Ecological Systems

Section: N21 Berana, Jeff

Impact of Climate Change in Biodiversity

Individual species will respond differently to climate change. Some species may increase their abundance or range due to climate change, others to decline or contract.

 The impact of climate change will increase the risk of species extinction for vulnerable species due to habitat fragmentation and the rate of climate change.

 A recent study predicted that the extinction rate due to climate change could range from 18% to 35%. Climate change will significantly impact upon governments ability to reverse the trend in biodiversity loss by 2010.

Adaptation Strategies
In general, adapting to climate change will require strengthening existing regulatory frameworks and planning mechanisms.

 In the short-term landscape managers can take limited action to minimize changes to biodiversity. If the pressure from all other environmental threats was reduced, and new management tools tested and applied, then ecosystems might have a better chance of adapting to climate change.

 In the long-term the impact of climate change on biodiversity is inevitable and will need to be accepted, and the effects of climate change accommodated.

 Species dispersal is central to the success of such scenarios. Randomlong distance dispersal needs to be better understood and, where beneficial, facilitated and supplemented through direct interventions (or, for invasive species, prevented).

Effect of Climate Change on Developing Countries

Climate change will affect developing countries disproportionately, due to their high dependency on natural resources and climate sensitive sectors as well as their limited scientific, institutional and financial capacity to manage these changes.

 Assistance is needed to be given to developing countries to manage the impacts of climate change. Otherwise, it will be more difficult to meet some of the Millennium Development Goals by 2015.

Reference
http://www.britishecologicalsociety.org/ documents/policy_documents/parliame ntary_briefings/Climate_Change_Ecol ogical_Impacts.pdf