Tools for Coastal Climate Adaptation Planning: A guide for selecting tools to assist with ecosystem-based climate planning

The purpose of Tools for Coastal Climate Adaptation Planning is to provide the information necessary for coastal natural resource managers and community planners to select appropriate tools for their projects. This guide focuses on spatially explicit solutions for climate-related planning. It provides detailed information on a set of key tools that either alone or used in conjunction with other tools can facilitate multi-sector climate adaptation planning (i.e. climate adaptation planning that incorporates elements of ecosystem health and social wellbeing) and describes the utility and role of tools in relevant planning processes. In this guide we focus on software and web-based tools that help incorporate data (geophysical, environmental or socioeconomic) and specialized analyses into the planning process.

This guide is targeted at practitioners and decision makers involved in coastal zone management, natural resource management, protected area and habitat management, watershed management, conservation, and local planning in the coastal United States including the Great Lakes. The information and tools in this guide are also highly applicable to many inland and international regions.