Adaptation Planning Organon for Resilient Natural Resources

To build regional capacity for adaptation in support of sustainable natural resources, there is a need for a consistent conceptual approach, or organon, for incorporating climate-smart design and resilience theory into management planning and implementation. To this end, the Adaptation Planning Organon (AO) for Resilient Natural Resources was created by an expert technical group from EPA Regions, EPA Office of Water, and EPA Office of Research and Development. The AO serves as a logic model, process guide, and information resource. It provides a structured framework in the form of an interactive slide deck, with integrated research examples for each of four ecosystem types (corals, salmon refugia, stream monitoring, and salt marsh), for each step of the organon. Also integrated are links to supporting publications, grey literature, data sources, and other information resources on over-arching topics that serve as supplemental user support materials. Case studies with partners will be used to ‘beta test’ and further refine the AO, followed by transfer of all materials to a user-friendly interactive website for full public access and use.

Impact/Purpose

An organon is a thought instrument or system of logic that unifies a body of scientific principles. The Adaptation Planning Organon (AO) for Resilient Natural Resources is an instrument for considering climate change and other environmental information to inform adaption and improve natural resource management. It supports researchers, practitioners, decision makers, and anyone else seeking: 1) an introduction to resilience-based adaptation planning; 2) examples of projects, methods, approaches, and tools that fulfill the key components or steps of adaptation planning and implementation; 3) a framework and transparent thought process for evaluating what projects and resources are already underway or available versus where there are gaps; and 4) a planning aid for decisions regarding siting (where to work), tactics (what to do), and specific adaptation design (how to do it) for programs and projects. The AO has a variety of uses, from basic orientation and education, to program evaluation, to detailed project planning. To explore the AO, click on any bubble to see an explanation of that step; and within a step, click on any of the four ecosystem bubbles (corals, salmon refugia, stream monitoring, or salt marsh) for an example of how a research project tackled that step for that system. For program evaluation, use the AO to brainstorm improved adaptation of existing work, what work is already occurring or still needed, and how internal work links together across steps. For detailed project planning, use the AO with a working group of subject matter experts to guide a systematic design process across all steps to achieve a particular program or project goal. The AO builds capacity of the EPA and its partners for resilience-based planning and management of natural resources, by providing a structure to help with getting started, getting unstuck, and delving deeper to fulfill the key components of planning to achieve successful adaptation.

Citation

West, J., A. Hamilton, J. Stamp, AND I. Reilly. Adaptation Planning Organon for Resilient Natural Resources. Presented at In-Person Meeting of the Organon Technical Advisory Group, Washington, DC, October 24 - 25, 2023.

• ADAPTATION PLANNING ORGANON FOR RESILIENT NATURAL RESOURCES.PDF (PDF)  (53  pp, 7.1 MB, about PDF)
• RESOURCE LINKS ADAPTATION ORGANON.PDF (PDF)  (5  pp, 255.9 KB, about PDF)