Research Projects - Climate Change (Track 1)

Policy, Decision-Making, and Outreach

Policy, decision-making and outreach involves the systematic translation of climate change science in a form that is more effective for stakeholders, decision-makers and the public to understand. The objective of this project is to develop data collection, modeling, and visualization tools to better understand institutional and societal aspects of climate change and perform outreach to translate and communicate this science. Nevada provides an excellent model for this type of research due to its rapid urban growth and the significant impact from climate change. Accelerated changes in climate are occurring now in Nevada and will continue into the future, leading to complex changes and feedbacks among climate, biophysical, and human systems (systems that evolve based on perceptions). A Social Science Climate Change Network will be created to focus on outreach, data collection, and provide meaningful two-way flow of information between scientist and stakeholders to ensure more collaboration.

Annual Report Highlights

Title: Policy, Decision Making and Outreach Students Make their Mark at the Association of American Geographers’ Annual Meeting in Seattle

Authors: W.J. Smith, Jr. (University of Nevada, Las Vegas), bill.smith@unlv.edu

Ph.D. Candidate Ahmad Safi of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, presenting at the
AAG meeting (Photo by William James Smith, Jr. Ph.D.)

Outcome: Four students in the Policy, Decision Making and Outreach component of Nevada’s NSF EPSCoR Climate Change Project attended the Association of American Geographers’ (AAG) Annual Meeting in Seattle. The students showed great initiative, and co-funded their own travel through competitions and mini-grants and NSF funding.

Impact: Ph.D. candidate Ahmad Safi, won the Jeanne X. Kasperson Student Paper Award for his presentation “Climate Change and Nevada’s Ranchers and Farmers: Vulnerability, Risk Perception and Environmental Behavior”.

Additional Information: MS student Ross Guida performed quite admirably in the Biogeography Specialty Group sponsored student paper competition for his presentation “Vegetation and Climate Change in the Newberry Mountains, Southern Nevada: Maxent and GIS Modeling for Policy Decision Support”.

UNLV master’s student, Ross Guida, presenting his poster at the AAG meeting (Photo by William James Smith, Jr.).

This work was supported by NSF Cooperative Agreement EPS-‐0814372 to the Nevada System of Higher Education.

2009 Annual Highlight

Presentations

Policy, Decision and Outreach
A Role for Informal Educational Institutions and University	Business Stakeholders
Geovisualization of Ecological Data for Park Policy Support	Native Americans and Ranchers
NGO and Government Stakeholders