National parks often have unique ecosystems that are vulnerable to climate change. How will future climate change affect bird life, vegetation along trails, or access to rivers and water? In close collaboration with park managers in Finnmark, a tool has now been developed that can provide concrete answers to questions about the consequences of expected climate change.
The tool is adapted to the conditions in each national park and provides information about expected changes, supporting further planning, and management of the park areas. By combining local knowledge with climate modelling, the tool provides a research-based and user-friendly platform for identifying vulnerabilities and opportunities in the context of a warmer and more unstable future climate. This way, park managers can prepare for the consequences of predicted climate change in our national parks.
The tool has been developed and implemented for two areas: Reisa National Park og Pasvik protected area in Northern Norway. They show how different climate development scenarios – based on the most extreme, average, and least dramatic climate scenarios for the next 75 years – could affect selected management areas for each of the areas, from wildlife and vegetation to visitor experience, accessibility, and infrastructure.
The goal has been to develop a practical tool that actually meets the knowledge needs of park managers. With their knowledge of the ecological values at stake, and with input from the Nansen Center on future climate change, we have jointly developed this groundbreaking product.
Key figures from the management of Reisa and Pasvik have played a central role in the development process. The collaboration has resulted in a tool that is not only research-based, but also well-grounded in practical park management work.
“The tool provides us with a solid, visual basis for understanding climate change in Reisa National Park, based on scientific data. This makes it easier to see differences over time, between different emission trajectories and geographical areas. An additional strength is how the tool highlights the climate data that is most relevant to the various natural resources,” says Nina Storm, park manager for Reisa National Park. The County Governor of Finnmark is the project client, and the work for Reisa received support from EC Interreg Aurora and the project on adaptations to climate change in Arctic protected areas (CLAP). The tool is now being used to coordinate the work of various departments and areas within the County Governor’s Office.
This project demonstrates how climate researchers, ecologists and national park managers can work together to ensure effective management of protected areas in the face of a changing climate. This form of collaboration can easily be scaled up to national and international management initiatives. The plan going forward is to improve the user interface and include new data sources based on feedback from nature management. The ambition is clear: to contribute to more robust and knowledge-based management of our most valuable natural areas. We are already in the process of developing a similar service for other geographical areas in Norway. Interested parties can contact project manager Richard Davy at the Nansen Center.
Key researcher: Richard Davy
