National Conservation Training Center: Decision Analysis for Climate Change Online Course

Meeting Date: 1/12/2017

- 1/12/2017

Location: Online


1/12/2017-3/14/2017

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Natural resource managers are increasingly tasked with understanding climate change impacts and using this knowledge in making decisions. Yet the uncertainty inherent in evaluating climate impacts often impedes action. This online course provides participants with skills to address climate change impacts in making decisions about natural resource management. It highlights principles from Informing Decisions in a Changing Climate (2009) National Research Council report. Videos show techniques in structured decision making and adaptive management, and discuss how climate change affects each step in the processes. Participants work in teams on actual decision problems. As the teams use similar techniques on their different decision problems, participants observe multiple examples of on the ground application. Instructors work with teams to build expertise in climate change impacts and decision analysis. Teams develop a final report and presentation on their decision problem. This course and the entire Structured Decision Making curriculum at NCTC are developed in partnership with staff from USGS.

Objectives: • Understand how to frame choices to effectively integrate climate change concerns • Engage with a team on a real-life decision addressing climate impacts • Articulate the concept of stationarity and appreciate the significance of its absence in planning to address climate change • Learn how to classify and incorporate different types of uncertainty about system change • Compare modes of learning about system change and understand when and how to use different approaches • Structure a climate change adaptation decision using adaptive management