U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit

The Coastal Resilience Center of the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus is funded by the Department of Homeland Security Center of Excellence with a mission focused on education of the community by transferring state-of-practice knowledge through formal and informal learning experiences to help the community understand coastal infrastructure hazard prevention, preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation. Training courses for Puerto Rico and other Caribbean islands are programmed and announced monthly.

This course prepares coastal planners and managers for planning and implementing green or natural infrastructure projects to reduce coastal natural hazards in their communities. The course consists of two parts: a 45-minute, self-guided online module that covers foundational concepts; and an in-person, one-day event that allows participants to interact with their peers and local experts to develop a green infrastructure strategy. You will learn how to describe how green or natural infrastructure contributes to reducing the impacts of hazards and building resilience; analyze considerations for choosing and planning green or natural infrastructure projects; identify and assess approaches for successful implementation; and identify local green or natural infrastructure projects and connect with local experts who can provide additional information and guidance. This course offers six hours of certification maintenance credits through the American Institute of Certified Planners, as well as five core continuing education credits for certified floodplain managers through the Association of State Floodplain Managers.

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service's National Conservation Training Center is consolidating training opportunities for FWS staff to increase knowledge of climate science and climate change as they relate to resource management. Participants can examine how to refocus their conservation efforts by applying the Strategic Habitat Conservation framework from local to landscape scale through biological planning, conservation design, conservation delivery, decision-based monitoring, and assumption-driven research. Participants will become familiar with new emerging tools, such as structured decision making, adaptive resource management, predictive modeling, and population viability analysis. There are several growing training opportunities available through the NCTC, including instructor-led, online courses and self-paced online training courses. Web conferences are held monthly to get up-to-date information to those needing it and communicating new tools, plans, and approaches in the face of climate change. In addition to formal training and webinars, there are many resources to help you build your knowledge and appreciation of climate science, climate change, global warming, and resources management strategies being developed and implemented to deal with the changing conditions brought on by climate change.

Whether beginning a new effort or trying to keep people motivated to better prepare for future hazards, applying risk communication principles will lead to more effective results. This self-guided module introduces seven best practices, numerous techniques, and examples to help you improve your communication efforts. Knowledge checks and a final quiz are included to help you retain what you learn. One hour of certification maintenance credits for this course has been approved by the American Institute of Certified Planners.

The United Nations Development Programme and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations joined in 2017 to launch an online course on climate change and agriculture. The six-week course in partnership with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research featured leading global experts on climate change, finance, agriculture, and communications. The Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) happened in parallel with the 23rd Conference of the Parties (COP23) in Bonn, Germany. The learning materials are now presented as part of the joint effort between all parties involved in the MOOC.

This online module series aims to increase the capacity of municipal decision makers to make effective choices supporting resilience to the impacts from climate change. Considering current and future impacts helps shape decisions that enhance the health, safety, and welfare of Rhode Island’s communities. The brief modules provide an understanding of the implications of a changing climate in Rhode Island. Each module consists of a voice-over PowerPoint, speaker notes, and a resources document. Relevant examples and lessons learned from Rhode Island communities are included, as well as ways to use various resources and tools in decision making. PREP-RI builds upon existing state efforts and is the product of collaboration among experts from a variety of fields. While this series is primarily geared toward coastal municipalities, much of the information will be helpful for inland communities as well as other public- and private-sector stakeholders throughout the state.

This course covers a step-by-step approach that can be used to create a new conservation plan or update an existing one that incorporates climate change information. It is suitable for anyone working to manage or conserve lands in coastal areas. This includes wetland, floodplain, or emergency managers, planners, or conservation organizations. The course's six iterative steps draw from existing strategic conservation planning frameworks; however, the steps here focus on climate considerations and key resources relevant to the coastal environment, including coastal watersheds.

The Climate Learning Network's eLearning program is designed to help Extension professionals, professional crop advisors, and professional foresters incorporate climate change into their existing program areas and become climate literate. Many modules offer Continuing Education Credits from the Society of American Foresters (SAF) and Certified Crop Advisors (CCA). Modules topics include basic climate science, communication, climate variability, vulnerability assessments, agricultural adaptation practices, and resilient land management.

This educational module provides a brief overview of three adaptation options to climate change—resistance, resilience, and transition—and how to incorporate these ideas into natural resource planning. A friendly and neutral approach presents feasible ways to respond to climate change through animations, examples, and outward links to more information. There is a regionally relevant 11-question activity following the main material, and and users who complete the activity will receive a printable certificate with their name and the date completed.

This training course describes the physical processes, both natural and human-induced, that lead to changes in sea level. The processes described include climate-induced changes in ocean heat content and volume, natural oceanic cycles, and both natural and human-induced changes in coastal land elevation. The learning is enhanced with rich graphics and periodic questions. The lesson will be useful for those working in the fields of coastal planning and infrastructure development.