Report on the changes in nature due to climate change

17.10.2005 10:00
New report by the Nordic Council of Ministers on the climate change and nature.

Nature changes with the climate. Plants and animals are affected quite noticeably by man-made climate changes, according to a report from the Nordic Council of Ministers presented at a workshop in Copenhagen on 14 October.

If environmental managers and politicians are to protect natural diversity then they have to plan accordingly. The report puts forward a number of considerations that have to be taken into account, e.g. higher water levels, warmer weather, more precipitation and more extreme weather.

It is not by chance that plants are blooming earlier in the spring in large parts of the Nordic Region these days. Nor is it by chance that the growing season in Scandinavia has been extended or that, fishermen are landing catches that really belong far further south. Nature appears to be reacting to climate change and the report presents examples of those reactions. It is possible, nevertheless, to adapt to climate changes and a number of initiatives can help preserve natural diversity without introducing alien species.

Some facts are incontrovertible:

• plants are blooming earlier and earlier,
• plant growing seasons have been extended,
• butterflies from further south are being spotted more frequently in the Nordic Region
• fishermen are finding more and more fish from southern climes in their nets
• cold-water species like cod and plaice are dwindling in the North Sea.

The authors of the report see these facts as signs that climate changes do apparently make an impact on nature and her rythms.

So, is it possible to adapt environmental management to take climate changes into account? The report identifies a number of specific tools that can be used. It also points out the advantages of incorporating climate changes into planning and of using natural resources to counteract the harmful effects of the changes.

Download the report Conservation of Nordic Nature in a Changing Climate

More information from http://nonaklim.dmu.dk/

Source: www.norden.org