addresses EPA Agency adaptation
priorities 1 and 2 (See text box below).

• Performance Metrics: Short- and long-term metrics include the number and name of
states, Tribes and international partners (national and sub-national) who seek training and
enhanced capacity to address climate adaptation, resilience and sustainable development
utilizing the ARC-X Toolkit. OIA's metrics will also include updates on actions, outputs
and outcomes resulting from trainings on the ARC-X Toolkit. Lastly, OIA will examine
the feasibility of developing metrics on actions taken and/or policies implemented as a
consequence of trainings on the ARC-X Toolkit.

• Co-Benefits: Use of the ARC-X toolkit is designed to bring about a range of actions from
climate adaptation and mitigation to more sustainable development, and making progress

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on the full range of SDGs, including addressing issues of underserved and especially
vulnerable communities.

• Lead Organization: This activity will be led by the policy and bilateral sides of OIA in
partnership with OP.

• Resource Requirements: There are currently very few if any resources for this activity.
Introducing the ARC-X Toolkit in international settings will require additional support
and FTEs.

3) Strengthening Capacity to Address Climate in Arctic Communities

Working through the Arctic Council Arctic Contaminants Action Programme (ACAP) and its
Expert Groups on Short-Lived Climate Pollutants (SCLPs) and the Indigenous Peoples
Contaminants Action Programme (IPCAP) along with some funding from the Arctic Council's
Project Support Instrument (PSI), OIA will continue to support ongoing projects to strengthen
the capacity of remote and indigenous Arctic communities in responding to climate change. In
addition, OIA will promote the needs of these communities in the Arctic Executive Steering
Committee (AESC). At present, there are two ACAP projects underway or about to get
underway, that are led by indigenous Arctic communities. They are the Community-based Black
Carbon Health Assessment and a forthcoming project on wildfire management co-led by
Environment and Climate Change Canada and the Aleut International Association, with US
government expert cooperation. These projects have scope for mitigation and resilience
activities. In addition, the Circumpolar Local Environmental Observer (CLEO) project received
funding from EPA to help its launch and then support from ACAP to expand it to additional
Arctic communities. OIA is examining ways to promote the expansion and sharing of this tool
and its capabilities for the purposes of promoting knowledge exchanges, including among
traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) holders, scientific experts, academics, and other
knowledge holders, among indigenous Arctic communities in the US and internationally. Lastly,
EPA/OIA has signed an interagency agreement with the State Department to work with Arctic
communities on climate change.

• Agency-wide priorities addressed: This activity addresses Agency adaptation priorities 1
and2 (See text box below).

• Timeframe: At least one project is slated to run from 2021-2023. OIA anticipates that
results can be evaluated in 2023. The timeline for additional activities is still under
development. However, recent events involving Russia and Ukraine have impacted
leadership issues among the Arctic Council countries and Arctic Council work has been
temporarily put on hold.

• Performance Metrics: Short-term metrics include the number of training activities
conducted, countries, regions, Tribes, and communities engaged, and number of
individuals trained. Longer-term metrics are under discussion and could include looking
at whether the project is sustained by project partners, for example the number of
interventions made by trained partners after a project is completed.

• Co-benefits: Co-development and use of these tools will foster greater understanding of
and ability to address and reduce human exposure to black carbon and other short-lived
climate pollutants, the lessons of which can be transferred to projects that address other
contaminants and resilience in remote Arctic communities. Wildfire management will

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help make Arctic communities more resilient to warmer temperatures and drought, and
reduce the threat of air pollution from forest fires.

• Lead Organization: This activity will be led by the policy and bilateral sides of OIA with
input, as appropriate, from AIEO and Region 10.

• Resource Requirements: OIA provides in-kind expertise in the form of FTE's to these
activities, though there are no extramural resources at the moment.

3) Commission on Environmental Cooperation (CEC) EJ4Climate Grants for Climate Action

in Under served and Vulnerable Communities

OITA will continue to work through the CEC to direct funds to support climate adaptation and
resilience activities in the US, Canada, and Mexico, especially within underserved and
vulnerable communities as part of the new EJ4Climate Grants Program established by President
Biden. The Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) is an international organization
established by the United States, Canada, and Mexico under the 1994 North American
Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC) as a complement to the North American
Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The NAAEC promotes sustainable development based on
cooperation and mutually supportive environmental and economic policies and fosters the
protection and improvement of the environment in the territories of the Parties for the well-being
of present and future generations. EPA and its counterparts in Mexico and Canada sit as CEC
Council members. Being that the CEC is a trilateral Organization EPA/OIA is limited in
resources and an agreement from the other two parties is required to proceed with projects or
direct funds. However, as a member of the CEC Council OIA is in a position to advocate for
additional climate adaptation and resilience work.

• Agency-wide priorities addressed: This activity addresses Agency adaptation priorities 1
and 2 (See text box below).

• Timeframe: Funding awards for work on climate resilience and adaptation were granted
to 3 underserved urban communities and 2 US Tribes in 2022. This work is already
underway and should be completed by 2024. Additional funds are available for a second
round of awards for addressing climate. As a member of the CEC Council OIA will
continue to support climate awards beyond 2023.

• Performance Metrics: Metrics will include periodic updates on actions taken, outputs and
outcomes.

• Co-Benefits: CEC EJ4Climate Grants have the capacity to bring about a range of actions
from climate adaptation and mitigation to more sustainable development, and making
progress on the full range of SDGs, while focusing explicitly on underserved and
especially vulnerable communities.

• Lead Organization: This activity will be led by the bilateral side of OIA in partnership
with EPA counterparts in Canada and Mexico.

• Resource Requirements - Resources are currently available for EJ4Climate grants up
until 2023. Though OIA plans to continue to support more action on climate, as equal
parties to the CEC, EPA's counterparts in Canada and Mexico can elect to direct funds to
activities outside of climate as well.

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Aspirational Action

1) International Mitigation, Adaption, and Resilience: Economic Instruments for
Climate-Friendly Trade and Public Infrastructure Investment

OIA contributes to the implementation of the climate finance plan, identified in Executive Order
14008, by providing expertise for incorporating the overall costs of greenhouse gas emissions in
the analysis of proposals for public investment in energy-intensive projects overseas. This action
has three sub-actions: (1) To gain inter-agency agreement on including the social cost of
greenhouse gas emissions in the methodology to be used by Federal agencies for the analysis of
alternatives to investing international assistance in projects that prolong reliance on fossil fuel
infrastructure for economic development; (2) To provide compelling environmental and
economic reasons for international financial institutions to incorporate comparable
methodologies as safeguards against reckless investments and as guidance for development
strategies that are consistent with international climate policy objectives; and (3) To encourage
global consensus on the use, by private companies, of voluntary standards for the production and
trade in products that conform to responsible business practices validated by reliable certification
systems. These standards, such as adopted by ISO, may have global applicability to private
enterprises, or may be recommendations by multilateral organizations such as the Organization
for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for use by member governments. While
efforts to date have largely focused on greenhouse gas mitigation, OIA will also explore the
possibility of including adaptation and resilience in lending safeguards to ensure that
infrastructure investments funded by the United States are built to withstand climate change in
all its manifestations. This activity will also try to apply as feasible, lessons learned
internationally from domestic experiences drawn from the U.S. Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

• Agency-wide priorities addressed: This activity addresses Agency adaptation priorities 1,
2 and 5 (See text box below).

• Timeframe: This work is already underway with a modest level of technical expertise and
staff time. The anticipated timeframe for this activity is 2022-2026 and possibly beyond.

• Performance Metrics: The short-term metric is to count the number of interventions made
by EPA to promote inclusion of the social cost of carbon, climate adaptation or climate
resiliency in investment guidelines for USG overseas development assistance, responsible
business practices or standards. Longer term metrics are under consideration and may
include evidence that projects are sustained by project partners, requiring that
development assistance is predicated at least in part on evidence of climate adaptation
and enhancing climate resilience as well as evidence of factoring in the social cost of
carbon as pre-conditions. This is a new exploratory activity, and no results are expected
until at least the end of 2023.

• Co-Benefits: These actions support the objectives of other initiatives led by the National
Security Council such as Build Back Better World (B3W) in collaboration with G-7
countries, the US-EU Trade and Technology Council that was a result of the June 2021
Summit between President Biden and European Union leaders, and the International
Energy Engagement Guidance. Issues of equity and environmental justice are also
addressed by incorporating the social cost of greenhouse gas emissions and climate
adaptation and resilience into trade and investment decision-making.

• Lead Organization: This activity is led by OIA, in consultation with OAR and OP.

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• Resource Requirements: Within available resources, OIA provides a modest level of
technical expertise to these activities in the form of FTE's. There are no extramural

resources.

EPA Agency-Wide Adaptation Priorities

1. Integrate climate adaptation into EPA programs, policies, rulemaking processes, and
enforcement activities.

2. Consult and partner with states, Tribes, territories, local governments, environmental
justice organizations, community groups, businesses, and other federal agencies to
strengthen adaptive capacity and increase the resilience of the nation, with a particular
focus on advancing environmental justice.

3. Implement measures to protect the agency's workforce, facilities, critical infrastructure,
supply chains, and procurement processes from the risks posed by climate change.

4. Measure and evaluate performance.

5. Identify and address climate adaptation science needs

Training Plan for Enhancing Staff Knowledge About Climate Adaptation

OIA plans to host or facilitate approximately one training per year on various aspects of climate
adaptation and resilience as needed, beginning in 2022. These trainings will specifically draw
upon the climate and sustainability webinars hosted by the White House, the National Academy
of Sciences, and other institutions respected for their expertise in climate and climate-related
matters. In addition, OIA will make use of climate modules from various offices within EPA
such as the Office of Policy's climate adaptation module currently under revision. OIA will also
seek out briefings from leaders and authors of the UN IPCC WGII 6th Assessment Report
(Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability) due to be released in February 2022. The IPCC WG II
briefing will likely be of especial relevance to OIA's regional interests and equities around the
globe.

OIA will also occasionally reach out to other climate and climate-related experts, as needed or
desired, to brief OIA staff on specific aspects of climate of particular interest to all or parts of
OIA such as finance and trade-related aspects of climate adaptation and resilience, or the
implications of climate impacts in the Arctic or parts of Asia or Latin America.

Finally, OIA will also continue to explore the nexus between climate adaptation, resilience and
sustainability, and the issues of equity, environmental justice, and underserved populations,
especially among OIA's partners in the Global South.

Science Needs

OIA-specific science needs to assess climate impacts and build resilience on behalf of ourselves
and our international partners might include training on the use of risk assessment tools and
regionally sensitive climate projections. Such trainings are likely to warrant additional FTEs to
enhance climate competence within OIA as risk assessment tools and climate projections
typically necessitate specialized expertise and skills.

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References

1. Climate Risk Country Profile: China (2021): The World Bank Group and the Asian Development Bank.

2. Climate Risk Country Profile: Thailand (2021): The World Bank Group and the Asian Development Bank.

3. Climate Risk Country Profile: Vietnam (2021): The World Bank Group and the Asian Development Bank.

4. IPCC, 2022: Summary for Policymakers [H.-O. Portner, D.C. Roberts, E.S. Poloczanska, K. Mintenbeck, M.
Tignor, A. Alegria, M. Craig, S. Langsdorf, S. Loschke, V. Moller, A. Okem (eds.)]. In: Climate Change 2022:
Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Sixth Assessment Report of the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [H.-O. Portner, D.C. Roberts, M. Tignor, E.S. Poloczanska, K.
Mintenbeck, A. Alegria, M. Craig, S. Langsdorf, S. Loschke, V. Moller, A. Okem, B. Rama (eds.)]. Cambridge
University Press. In Press.

5. Border 2025: United States - Mexico Enviromnental Program. 2021.

6. Wilder, M„ G. Garfin P. Ganster, H. Eakin, P. Romero-Lankao, F. Lara-Valencia, A. A. Cortez-Lara, S.

Muinine, C. Neri, and F. Munoz-Arriola. 2013. "Climate Change and U.S.-Mexico Border Communities." In
Assessment of Climate Change in the Southwest United States: A Report Prepared for the National Climate
Assessment, edited by G. Garfin A. Jardine, R. Merideth, M. Black, and S. LeRoy, 340-384. A report by the
Southwest Climate Alliance. Washington, DC: Island Press.

7. Climate Change Overview, Country Summary: Canada (2021): The World Bank Group,
https://climateknowledgeportal.worldbank.org/countrv/canada.

8. IPCC, 2022.

9. Climate Change Risk Profile: Jordan (2017): USAID,

https://www.climatelinks.org/sites/default/files/asset/document/2017 USAID Climate%20Change%20Risk%20Pro
file Jordanpdf.

10. Climate Risk Profile: Morocco (2021): The World Bank Group.

11. Climate Change Overview, Country Summary: Israel (2021): The World Bank Group,

https://climateknowledgeportal.worldbank.org/countrv/israel#:~:text=Israers%20vast%20range%20of.also%20impo
ses%20an%20economic%20cost.

12. State and Trends in Adaptation Report 2021: Africa Country Profiles, Global Center on Adaptation, Ghana (pgs.
522-5), https://gca.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/GCA STA21 Sect4 COUNTRY PROFILES.pdf.

13. State and Trends in Adaptation Report 2021: Africa Country Profiles, Global Center on Adaptation, Ethiopia
(pgs. 514-7), https://gca.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/GCA STA21 Sect4 COUNTRY PROFILES.pdf

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