Last month, ICLEI (founded as the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives, but now going by “ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability”) released some new tools as part of their new climate adaptation program for local governments. While the program isn’t specifically targeting coastal communities, most of the resources they’re sharing will be useful for those working along the watery borders of the US.
Some of the most intriguing-looking tools (I’m looking at ADAPT right now) are only available for members of ICLEI. But before you dismay, two things are worth noting. One is that it’s worth a check to see if your community is already a member (you can see the complete list of municipal members here); the other is that joining isn’t very expensive in the big (municipal budget) picture: rates depend on the size of your community, and it looks like ICLEI is trying to keep it affordable.
Even if you aren’t a member, their adaptation page is full of free resources for local governments, including:
- Case studies on local government adaptation efforts
- Fact sheets on financing adaptation, the mitigation-adaptation connection, and coastal adaptation strategies
- Websites, guidebooks, and toolkits from ICLEI, NOAA and EPA
- Notable reports and studies on adaptation
Definitely worth a look.