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EmailCONTACTS: Karen Marvin, Communication, Center for Ocean Solutions, kmarvin@stanford.edu, (650) 492-1763 or Karen Grimmer, Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, Karen.grimmer@noaa.gov, (831) 236-6535
Monterey Bay Communities Convened to Prepare for Climate Change
MONTEREY, Calif. – Dec. 6, 2011 – Today for the first time representatives from communities and organizations around Monterey Bay convened to discuss the potential impacts of climate change on local communities and to strategize how to respond. The workshop entitled “Preparing for the Future: Climate Change and the Monterey Bay Shoreline” was attended by over 90 individuals including representatives from nearly every coastal city from Santa Cruz to Pacific Grove, and from both Santa Cruz and Monterey counties.
“Our goal is to bring together state and local government planning staff with science and policy experts for an interactive workshop on the effects of climate change on the Monterey Bay area,” stated Meg Caldwell, Executive Director, Center for Ocean Solutions and Director of the Environmental and Natural Resources Law and Policy Program at Stanford Law School. “This will help our regional leaders prepare their communities to cope with changes we are already witnessing around the bay.” The event, held at the Monterey Conference Center, was hosted by NOAA’s Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and the Center for Ocean Solutions.
Scientific experts at the workshop discussed projections used by the state of California for sea levels to rise by a foot or more by 2050 and up to 55 inches by 2100, which can lead to increased coastal flooding, erosion and the intrusion of salt water into freshwater resources. Large portions of the Monterey Bay coastline are already eroding faster than any other region in California, with some sand dunes shrinking by as much as six feet per year. Erosion could increase as sea levels rise further.
“Our workshop is an
opportunity for new
collaborations and partnerships to develop that will assist in climate change
adaptation planning,” observed Paul Michel, Superintendent, Monterey
Bay National Marine Sanctuary.
“Community involvement is critical to successful adaptation
implementation.”
Participants heard case studies of adaptation strategies at a panel discussion moderated by Charles Lester, Executive Director of the California Coastal Commission with participation by representatives of the Southern Monterey Bay Erosion Working Group, the City of Santa Cruz and King County, Washington. The workshop’s keynote presentation was by Dr. Gary Griggs, Distinguished Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences and the Director of the Institute of Marine Sciences at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
Climate
change is attributed to the warming of the earth due to increased emissions of
greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. More greenhouse gases mean a warmer
earth, stronger storm systems and rising sea levels. The Monterey Bay area is affected directly by these global
impacts. Sea levels have risen approximately 7 inches in the past century
(1900-2005), according to a report by the California
Climate Change Center.
The Center for Ocean Solutions works to solve the major problems facing the ocean, and prepares both current and future leaders to take on these challenges. Located at Stanford University and in Monterey, California, COS is a collaboration among Stanford’s Woods Institute for the Environment and Hopkins Marine Station, the Monterey Bay Aquarium and the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute.
NOAA’s Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS) is a Federally protected marine area offshore of California's central coast, stretching from Marin to Cambria. MBNMS’s mission is to understand and protect the coastal ecosystem and submerged cultural resources of central California.
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