Thursday, February 12, 2015
11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. PST
REGISTER HERE

Overview: At the World Parks Congress (WPC) in Sydney, Australia this past November, the National Park Service and partners from around the world launched a week-long deep dive into the challenges and opportunities brought by climate change to protected areas. The strong presence and maturity of climate change dialogue excited and inspired WPC delegates to explore the impacts and vulnerability of climate change and strategies to preserve protected areas, as well as the opportunities that protected areas offer for responding to this challenge. It is clear from the ideas shared, relationships established, and momentum built that the future holds many promising pathways to address this issue. Join the NPS Climate Change Response Program as we highlight some of the key insights and outcomes of this landmark event.

About the Speakers: Leigh Welling will present climate change highlights and outcomes of the World Parks Congress, followed by Q&A and discussion with a panel of NPS staff and guests who played key roles in planning and executing the WPC Responding to Climate Change Stream.

Leigh Welling led the Responding to Climate Change Stream of the 2014 World Parks Congress in partnership with Mexico's National Commission on Protected Areas (CONANP) and Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO). In her regular job, Dr. Welling leads the NPS Climate Change Response Program, coordinating development of climate change science, adaptation, planning, policy, and communication efforts across the NPS’s more than 400 parks and is responsible for leveraging NPS initiatives with other agencies and partners at national and international levels. She has over 25 years of experience in climate change research, management, planning, policy, decision support, formal education, outreach, and training. She has a PhD in Oceanography from Oregon State University and a BA in Geology from the University of Colorado, Boulder.

For more information: World Parks Congress Responding to Climate Change Stream NPS Climate Change Website About the Webinar Series

This monthly climate change webinar series is presented by the NPS Climate Change Response Program. The purpose of the series is to connect NPS employees, volunteers, and partners with scientists and experts in the field of climate change research. The webinar series is a Service-wide forum where researchers can share credible, up-to-date information and research materials about the impacts of changing climate in national parks and provide participants the opportunity to engage with them in discussion.

Presentations begin at 2 PM EST, on the second Thursday of the month, and last about 90 minutes. They are viewed by logging into GoToWebinar on-line at the time of the presentation. Audio is available via a call-in number (toll charges apply) or through your computer’s speakers (free, but may be limited by connection speed).

For more information about this webinar series contact:

Download webinar materials after the presentation by visiting the Climate Change Sharepoint Site (must be on the NPS network). Presentations, recordings and related materials will be posted to Sharepoint shortly following the webinar.