Source

Type

Peer Review

Audience

Pages

Notes

Introduction. For the past decade, WWF has identified the potential threats to biodiversity posed by climate change1.We have argued that protected areas offer a limited defence against problems posed by rapid environmental change and that protected areas will themselves need to be changed and adapted if they are to meet the challenges posed by global warming. Recent research suggests that the types of environmental changes predicted in climatic models are now taking place. Studies of many animals and plants that show significant alterations in range or behaviour find that the most consistent explanation for these is climate change. Global warming is also linked to observed impacts such as coral bleaching and melting glaciers. Such changes are taking place widely and as a result, global warming is already impacting protected areas.