User:Lkent islandpress/CAKE Climate Adaptation Knowledge Exchange

Climate Adaptation Knowledge Exchange (CAKE) Initiated by two nonprofit organizations—EcoAdapt and Island Press—the Climate Adaptation Knowledge Exchange (CAKE; www.cakex.org) is a free online resource of data, tools, and best practices in climate change adaptation. It is geared toward people actively working to manage the natural environment in the face of climate change as well as people wanting to learn more about the concept of adaptation in general. CAKE’s growing community of practitioners include conservation biologists, fish and wildlife managers, restoration ecologists, resource and land managers, planners, professors and researchers, policy analysts, and environmental advocates. By providing a forum to share information across sectors and disciplines, its ultimate goal is to encourage the development of policies, science, and management approaches that will ameliorate the effects of climate change, reducing the vulnerability of both natural systems and human communities. CAKE’s user-generated content includes a calendar of events as well as an opportunities board with listings from around the world. In addition, CAKE’s resources are georeferenced and link case studies, virtual library documents, and expert adaptation planning advice with tools and an international directory of professionals and organizations practicing climate adaptation. Case Studies The Case Studies database provides examples from practitioners in North America and around the world. It includes project profiles, examples of how decision support tools have been used on the ground, and links to materials to help with cost-benefit analysis, vulnerability assessments, monitoring, and scenario planning. One case study, for example, describes how The Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife assessed the vulnerability of twenty key habitats and implemented adaptation strategies in management, acquisition, research, and monitoring (Gregg, 2010).

Virtual Library The Virtual Library offers a wealth of vetted resources such as journal articles, presentations, reports, book chapters, webinars, and grey literature. CAKE is the first website where materials on adaptation are gathered in one central location, making it easy to find quality-confirmed, organized, and indexed information.

Community The Community section hosts an expert advice column, discussion forum, calendar, and announcement board. The advice column, “Adaptation Mavens,” addresses a range of critical topics. CAKE participants are invited to comment and pose questions. The calendar shows upcoming events and the announcement board features job postings and grant information.

Directory The Directory of adaptation professionals includes people and organizations practicing climate change adaptation. Here CAKE users can see what work people are doing in their area and ask authors questions about specific case studies.

Tools The Tools section directs users to online resources helpful for adaptation planning and implementation. It includes reviews of programs like SLAMM, Climate Wizard , and PRECIS , as well as links to many other useful tools.

More about Island Press: Founded in 1984, Island Press is a nonprofit organization that works to stimulate, shape, and communicate the information that is essential for solving today’s environmental problems. Although Island Press is the nation’s leading publisher of books on environmental issues, its initiatives are focused on driving change by moving ideas from the printed page to public discourse and practice.

More about EcoAdapt: EcoAdapt was founded by a team of conservation scientists who were some of the earliest adaptation practitioners in the field and has one goal—creating a robust future in the face of anthropogenic climate change. It brings together diverse players in the conservation, policy, science, and development communities to reshape conservation and development in response to rapid climate change.

Reviews For a review of CAKE, see the International Society for Environmental Ethics site at http://iseethics.org/2011/03/12/website-climate-adaptation-knowledge-exchange/.