Climate change vulnerability and the state of adaptation on England's National Nature Reserves

The need for adaptation to reduce the negative impacts of climate change on protected areas has been internationally recognised. To enable this a climate vulnerability assessment of 61 National Nature Reserves in England was completed by reserve managers. The results show that many aspects of biodiversity within the reserves are at risk from climate change. Changes in temperature were identified as a major threat to upland and freshwater sites. Changes to rainfall and the frequency of extreme weather events presented large risks to wetland and freshwater sites. Managers of 41 of the sites identified adaptation responses to reduce the risks. The majority of the proposed actions aim to build resilience and largely align with existing best conservation practice. This suggests that action to promote the persistence of existing species and habitats is the priority for most reserve managers. Less than 10% of the responses relate to the management of change, suggesting that reserve managers are only just starting to consider how to respond to changes which cannot be prevented. The study highlights the increasing threat that climate change poses to protected areas and the conservative nature of proposed responses. It is important for conservationists to start to plan for change and look beyond the boundaries of existing protected areas to ensure the best outcomes for biodiversity in the long term. The work also demonstrates the need to engage with conservation practitioners when identifying climate change driven vulnerability and effective adaptation for protected areas.