Forests and Adaptation to Climate Change: What is at Stake?

The authors propose a two-fold linkage between forests and climate adaptation: using forest ecosystem services to reduce social vulnerability ('forests for adaptation') and implementing measures to protect forests from climate impacts ('adaptation for forests'). They advocate for Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) as an overarching framework to integrate these goals, noting that ecological infrastructure is often more cost-effective and adaptive than engineered alternatives. The paper highlights the need for cross-sectoral governance, financial transfers like payments for ecosystem services, and the integration of mitigation policies such as REDD+ to avoid maladaptation and ensure long-term resilience.

• The relationship between forests and climate adaptation is bidirectional: forests provide services that help society adapt, while forests themselves require adaptation measures to survive climate-driven changes.
• Ecological infrastructure, such as forests, mangroves, and wetlands, is often more cost-effective than heavy technology or engineered infrastructure and can be more easily modified to respond to unexpected environmental changes.
• Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) is an emerging multi-sectoral approach that aims to reduce the vulnerability of both society and ecosystems to climate change and land-use change.
• Forest adaptation measures are categorized into buffering measures, which prevent perturbations like fire and disease, and facilitating measures, which ease the transition of ecosystems toward new states, such as reducing landscape fragmentation to help species migrate.
• A UNFCCC Adaptation Fund project in the Tegucigalpa region of Honduras serves as a practical example of EbA by using forests to regulate water supply for the city while simultaneously increasing connectivity between protected areas to enhance forest resilience.
• Effective EbA requires new governance models and financial mechanisms, such as payments for ecosystem services, to transfer funds from sectors that benefit from forest services to those managing the forests.
• While global mitigation mechanisms like REDD+ can support adaptation by improving livelihoods and conserving services, they may also negatively impact the adaptive capacity of local forest populations by restricting access to land and resources.

APA

Locatelli, B., & Pramova, E. (2010). Forests and Adaptation to Climate Change: What is at Stake? World Resources Institute. https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2023-01/wrr-2010-11-question-4-response-1.pdf

Chicago

Locatelli, Bruno, and Emilia Pramova. Forests and Adaptation to Climate Change: What is at Stake? World Resources Institute, 2010. https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2023-01/wrr-2010-11-question-4-response-1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Locatelli |first1=Bruno |last2=Pramova |first2=Emilia |title=Forests and Adaptation to Climate Change: What is at Stake? |publisher=World Resources Institute |date=2010 |url=https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2023-01/wrr-2010-11-question-4-response-1.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{locatelli2010forests, author = {Locatelli, Bruno and Pramova, Emilia}, title = {{Forests and Adaptation to Climate Change: What is at Stake?}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2010}, url = {https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2023-01/wrr-2010-11-question-4-response-1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }