This workshop provides hands on training for applying climate-smart principles to real natural resource management plans and projects that are local or regional in scope. The training and coaching session is based on the guide Climate-Smart Conservation: Putting Adaptation Principles into Practice. Teams, consisting of three or more people, will be coached using the climate-smart conservation framework and will develop climate-informed conservation goals and integrate adaption planning into on-going work. Teams will document their project at the end of the workshop with a short summary.

OBJECTIVES: 
At the conclusion of this workshop, participants should be able to:

• Identify climate change impacts that pose the greatest challenges and opportunities for meeting current goals and achieving existing actions.
• Evaluate project conservation goals from a climate change perspective, identify where existing goals may be compromised by projected climate impacts, and explore modifications needed to craft climate-informed goals.
• Identify a range of possible adaptation options based on vulnerability information and other management considerations.
• Evaluate adaptation options from multiple perspectives, including their ability to reduce vulnerability and enhance resilience.
• Design an adaptation planning process that aims to address the effects of climate change on a target (focal) species or ecosystem.
• Tell a clear and compelling story of how your conservation project is designed to achieve climate adaptation outcomes.

TARGET AUDIENCE:

Natural resource managers and conservation professionals interested in incorporating climate information into their planning and conservation efforts. The target audience includes conservation practitioners, planners, and natural resource managers working at multiple scales to ensure the ongoing effectiveness of their work in an era of climate change