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09-10-2007, 11:38 AM
Federal agencies manage almost 30 percent of the land area of the United States - over 600 million acres of land, and more than 150,000 square miles of protected waters - but these agencies have not made climate change a priority, and the agencies' strategic plans do not address climate change, according to a report by Government Accountability Office.
At the request of Senators John Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat, and John McCain, an Arizona Republican, the Government Accountability Office, GAO, evaluated the state of readiness to respond to climate change of the five federal agencies that manage America's vast land and water resources.
Climate change will affect the coasts and oceans, forests, and fresh waters, as well as grasslands and shrublands managed by the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the National Park Service, the report finds.
The GAO recommends that the secretaries of agriculture, commerce, and the interior develop guidance incorporating agencies' best practices, which advises managers on how to address climate change effects on the resources they manage and gather the information needed to do so.
For more information:
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/sep2007/2007-09-10-05.asp
At the request of Senators John Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat, and John McCain, an Arizona Republican, the Government Accountability Office, GAO, evaluated the state of readiness to respond to climate change of the five federal agencies that manage America's vast land and water resources.
Climate change will affect the coasts and oceans, forests, and fresh waters, as well as grasslands and shrublands managed by the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the National Park Service, the report finds.
The GAO recommends that the secretaries of agriculture, commerce, and the interior develop guidance incorporating agencies' best practices, which advises managers on how to address climate change effects on the resources they manage and gather the information needed to do so.
For more information:
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/sep2007/2007-09-10-05.asp